Oso Negro

The Doze Project gives The Doors a hip-hop makeover-

Mixing rock and hip-hop is nothing new. Run-DMC did it with its 1985 debut Kings of Rock. The following year, the pioneering group scored a pop hit with a cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way," which helped bring hip-hop into the mainstream.

Ontario, Ore.-based rapper Oso Negro makes no such grand claims for The Doze Project EP, which he released online Aug. 8. Instead, his Bandcamp page describes the EP--a seven-track collection that combines his original lyrics with samples from songs by the Doors--as "lo fi fun with high flying concepts and delivery."

A "huge Doors head" when he was younger, Oso Negro approached Doze--a DJ based in Sioux Falls, S.D.--after hearing some song mash-ups that he'd created. The rapper proposed that Doze make a series of beats using only Doors songs, "[excluding] songs already sampled regularly in the past ('L.A. Woman,' 'The End,' '5 to 1,' 'Riders on the Storm,' etc.)."

The DJ rose to the challenge, crafting seven beats sampled mainly from lesser-known Doors songs such as "Wild Child" and "Yes, the River Knows." While the EP's final track, "Icy Refreshers," samples from the band's famous cover of Brecht-Weill's "Alabama Song," only astute listeners will recognize the bits taken from it.

According to The Doze Project's Bandcamp notes, Oso Negro sought to "[integrate] his world view with flashes of the music he relied on so heavily as a youth, while working to respect the original context in which The Doors were created and existed."

The EP's lyrics reflect the rapper's desire to blend his own point of view with the songs' original meanings. For example, "Icy Refresher's" critique of people getting drunk to forget their troubles ("Imbibed for a respite from pressures / Usually self-imposed, but whatever") echoes "Alabama Song's" lament for more whiskey bars and little girls. "U.S. 2.0" decries drone warfare and domestic surveillance over a sample from the anti-Vietnam song "The Unknown Soldier."

"I see you seeing the scene in a singular light," Oso Negro raps on "Vilde Khaye," "but gotta surpass, the grass is greener, beat that chest and keep on fightin'."

If Jim Morrison had heard this, he might have told the rapper, "Break on through to the other side." - Boise Weekly

You’ve never heard anything like this. Oso creates a new niche in music with his mixture of rap, reggae and electronic music. - Arbiter Online (Boise State's Independent Student Media)

Oso Negro | The Reef | 10:25pm | 21+

The melodic rhymes of Oso Negro are not easily compared to many other hip-hop outfits out there today. Oso Negro focuses on an array of topics varying from politics to inspiration. The beats are constructed of drum machines, synth, looping and various other digital tools that provide a complementary backbone to Oso Negro’s lyrics. He’ll be performing at The Reef on Thursday, which is bursting with fantastic hip-hop talent all night long alongside the likes of B. Dolan and Sage Francis, and Oso’s side project gLORIOUS pOP. - http://www.ssgmusic.com (Seattle, WA)

This week we have a track from Treasure Valley emcee, Oso Negro, featuring sick instrumentals from Owlright. - http://www.thecotboise.com

It seems like we write about Ontario, Ore.-based rapper Oso Negro in Boise Weekly a lot. Why? Well, besides his funky rhymes, the sunuvagun seems to release albums weekly as part of his campaign to give us all carpel tunnel in the old typing-sticks.

Negro will be dropping his new collaboration with Charles Engels, the Glorious Pop EP, at Tom Grainey's Sunday, Feb. 17. And Oso Negro just made his latest, The Butchered EP, available as a free download on Bandcamp.

Check out The Butchered EP below. - http://www.boiseweekly.com

It seems like we write about Ontario, Ore.-based rapper Oso Negro in Boise Weekly a lot. Why? Well, besides his funky rhymes, the sunuvagun seems to release albums weekly as part of his campaign to give us all carpel tunnel in the old typing-sticks.

Negro will be dropping his new collaboration with Charles Engels, the Glorious Pop EP, at Tom Grainey's Sunday, Feb. 17. And Oso Negro just made his latest, The Butchered EP, available as a free download on Bandcamp.

