Life has its ups and downs, peaks and valleys. On “For Better or Worse”, Kay P and OMA take a moment to reflect on those undesirable circumstances that have lead to their successful trajectories and prospects for the future.
Representing the Dallas/Fort Worth area and the world as a whole, OMA (One who May Ascend) is not your cliché rap artist. His style is – to say the least – different. With intricate lyrical content and concepts that can only be explained by some level of divine intervention, OMA has many titles, among them: leader, lyricist, martial artist, entrepreneur, underdog, and philosopher, but above all, he is a human being.
One who May Ascend’s upbringing was not that of a normal childhood. In everything from his birth name containing Arabic and Egyptian roots, to his diet, OMA was raised as a demigod, and was expected to live up to his name.
The first born son of two educated middle-class Afro-centric radicals, and offered to God in keeping with the covenant with Abraham as the first born in the family, OMA was taught the value of manners, service, appreciation, hard work, and humility, amongst others, but most importantly, the sacredness of his name. OMA kept all of these principles at heart, however it wasn’t until his early teens that OMA developed an interest in expressing his experiences and all he learned rhythmically and poetically through music – more specifically, rap.
The lasting psychological effects of OMA’s early childhood played a significant role in his thinking as a teen. OMA was often conflicted between the divine way of life he was taught, and mundane life on the day-to-day basis. He was also ostracized regularly, being labeled a “nerd” or “not black enough” for being different (and at times, more intelligent) than the other children at school. With no personalized outlet to expel this negative energy, he would constantly find himself getting in fights, behaving recklessly, or following ‘the wrong crowd’ in futile attempts to fit in a society which he shared nothing in common with. It was in one of these encounters with the wrong crowd of people where One who May Ascend discovered what was soon to become his passion.
In the beginning of his musical career, OMA was unfamiliar with rap sensations such as Tupac Shakur, Biggie, or Eminem, but after hearing an exhibition from one of the local rap artists, OMA developed a keenness for poetry in its rhythmic form. OMA saw emcees as people of struggle, people with unique life experience – not unlike his own condition – relating their stories and those experiences to the rest of the world. OMA greatly admired their skill, openness, and bravery in which they shared their lives and ideas to an imperfect world. Intrigued, the teenager delved into the world of hip-hop, and in doing so, he discovered a newfound peace which he had never known in expressing himself through his music – without limitations, and without restrictions, and for the first time, without fear.
Finding sanction in a new world of creativity, One who May Ascend’s music harbors the same essential principles instilled in him at an early age such as: perseverance, excellence, self-awareness, as well as his unpleasant personal experiences; emotions such as feeling lost, empty, and that of hopelessness, all in attempt to educate the global community of the human race’s similarities in hopes of a better tomorrow.
