Omaur Bliss - Omaur Bliss
ARTIST.....: Omaur Bliss
TITLE......: Omaur Bliss
LABEL......: Self-Released
URL........: www.myspace.com/omaurbliss
RIP DATE...: Dec-16-2006
STORE DATE.: Oct-00-2006
GENRE......: Hip-Hop
QUALITY....: VBR / 44.1Hz / Joint-Stereo
SIZE.......: 60,1 MB
Track Listing:
01 - Better In Time 02:02
02 - Yeah 02:39
03 - Remember The Time 02:49
04 - Summatime 03:48
05 - Santana 01:21
06 - Basementality 03:08
07 - Good Times 04:05
08 - Hold On 03:46
09 - I'm Sorry 03:51
10 - Long 4 U 03:21
11 - I'm A Baritone Myself 01:18
12 - Surgeon General 02:11
13 - Fabulous 01:21
14 - Smorgasbord 02:43
15 - What Does It Take 02:57
16 - Tom Waits 4 An Afgan 01:17
17 - No Sugar 03:28
─────
46:05 min
Release Notes:
A lot of rappers in the Twin Cities hip-hop scene will admit their
songs are like pages ripped from their own lives. Many touch on
the danger and difficulty of life on the streets. Perseverance in
the face of struggle is a common theme. But few have emerged from
such hardships with as much optimism and hope as Minneapolis
rapper Omaur Bliss.
Omaur Bliss's latest CD opens with haunting voice. It's a woman,
being asked by Bliss to retrace her migration from Gary, Indiana,
where she lived as a poor, jobless teenager, to St. Paul, where
she became a single mother.
She sounds tired and a little sad, but she's also resolute.
The woman is Bliss' mother.
To the extent that Omaur Bliss' songs are about rising above and
eventually escaping the mean streets of St. Paul's East Side, they
owe a lot to his mom.
He's the first to acknowledge that when asked to describe her:
"Strong woman," he says. "Always was in my corner with whatever I
wanted to do. And never hesitated to tell me that she loved me,
and never hestitated to lay the smackdown if needed."
The stories of Omaur Bliss' childhood might apply to many who grew
up poor and black in one of St. Paul's roughest neighborhoods.
Bliss dabbled in gangs, broke the law, and saw several of his
friends get shot or go to jail. At the same time, he played
sports, was in student government and got involved in theater.
Perhaps it's the way Bliss internalized his struggles on the
street that distinguishes him.
"There's a lot of stuff that happens to your friends that really
gives you this 'choice' outlook," says Bliss. "You make good
choices, things happen. The bad choices can take you out."
When Bliss graduated from high school, he decided to put off
college and further explore his artistic side. He experimented
with spoken word and went to every open mic night he could find.
Eventually his verse turned into raps.
There's a definite vibe Bliss is going for in many of his songs.
He says he wants them to sound like 60s or early 70s soul tunes
with an avant-garde twist. He employs drum machines, live
musicians and, quite frequently, three- and four-part harmonies.
His rhymes aren't as confessional as those of some rappers in
town, nor are they as overtly political as others.
Steve McPherson, music editor at Pulse Weekly in Minneapolis,
calls Bliss' approach "all-encompassing," finding that it
incorporates new soul, hip-hop and elements of jazz.
McPherson says he's also struck by how uplifting Bliss's songs
are, which is not necessarily what people expect from rap music.
They remind him of a purpose behind another vital musical
tradition, the blues.
"People forget that things like blues aren't depressing,"
McPherson says. "It's about getting rid of your troubles. It's
about recognizing that there are problems in the world, but then
getting past it with creative endeavor. And he's taking that
aspect on, which is fantastic."
Omaur Bliss' career seems to be picking up steam. He's toured many
parts of the country and has performed with acts from two
nationally known Twin Cities hip-hop aggregations, Rhyme Sayers
Entertainment and Doomtree.
Despite a hard upbringing, he's managed to develop a sort of "eyes
on the prize" philosophy that comes through in his music.
"Life is basically training," Bliss asserts. "We're training
ourselves how to be whatever we want to be. And in training no one
comes in the job knowing everything. You're gonna mess up. You're
gonna maybe forget how to do this or that or have setback after
setback, but the point is, you're going toward a bigger goal, and
as long as you can see the good parts of it, then you can make
it." (www.mpr.org)
With influences ranging from De La Soul to Bjork to Stevie Wonder,
all of which shine through on all his music, Omaur's eclectic
style of music should come as no surprise. Neither should his
impressive resume, which includes tours and performances with the
likes of Sage Francis, Slug of Atmosphere, Doomtree, Kool Keith,
The Poet Tree and being a founding member of Medida.
Although rooted in hip-hop, the record reaches in to Omaur's
diverse range of musical influences: Soul, Spoken Word, Drum 'N
Bass, Jazz---if there's not SOMETHING you like on this record,
then you need to get out more.
Featuring appearances from members of Vertiform, Doomtree, Medida,
Leroy Smokes, and many others.
Produced by Omaur Bliss and Ronin
(winner of the 2005 Celebration of Hip-Hop Production Battle ---
www.myspace.com/roninaudio).
For more information about the CD contact Omaur Bliss at
omaurbliss@gmail.com