Hailing from the concrete slabbed hills spread throughout the Eastern bank of the Hudson River, Outasight is an emcee/vocalist putting a fresh new twist on a Yonkers sound that was once blessed by the lips of a now bronzed Ella Fitz and put to rest at night by Jada’s kiss.
Born Richard Andrew, Outasight is a cool, calm, and collected individual that carries himself with a slight, casual lean like the brick buildings wrapped around Shonnard Terrace. In video interviews, he stands complaisant and poised behind a pair of signature black Ray-Bans, equipped with a slight stoned grin that shows satisfaction with his propulsive young career. Always seen dressed to the nines, his fashion feel mirrors his music in the sense that it’s perpetually polished, perfectly ironed, and has never been worn by any other master of ceremonies.
Originality is the perfect middle name to bridge the gap between the two first names on his birth certificate. Like no one before, Outasight has united soulful-pop croons with breezeless boasts about big city dreams, life, love, and music appreciation. Every album he has released since his 2007 debut ‘Employee of the Year’ has shown immeasurable sonic growth. 2008’s ‘Radio New York‘' was the dusty, yet refined, full length record that catapulted his name onto numerous New York City marquees and endless internet posts. An album that showed his innate ability to fuse infectious hooks, melodies, and head rocking raps over jazzy gems from Dante Lewis and D/Will, as well as foreshadowed Outasight’s pop-hop hits to come.
One of 2009’s best mix tapes was the Mick Boogie commissioned, ‘From There to Here: An Album Prequel’, which served as our first glimpse at the bubbling chemistry between him and up and coming producer, 6th Sense; a musical marriage that has already birthed epic compositions such as, "Brand New Day," “When I Heard the Beat Knock,” and has elevated O’s abilities to another level.
“6th is a great producer.” Outasight told me in a recent e-mail, “What he has really helped with is making the musical landscapes behind what I do so much bigger, broader, and universal. He’s a great musician and together we are influenced by so many different types of music…the chemistry comes natural.” These comments ring loud and true on his latest free LP, ‘Further’, where amongst the guitar plucks, frantic horn stabs, and thundering drums, 6th and Outasight’s serendipitous connection shines brightest.
His new release ‘Further‘ remains an aptly titled LP, as the simple adverb explains exactly where Outasight has taken his music. While grabbing influences from a myriad of genres like: 70’s blues-rock, folk, modern pop, soul, and golden era hip hop, O has proven to new artists that the standard template for constructing a hip hop song has forever changed, the bar has been raised and standards refreshed. Growth and maturity is also accomplished on the free LP, as he toys with various styles, themes, and vocal cadences. He additionally displays surprising versatility as a musician with pristine production choices and contagious song construction.
In only a few short years, we have seen a young musician take his career further than most emcees experience in a lifetime of beats and rhymes. Outasight continues to expand hip hop horizons and expose new slivers of dawn to a genre that has been stuck in the eves of midnight for many years. Soon enough, you might want to borrow the black Ray Ban’s from O’s nose, because there is no doubt that with the release of his upcoming major label debut, ‘From Here to Eternity’, hip hop will be seeing a brand new day.
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