One of the aspects of hip hop and rap music that I really like is when an artist is not afraid to add humor to their art. Not every track has to be filled with disses and hate. This is part of what made Eminem huge (although he does have quite a few dis tracks). Our latest discovery fits this mold along with great beats that get stuck in your head. Welcome Ollie Ox to the Indie Band Guru world.
Originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan and now based in a small apartment in downtown San Francisco, Ollie Ox is a name to be known in the hip hop and comedy circles. His talent has been noticed as he won a National Battle of the Bands sponsored by Gorilla Productions earning himself a $25,000 recording contract and 25 city US tour. Due to the label’s failure to deliver any money to record or tour, Ollie severed ties and has officially been going at it independently since then with no regrets. Being a short red headed kid must have done him no favors growing up but it transformed him into the smart ass hard worker that he is today. He currently juggles school, working as a waiter and being an ambulance medic with his career as a writer, artist, and musician.
The latest release by Ollie Ox, his third full album, is Dancing With Ammo. Right from the intro of this 13 track record you know you are in for an entertaining ride. The title track ‘Dancing With Ammo’ stands as an anthem with its marching beat behind an attacking vocal style where Ollie has no qualms about telling it like it is. A track that caught my attention was ‘Diamonds’. This track really shows the flowing skill that Ollie Ox possesses. The rhymes are tight and he stays on track without straying from the theme of the song. He shares the stage on the track ‘Four Deep In A Honda’ with his fellow SpaceLAB records labelmates Jake Palumbo, C-ZarVan Gogh and Ciphurphace. It is obvious that this is not just some one-off compilation but instead a group of musicians with the same goals that are willing to work together to get the job done. The beat of the closer ‘Motion’ really had my head bopping with energy as I focused on the lyrics. This album works.
Go take a listen to the skills of Ollie Ox at:
http://spacelabrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/dancing-with-ammo