Check out The Butchered EP below. - http://www.boiseweekly.com

[direct link to youtube video] - http://club-rap-jazz.blogspot.com (France)

...Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire – The Man in the High Castle

Nate Harmer – Hear me raw EP

Noesis – The Way Things Work

North Bronx Alliance and Aiello Wilson – The NY Kings EP

Oso Negro – Butchered EP

Paradise Beattape – 7th Chakra

Piece Of Mind – Piece of Mind

P.O.S. – We Don’t Even Live Here... - http://adra-matic.com (Belgium)

...Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire – The Man in the High Castle

Nate Harmer – Hear me raw EP

Noesis – The Way Things Work

North Bronx Alliance and Aiello Wilson – The NY Kings EP

Oso Negro – Butchered EP

Paradise Beattape – 7th Chakra

Piece Of Mind – Piece of Mind

P.O.S. – We Don’t Even Live Here... - http://adra-matic.com (Belgium)

01.Carpaccio
02.Chops
03.Tripe Life feat. Phil A.
04.Sacred Cows
[followed by direct download link] - http://bombogordo.blogspot.com

01.Carpaccio
02.Chops
03.Tripe Life feat. Phil A.
04.Sacred Cows
[followed by direct download link] - http://bombogordo.blogspot.com

01.Carpaccio
02.Chops
03.Tripe Life feat. Phil A.
04.Sacred Cows
[followed by direct download links] - http://hiphopbootleggers.us

01.Carpaccio
02.Chops
03.Tripe Life feat. Phil A.
04.Sacred Cows
[followed by direct download links] - http://hiphopbootleggers.us

01.Carpaccio
02.Chops
03.Tripe Life feat. Phil A.
04.Sacred Cows
[followed by 2 direct download links] - http://hiphopbootleggers.us

I was at a show at Nectar Lounge in Fremont, Seattle to see the homie Kublakai and his event Noisemakerfest and got to catch OSO NEGRO live as well. Dude knows about flow. I also had a chance to chop it up with him after the show. Super cool cat. One of the few that one meets and thinks immediately “this is a down to earth cat”. OSO hails from quite a few places actually but resides currently in Treasure Valley to the best I can tell from his Reverbnation page. BUTCHERED EP is his latest release and can be downloaded for the price of the time it takes to click FREE here. This is probably my favorite of out of his catalog. Produced by PHIL A., this EP is short and straight to the face with a smooth stroke of hip hop exerting seemingly little effort. I dig the nonchalance in his delivery and the excellent word usage. I have embedded my fav track of the EP called TRIPE LIFE feat the producer PHIL A. - http://hadroncollective.com

[embedded video] - http://jizzasvideos.blogspot.com/

01.Carpaccio
02.Chops
03.Tripe Life feat. Phil A.
04.Sacred Cows
Download [rapidshare .rar link] - http://hiphoprapjazz.blogspot.com/

01.Carpaccio
02.Chops
03.Tripe Life feat. Phil A.
04.Sacred Cows
Download [rapidshare .rar link] - http://hiphoprapjazz.blogspot.com/

Check out Oso Nergo's EP "Butchered EP" produced by Phil A. - agirlandherhiphop.com

Free Hip-Hop albums and Videos, the albums coming mainly from bandcamp so don't be cheap and spend some bucks if there is the option!!
[contains a direct link to the BUTCHERED EP bandcamp page] - http://onlydahotshit.blogspot.com

[direct link to the "Carpaccio" video on the page. "Carpaccio" video is featured for a 10-day run on the homepage in November] - undergroundhiphopblog.com

Ill track sent over to me featuring Skull Control's Wake Self. The track also features Oso Negro out of Oregon, and Sleepy J out of Memphis. Press play and cop that. - AlbuquerqueHipHop.com

Local-ish rapper (from Ontario, Ore.) Oso Negro has continued his pathological workaholism and dropped yet another new collection on the Internet—the Butchered EP, which he made with Las Vegas producer Phil A.

The four-track EP was released direct to the Web as a free download via Bandcamp.

