Hey Ose first things first thank you for coming on and interviewing with Nefarious Supply just to get the interview started introducing yourself to the audience who is Ose?
Thank you so much for having me! I’m so honoured to be featured on this amazing platform. My name is Osé and I’m an upcoming R&B/Soul and Trapsoul artist. I’ve been singing since I was two years old, however, I started making music in January 2020, and started songwriting in August 2019. Music has always been a huge part of my life, and when I learned where I got the gift from it really changed me and truly gave me a “why” to start doing music. I inherited my singing gift from my grandmother (my dad’s mom). Unfortunately, I never got the chance to meet her because she died before I was born, but my dad always tells me stories about how she had a band, and they made records, but due to the environment that she was encapsulated in she never truly got to expand with her gift. Everything I do in music now is for her, I want to make sure that the dream she never got to live and pursue, I help her. In fact, I even keep a picture of her in front of my songbook, so that every time I open it up to write down lyrics, I know who I’m doing it for.
What area are you currently based out of and how would you say this area has played an influence on you and your music?
Currently I am based in Brampton, Ontario, however, as a kid I moved around a lot. I was born in Nigeria, and then moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba at five months old, from there I moved to the States to stay with family for a couple months when I was seven, and then when I was eight years old I moved to Brampton; and I’ve been living here ever since then.
As it pertains to how this area affects my music, I would prefer to look at the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) as a whole. For me as an artist, I think that a lot of the music in Toronto sounds the same, nobody’s pushing the boundaries, and people are too comfortable. I strive to break away from the same old same old, cookie cutter sound that Toronto artists have. Due to this, I like my sound to be very diverse, so I like to do a lot of R&B fusion. For example, R&B/Hip-Hop, R&B/Afrobeat, etc. One thing that I discovered about the Toronto industry, also that I didn’t know before, is that there are no notable female R&B artists out here! I want to be that notable female artist to represent the city loud and proud.
What artist’s would you say inspire you for your sound? And who or what were the main influences in your life that helped you along the way or maybe even said something in a book or tv show one time that inspired you?
I have a lot of influences on my sound, like Brandy, H.E.R., Beyonce, Summer Walker, SZA, Kehlani, and Daniel Caesar. But I would definitely say that H.E.R. trumps all hands-down. Her vibe, lyricism especially, and just her overall essence is just so magical. It was actually when I first started songwriting when I was sixteen that I discovered H.E.R., and since then I’ve been attached. I’m pretty sure that there is not one H.E.R. song that I don’t know (call me a super fan? I think so). When I first started into songwriting, she was actually the first artist that I looked to for inspiration on how to word things, how to make certain implications without directly addressing things, and just how to structure songs in general.
A quote that has really driven me along this musical journey is actually something my mom always says to me that comes out of the Bible, “Any work you find yourself doing, do it well. You will soon leave the earth. Then it will not be possible for you to work. You will not think about future events. You will not know anything” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). One of my biggest fears in life is that I don’t reach my full potential. I know that I have a lot to offer and that this is only the beginning of my journey, which is why I also want to make sure I put in my all, and I’m on my grind 24/7. Once I’m off this earth, people will only remember me by the mark I leave behind, and the impact that I had on them, so I want to make sure I make it as far as possible in my career while having as much influence as I can.
What artists do you currently have in your rotation and what artists are your go to when you’re looking for some creative inspiration.
In my playlist you can find a lot of different genres from a lot of different artists! I listen to artists like Erykah Badu, H.E.R., Brandy, and Faith Evans, all the way to artists such as Roddy Rich, A Boogie, and Drake. Whenever it comes to creative inspiration, I love looking to artists like H.E.R. because of her lyricism and Brandy because of how raw her voice is. Nowadays it’s rare to find people who can really sing, because everything is mechanized; so now we have auto tune and all these machines that can give you that boost. So when I find artists that can just naturally do what they do without the extra push of machines, it’s very admirable.
Walk us through the steps you take to create a track, and your overall creative process?
When I first started songwriting my process was, I guess you could say interesting to say the least. I was on vacation during the summer of 2019, and I was beyond bored, so I picked up a piece of paper and a pen, went into the washroom and started writing—my logic was that since some of our best ideas come when we’re in the shower, why not test that with songwriting?! And it actually worked because that was where I composed my first two songs, “Games” and “Overfeel”.
