Creating a niche outside the shadow of his older brother Madlib, Oh No has been just as innovative while a bit less avant-garde wearing the hats of emcee and producer. Having built a reputation from the ground up through music with the likes of Murs, Strong Arm Steady and De La Soul, the more recent fusion with Alchemist as the group Gangrene further fuels his acclaim as one of today’s most exciting talents behind the boards and microphone. A small sampling of his plans for an eventful 2013, Oh No has started the year with Disrupted Ads, a conceptual release in tune with much of his material to date.
Often a rhyming beast in his own regard, Oh No uses Disrupted Ads to showcase the skills of his inner circle. Mainly a collage comprised of beats based around television commercials, the idea achieves mixed results as the guests are concerned. “Jones’s” features Stones Throw veteran MED and the lo-fi stylings of Blu, with their equally rugged female counterparts Rapsody & Psalm One stepping up to bat on “Same Shit,” proving aggressive spitting has no gender. Where the hardcore Tristate and Midaz are a perfect fit on “Punchdrunk Patterns,” unfamiliar listeners may find this and “Animals” (with Roc C and Jurassic 5’s Chali 2na together as Ron Artiste) to be off-putting and dull.
Though experimentally gifted on both of Hip Hop’s major fronts, this go round Oh No has taken on the role of a visionary in charge of operations. The project’s instrumentals include a range of intentional disarray on complex selections such as “Boom” and “Cleansing”, the jazzy “Drifters” and “The Difference” which is designed for lighting up, all reflecting his greatest asset of diversity along with the array of raps benefitting the final product. Short but sweet, Disrupted Ads chalks up another win towards Oh No’s already prolific legacy as one of the present underground’s consistently effective studio rats.