There will be a release show at The Shredder Sunday, Oct. 7. That show will feature Oso Negro, Eerieverse and more. The release show starts at 7:30 p.m. and costs $6. Until then, you'll have to get by with the artist's new video from the EP's second track, Chops. - BoiseWeekly.com

Prolific local-ish rapper Oso Negro has dropped yet another new album on the net. This one, Nick B. Presents, is a collaboration between Oso Negro and approximately everyone else in the world of underground hip-hop. It features beats by Nick B. and verses from a rogues' gallery of Boise artists like Exit Prose, Dedicated Servers and P-Dirt, as well as other artists from all over the West. The album is available as a $7 download at osonegro.bandcamp.com and will make your head bounce like you're spending a night at the Roxbury. - Boise Weekly

"On stage, Oso Negro dropped rhymes over bass-heavy tracks by DJ Toe, the crowd waving their arms in the air for the South African-born rapper who now calls the Treasure Valley home. Judging by their cheers, Oso was oh-so well-received." - http://www.boiseweekly.com

"Carrot and Ginger soup is best served with something intense and raw. These two descriptors remind me of new tracks from Oso Negro & DJ Toe and Levi Bazilio. While New Yorkers were standing around watching the ball drop Oso Negro (first posted here) was busy preparing to drop something else. He and DJ Toe joined forces to welcome 2012 with a seven track album Meta-Static. You can get the album for free from his bandcamp page. The stand out track is “Strive” because of its positive lyrics pressing you to go out and do something creative. Oso spits them over a bed of music that evokes a showdown at noon, the day after the apocalypse, with metallic carnage all around. He’s giving you a choice. Follow the words or end up like the music, wishing you had done something else in your life. It is a New Year…what better time to strive than now?" - Write.Click.Cook.Listen

"Oso Negro a veteran in the hip hop scene in Idaho but with roots embedded in the dirty south of Mississippi, has made a name for himself these past decade or so. The Good Call Sport & Grill show was my first exposure to an artist who has passion for all he spits infront of no matter the size of the crowd. Gracing us with the sound of “Out The System” I have been excited with the continuation of the collaboration of DJ Toe and Oso Negro. They made my New Year by dropping the brand new project “Meta-Static“. I been playing these Toe-Jams all day and can’t wait to hear what The Black Bear has to offer next. Go check out ‘Can You Feel ‘ and then pick up “Meta-Static”." - Areuawake (blog- Portland, OR)

....Other currently active Boise bands you should know about (in no particular order, and this is most definitely not comprehensive): Shades, Art Fad, TEENS, Uzala, Le Fleur, A Seasonal Disguise, Mozam Beaks, Dark Swallows, The Very Most, Junior Rocket Scientist, Microbabies, Storie Grubb & the Holy Wars, Brett Netson Band, Red Hands Black Feet, Mickey the Jump, Fauxbois, Grandma Kelsey, Hypno Safari, the Dirty Moogs, How's Your Family?, With Child, Range Life, Neo Tundra Cowboy, the Maladroids, Matt Hopper & the Roman Candles, Jumping Sharks, Low-Fi, Thomas Paul, Oso Negro, Dedicated Servers, and Curtis Plum. - Seattle Weekly blogs

The LIST: How'd you get into Music?
Oso Negro: I was born in South Africa, moved to Canada as a baby, grew up near Cincy, went to college near Chicago, attended grad school in Mississippi, and moved to the Oregon-Idaho border about 5 years ago. While studying science at Ole Miss, I took on a weekend job as doorman for Two Stick, a sushi bar/music venue. One of their sushi chefs was also a DJ. At an afterparty where he was spinning I started rapping a song I'd written. I'd been freestyling out and about for a while, but this was one of my first constructed songs. Little did I realize that he and another musician in town were forming a band, and they asked me to front it. So I started emceeing with a Southern-funk-electro-hip-hop band called New Madrid Click. I'd grown up with some piano lessons, and had sung in school choirs from middle school through the beginning of college, messed around on the guitar a bit, but this was my first real experience with a band or hip-hop. Eventually the band dissipated, but I started learning to make beats and kept emceeing. Since vocals are where my heart's at, I've left the beat-making to others.

The LIST: Who are some of your influences?
Oso Negro: During high school I mostly listened to classic rock. I was addicted to the Doors and loved The Who as well. Janes Addiction was killing it too, though. Back then my homie Jason and I would go to school bumping Special Ed in his Datson. And of course I'd catch YO! Mtv Raps. At college I went from listening to a lot of acoustic stuff like CSNY, and Simon & Garfunkel, to getting in to Marley. Then Wu-Tang dropped, and Outkast and Goodie Mob debuted, and I got more into Pac. That changed everything. After getting to Mississippi I discovered Company Flow and Rawkus records, and then Definitive Jux was formed and I became a fan of their artists and really respected how El-P was running stuff. Hiero was a big influence too; smart as hell w/ incredible patterns. Each of these musical entities created their own mythology, which made me curious about their pools of ideas. It drew me in. At times they communicated abstractly and esoterically, and that content made me think and freely associate. Often I would project my own images onto whatever the hell they were talking about, and it was stimulating. That's something I work to accomplish in my songs. In addition to these artists, I became interested in unraveling some of the strange events and influences around and discovered Charles Hoy Fort, who catalogued all sorts of early recorded paranormal activities, and Alex Jones and Myron Fagan, who attempted to provide an alternate framework through which to view history, politics, and culture.

