Oasis (O.C. and A.G. album)
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Oasis is the first collaboration album by New York rappers O.C. and A.G., both members of the D.I.T.C. crew[1]. The album was released on November 24, 2009, through a joint venture between Nature Sounds and D.I.T.C. Records, after several pushbacks dating as far back as the spring of 2008. The album was first premiered in its entirety on the duo's myspace a week before the official release[2].
Background
The thought of recording a collaborative effort between the two crew members and long timefriends started developing after A.G. and O.C. recorded their first duet, Weed & Drinks, for O.C.'s 2001 album Bon Appetit. "It was organic (to record together for the song), cause the chemistry was also so crazy" states O.C. in a HipHopDX interview with the duo[1]. "We’ve always been around each other; we’ve always been making the music together, but just not as a separate project. And we always had strong ideas like, “Yo, we should do a song like this next time we do a song.” continues AG on the originis of the project. "We felt Weed & Drinks came out real dope. A lot of feedback from that was dope and it showed the contrast of our styles and how if we meshed it together it could make a good sound. So we just went ahead and did a album. At first it started out as we just wanna do it for fun, we just wanna make it sound dope. But as it got better and more people add their production to it, the idea becomes bigger[3].
Sound
"Musically, it’s by the same producers so it’s gonna have the same type of feel. But it’s different because on the joints I think our message also sets the tone. Like, we are that last instrument. And we tried to do that intentionally on the project. It’s a lot of melodies on the project. It’s a lot of things like… We brought the best out of each other I think. Like, O brought the best out of me. I’ve learned at this stage of my game, “Oh, this is how you attack something like that when you wanna attack it with some melody…” ‘Cause I definitely know O specializes in that. So, I think we gained a lot from each other and learned when we go on and do our next project, “Oh, I could add this to my shit. This is somethin’ I learned from my cohort, my partna.” So that’s dope. And a lot of that is reflected in the music, how we feed off of each other.", says AG in abovementioned interview[3]..
Production & Guests
Oasis production is mainly handled in house in true D.I.T.C. fashion, Showbiz and Lord Finesse contribute 7 tracks added up while newcomer Erick Blaze have production duties on 8 of the 17 cuts[4].. E. Blaze previously worked with O.C. and A.G. on The Movement and Show & AG's Live Hard, both released in 2008. Guests are kept to a minimum, a female singer named Mirror Image sings the choruses on "Get Away" and "Pain" while DJ Premier lay down cuts and scratches for the 1st single, Two For The Money".
"...And I think that’s what you might hear separating it from The Movement, because this is a concentrated effort of O.C. and A.G.…more so than any other project because you hear us here and there. This is constantly us. There is no features on there. It’s just us." explains A.G. in an interview[3].
Track listing
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Oasis" | Statik Selektah | 3:08 |
| 2. | "Keep It Goin'" | E-Blaze | 4:00 |
| 3. | "Give It Back" | Lord Finesse, Davel "Bo" McKenzie | 3:26 |
| 4. | "Alpha Males" | Lord Finesse, Davel "Bo" McKenzie | 3:42 |
| 5. | "Young With Style" | Show & KC | 3:19 |
| 6. | "Every Day Life" | E-Blaze | 3:34 |
| 7. | "Think About It" | E-Blaze | 2:36 |
| 8. | "Gotta Get It" | E-Blaze | 3:31 |
| 9. | "Put It In The Box" | E-Blaze | 3:34 |
| 10. | "Boom Bap" | Show | 3:06 |
| 11. | "Reality Is" | E-Blaze | 3:02 |
| 12. | "Contagious" | E-Blaze | 3:21 |
| 13. | "Supreme Squad" | Show | 3:33 |
| 14. | "God's Gift" | E-Blaze | 3:36 |
| 15. | "Get Away" (ft. Mirror Image) | Lord Finesse, Davel "Bo" McKenzie | 5:00 |
| 16. | "Two For The Money" (cuts by DJ Premier) | Show | 2:17 |
| 17. | "Pain" (ft. Mirror Image) | Amed | 3:10 |