Wise men stay calm.

That’s Osamede Ogbeide’s mantra for 2015, one he coined himself. Ogbeide, an undeclared sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences on the pre-med track, goes by the stage name ose.

ose. is a shortened form of Ogbeide’s first name. He intentionally made its letters lowercase because it “signifies humility” and said it is representative of his music.

“My music is very authentic. This album is like a memoir,” Ogbeide said. “Everything is like a first-hand account of things that have happened to me — it’s all very real. My album is like creative non-fiction from a literary standpoint. That kind of reflects on my artist name, ose. — it’s short and easy, but it’s still real.”

ose. has produced beats for several years but has been rapping for only a year. His first album, “Upstate,” is set to release on March 10. His first single, “Transparent,” was released Sunday, Feb. 22.

ose. began writing content for “Upstate” last March, before he knew he was writing with the intent of making an album. ose., who is from California, wrote the bulk of the album last summer, with the purpose of bringing a “California summer to a Syracuse winter.”

Last semester, ose. began recording “Upstate” with the help of senior music industry major Jon Kane, who helped coproduce the album. Kane is also ose.’s manager, and said that part of what makes ose. a unique performer is that he blends rapping in his verses with soulful melodic hooks.

“He has a bigger vision than just the recording itself,” Kane said. “He wants it to be a full-on artistic endeavor rather than just an album he’s making. This is his life, his music is his life, and basically he wants to be a full-on artist in every sense of the word, which I think is really admirable.”

ose. had originally recorded demos at his home in California, but remastered and recorded them on campus. Kane and ose. have recorded at several studios around campus.

ose. described “Upstate” as a hip-hop album with “a melting pot of a lot of different sounds.” The album incorporates African drums as well as rock and indie influences. ose. brought in Will Taggart, a sophomore in the Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries, to provide guitar for two songs on the album.

“He’s a really cool guy to work with. He has a very clear idea of what he’s trying to go for most of the time,” Taggart said.

Taggart added that working with ose. was a unique experience because of his artistic style.

“He has an undeniable flow. That is just the bottom line — he has a really interesting way of phrasing words and his rhymes don’t sound forced,” Taggart said. “They’re always really natural and his beat productions are really interesting. He uses samples very wisely.”

ose. recently performed at Syracuse University Recordings’ OMG Showcase on Feb. 20 in Schine. He said he will be performing at Cornell University in March and at various parties on campus this semester.

A self-described shy person, ose. said a lot of his inspiration comes from observing other people.

“I don’t really like talking a lot. Coming up, I was very quiet, I was very shy,” ose. said. “I’ve never really been able to represent myself the way I wanted to be represented because I was too shy to speak. This music was a way for me to see who I really was and a way for me to show people my intelligence.”

Because he is shy, ose. said performing can be nerve-racking but that he becomes a “different person” on stage.

“It’s a very freeing experience because it’s just about that moment, seeing the crowd respond directly to what you’re doing,” ose. said. “I don’t get shy once I’m on stage — once I’m up there it’s game time.”

ose.’s music is available on SoundCloud, and fans can connect with him on his Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

As an artist, ose. said his experience recording “Upstate” allowed him to grow, but added that he doesn’t want to limit himself by labeling his music.

“I really like creating,” ose. said. “I don’t want to limit it to the box of calling me strictly a rapper or a producer. I think my creativity stretches beyond those boundaries.”

Published on February 24, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Isha: idamle@syr.edu