The LIST: What have you been up to recently?
Oso Negro: Lately I've been traveling to mostly snowy towns for gigs: Bozeman, Park City, Salt Lake City, Mt. Shasta, and (non-snowy) Las Vegas. This May I'll be playing at the Boise Spring Hip-Hop Festival and an urban arts festival in Salt Lake City. This June I will be participating in Alive After 5, the annual downtown summer-concert series held in Boise. The "Boise Weekly" recently featured me in a video interview interwoven with footage from a recent performance. I've had some radio play online in Boston, and will have some spins on BMP Pirate Radio out of Utah. Some of my music is being used in videos by sports companies- Shasta Boyz Productions (kayak) in Mt. Shasta, and Stance Industries (snowboard/ ski) in Park City.

The LIST: What do you bring to the industry?
Oso Negro: Fortunately for me I stopped seeking a lot of hip-hop before this later wave moved in. I am not influenced by many things some current folks are. Everything from Kanye to Atmosphere, I've pretty much ignored. As I began to construct my own sound, I isolated myself more and more from most widely distributed hip-hop. During that shift from consumer to producer I decided to purify my palate, and turned to classical music as the perfect alternative. I think it's helped me clarify some of the complex rap patterns I throw out, as well as heightened the melodic features of my hooks that I work to craft. All subconsciously; it truly stimulates the brain. Also, music is more of a second career for me. I didn't run through the hip-hop scene as a youth, or teen-ager, so I got to develop my sense of self and flavor without extended battle-rap sessions, bravado rap construction, or influence by a crew. At times, my content is actually more reflective, metaphysical, and reggae-like than hip-hop, although my flows are hardcore emceeing. I have tried to marry almost poppy-romantic singing hooks with in-your-face examining and philosophical lyrics.

The LIST: What's next for Oso Negro?
Oso Negro: Generate as much quality music as possible! Currently I am in various stages of completion on two projects. The first is sort of a follow up to Out The System (2009), in that all beats are produced by DJ Toe, from Memphis, TN. The second i - http://www.thelistmag.biz [San Diego, CA]

Boise Weekly recently had a chance to catch up with one of Boise’s premier MCs, Oso Negro, who has released two albums: Magnified and Out The System.

In a quest to expand his loyal fan base, Oso Negro—which means “black bear” in Spanish—does a number of shows around Boise and in the Payette area, and he has developed quite a buzz as a fan favorite from the way he rocks the mic.

[THIS IS A VIDEO INTERVIEW] - Boise Weekly

The good times stayed in tact for Oregonian rapper Oso Negro. The dude looked more like a sound tech than a rapper, but that didn’t prevent him from opening with a song that felt oddly like Atmosphere’s “God’s Bathroom Floor.” Maybe not in content, but in the sense that you could probably have sex to it and not be asked to turn it off. We’re dubbing it “that smoothness." - LasVegasCityLife.com

The good times stayed in tact for Oregonian rapper Oso Negro. The dude looked more like a sound tech than a rapper, but that didn’t prevent him from opening with a song that felt oddly like Atmosphere’s “God’s Bathroom Floor.” Maybe not in content, but in the sense that you could probably have sex to it and not be asked to turn it off. We’re dubbing it “that smoothness." - LasVegasCityLife.com

...Out the System is his best work yet. With interesting beat production by DJ Toe, Out the System is a slammin’ modern reincarnation of the Black Bear at his best. The album is presented in a mixtape style with DJ Nick B., seamlessly intertwining the tracks together for a continuous 45-minute brain feast. Check it out and check him out. - The Local Voice (Oxford, MS)

...Out the System is his best work yet. With interesting beat production by DJ Toe, Out the System is a slammin’ modern reincarnation of the Black Bear at his best. The album is presented in a mixtape style with DJ Nick B., seamlessly intertwining the tracks together for a continuous 45-minute brain feast. Check it out and check him out. - The Local Voice (Oxford, MS)