Now, usually I listen to beats that my producers send me—I always make sure to have my phone's audio recorder on, so that anything I come up with on the fly, I catch it before it’s gone. Then what I do is I go back and listen to the recording, and the melody to see what I can pick and choose to take out to make the song. It’s actually so funny, because last week I wrote this song called “Broken”, and whenever I listen back to the original recording it’s just a bunch of mumbling and random words that don’t really make sense, but somehow it turned into the beautiful song that it was.
So you have three singles out right now: Games, Overfeel, and Fazed walk us through each, tell us the meaning behind each of the songs and who helped with production?
Games was the first song that I ever wrote, and the first song that I ever came out with in January 2020. Games is all about the idea of “pulling a you on you”, which just means giving you a taste of your own medicine. I wrote it in a relationship sense, but the great thing is that it can be interpreted in different ways depending on what you’re going through. A lot of the time, when we do things to people we don't take into account how we would feel if that same thing was done to us; we don't empathize. So, this song highlights this. All thanks to the amazing producer/engineer KR Moore at Sandbox Studios in Toronto who started this journey with me, and eight hours in the studio, Games came to life.
Overfeel invites the listener to feel my emotional distress over a relationship where I am giving my all and the other person is not reciprocating my love. The instrumental provided by KR Moore creates a palette that allows my incredible vocals to paint a heartfelt picture of lost love and disappointment. I think at some point in our lives, whether it comes to relationships, or friendships, we’ve found ourselves in a position where we may be over-investing into a connection that’s not even there. I wanted to touch upon that, and really dive deep, and let my fans know that I’ve been there, and I know what it’s like. You’re not alone.
Fazed is all about confrontation, and showing people that even though they may have doubted you and underestimated you, they better watch out because you’re coming. What really motivated me to create this song was honestly just my journey as an upcoming artist. So many people aren’t going to want to give you a chance, or do a half-ass job before because you don’t have clout yet, even getting onto the radio was hard. Tirelessly calling day-in and day-out hoping that someone would just answer me. I felt like I was screaming but no one was hearing me. Thankfully G98.7FM took a chance on me and put my songs into rotation, couldn’t be more grateful! This song was brought to life by one of my friends who’s an amazing producer, A-Wood, and my lovely engineer, EA.
What would you say keeps your current audience listening and why should people start listening if they haven’t already?
I would definitely say my rawness and my overall sound. According to various sources, I've been told that my sound is very unique. My sound is R&B/Soul, but there’s more to it, it’s deeper than just that. I love to bring listeners into my world with my music and just take them on a journey.
If y’all haven’t started listening to me yet, what are you doing?! I’ve been told that my tone and voice bring back a nostalgic feel, almost like a Mary J. Blige, or Brandy type of feel (not my words! Don’t shoot the messenger!). But if you miss the nostalgia of a throwback type of feel, or you just want something fresh and new that’s not the same old same old, then you definitely need to check out my music!
So what’s next for you in 2020 what are some things you hope to accomplish by the end of year?
This year I’ve achieved more than I thought I ever could, especially with my career just starting out this year, but as long as I continue to make consistent growth on my streaming numbers and steadily increase my fanbase, I’ll be happy! If I had to pick concrete goals, I’d love to perform one of my songs live for the digital music platforms such as, COLOURS, NPR’s Tiny Desk, BBC Radio Live, etc before the year ended. Any of those would be such an insane opportunity for me, especially as a young emerging artist.
When can fans expect to hear your debut project?
My self titled EP, Osé, can be expected to drop around the second or third week of January 2021.
Any last words?
Thank you so much Nefarious Supply for having me, and to anyone who’s reading this, go stream my songs Games, Overfeel, and Fazed! I know everyone says this about their own music, but it really slaps . . . like for real! Banger upon banger. Other than that, I have so much more music on the way and so many more announcements coming soon, I can’t wait to share with you all! Be on the lookout for me! Love, Osé.
Big shout out to Osé for coming on and interviewing with Nefarious Supply! If you want to stay up to date with her and her music you can follow the talented artist on Instagram and be sure to follow her on her Soundcloud to listen to stay tuned when she drops her self titled EP comingg early 2021.
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