Oh yeah, let’s take a short break from punk and heavier stuff and dive into the atmosphere of thriving life joy accompanied by New York City’s own OXYMORRONS! This alternative hip hop pack from Queens had received solid recognition for their energetic live gigs, and are currently recording their fifth record called “For Fun & Games”. They caught my attention with an insane dose of energy, live instrumentals, positive attitude and the smooth touch you’ll instantly feel once you hit the play button below.
They have recently unveiled their new music video for their melancholic track “Alone” about persevering through times when you feel there’s no one you can to turn to for help, in honor of a close friend who committed suicide. It’s a good starter for the interview below – scroll down to see what they have to say about it and a lot more different subjects.
OXYMORRONS are: Dave “D” Bellevue ad Ashmy “KI” Bellevue (mics), Omar Hernandez (decks), and Matt Mayz (drums).
Hey, fellas! So, you have a new sweet video out, huh? Who came up with the idea for this picture? Whose concept was that?
Deee:
Thanks a lot man, we appreciate that. Well, I had the idea of being alone in a room while Matty Mayz is whaling on the drums. We sat down and spoke to Jasmine Williams and she really brought the idea to life. She really captured the emotion of the song and displayed it visually for you guys to see.
Cool. Tell me more about the tough situation that helped you write the song. Do you try to raise awareness of the considerable help and supports that are available for anyone battling with themselves?
K.I.:
As musicians people expect you to be a robot or they expect your life to be always perfect. Everyone has issues, some of the most confident people that you may know are not confident in themselves at all times. One of Deee’s best friend’s and my friend as well killed himself a year ago, that really affected us. We want to raise the awareness on that fact people go through stuff all the time even with a smile on their face. Wether it’s your best friend or some guy you see each day in class. Take notice to their cries for help. For the people that are going through the issues, we want to let you know its ok to let it out and cry. We are just like you.
Behind the scenes photo by AfroPunk.
Do you have any plans to release more videos this year?
Mr. Hernandez:
Oh yes we do! We have a lot more visuals for you guys to go crazy with. Get ready for our new single which is jam packed with fun and great energy.
Great! I really love the idea of live instrumentals mixed up with hip hop. Itʼs really something that makes you wanna bounce like crazy. How did you come up with the idea for this approach?
Matty Mayz:
We we like to take a mixture of things because it gives you a infinite number of new sounds. Plus, we listen to everything so it’s just natural!
Do you happen to give shows in a traditional hip hop way, with just vocals and decks? Which way do you prefer better?
K.I.:
Well from the start of Oxy’s we always tried to blend genres. That’s our thing.
Deee:
We did shows like that before we meet Mayz but we really enjoy the live drums. We are more then hip hop so we really don’t want to just focus on one thing or one traditional way. Why not take all traditions and make it your own!
Yeah, why not, man. But when I first saw your recent comment “no one sounds like us” I thought “oh, youʼre so modest” ;) Do you believe you invented a new style ?
K.I.:
Yes and No. No idea is original, it’s all on how you do it. I believe to create something new and fresh you have to be yourself in your music, 100%. On this planet there is no other K.I. There is no other Deee, nor Mr Hernandez or Matty Mayz. So yes, I believe we created a new style because as humans we are different.
Whatʼs something you want people to take away from your music after we listen to it?
Deee:
We want people to have a great time. We want people to step into our world and truly understand who we are. We want people to be inspired to create wether it’s music or a big new project. We want the world to know there is more.
How would you compare OXYMORRONS a.d. 2013 to the rookies that started this pack 4 years ago?
Mr Hernandez:
Lol, I can say we are stronger personally and musically. We really learned how to carve our craft into exactly the way we want it. We are closer as a family and the dream seems more of a reality each day.
What was the process of coming up in the industry like? Was it a struggle to pop up in such a buzz?
K.I.:
Weʼre still very much on the come up. The industry has its ups and downs, weʼre just going to continue to work and get our message to the masses!
Ok. This is gonna be wicked :)
Visually, have you ever been mistaken for another DE LA SOUL? ;)
Matty Mayz:
Lol, that has never happened. Besides the fact that we are a group of guys that like to do music, K.I.ʻs hair is spiky, and the fact that they are from queens like the rest of guys, DE LA SOUL is different from us visually.
Haha! Fair enough. It was quite loose association ;)
Alright.. so what are you cookinʼ up next for the rest of the year? Whatʼs goinʼ on with the release of “For Fun & Games”? Who’s gonna distribute it?
Matty Mayz:
We are planning on dropping a lot of visuals for you guess to eat up. We are releasing For Fun and Games mid August and we will be hitting the road as well. So, make sure you come out and rage with us!
What can we expect to hear from that? What kind of vibe?
Deee:
Like Mr. Hernandez was saying earlier, expect a lot of energy, fun music, and a project where you really get to know who we are.
After your successful tour with GYM CLASS HEROES, arenʼt you tempted to hit the road big time? Do ya have any plans for a bigger trek this year?
K.I:
Of course we want to do more tours and plan on hitting the road again. Can’t say with who can’t say when just stay tuned and you will find out what city and state near you.
Did it ever cross your mind to visit Europe? Theyʼd love and praise you here :)
Deee:
Yes! We can’t wait to go to Europe. We really want to get to know the culture and we would love to show the sound out there. We will be out there soon so keep your ears and eyes opens.
Have you even been into punk? NYC is a perfect place to be when it comes to hardcore and hardcore-related genres. Do you go to punk shows?
K.i.:
We love punk music and if you go to a punk show in NYC you just might see us in the crowd with bow ties and whacky socks raging in the mosh pit!
Haha! Amazing :)
Whatʼs up at Queens? What’s buzzing in your area?
K.I:
Queens is great and there is a lot of great artist that are from Queens. Queens is very diverse with so many different cultures. I guess it’s the Queens in us that guided us to try and mix so many different genres. We wish Queens had more music venues to show case the artist that ate from there but all in all Queens is awesome.
Since I live in Warsaw, Iʼm curious… do you have any Polish friends around there? :)
Deee:
There are tons of Polish people in Queens let alone New York. One of the members in GEEKLiFe is half Polish. If you come out here you would kinda feel like home.
Alright, before we finish, please shoot me some dope local names to check out. Hip hop, rock, pop, whatever that makes you crazy recently.
Matty Mayz:
You can check two of our friends that are part of GEEKLiFE, Ty Budda and Khary. You can also check out our friends Game Rebellion, Check out Batsquad family (Travis McCoy‘s collective) ” AX and Tim William.
Cheers for your time, guys. Now you really made me listen your stuff. Take care!
Thank you bro. We had fun with this interview and have a smashing day!
