Lord OLO

I knew nothing of Seattle’s rap scene until I listened to a Lord OLO track. The transplanted Akron, Ohio native goes balls to the wall in his latest 18 track compilation. Goldenfist  opens up with “Mellontron,” a short but sweet prelude to our journey, equivalent sounding to a track that plays while the beginning credits role during a cinematic experience taking place in an antique movie theater in the 50s or 60s. Very subdued and The Sound of Music evoking, until the trap kicks in. Then you’re sailing at full speed. The lengthy compilation sweeps us into “Gold,” a 70s funk-infused, kung-fu crunchin’ couch bumpin’ apartment jam. The wordplay gets intricate and he describes the blood of all his adversaries “wining from a tall glass” and tells the police to “make love, make peace and do your job, it’s easy.” The track is defiant but creamy. Wann Sklobi did a fantastic job at arranging. The story is colorfully told.

The mid-section presents us with a tribute to one of music’s greatest legends, James Brown. While the flutes and horns join together in unison, we are taken through the neighborhoods of Lord OLO and the past he’s conceded to but has proven him resourceful. “Stayed on the mission now we’re on to the pay route” he raps over a melodic backdrop. He goes on describe the beat making process when he rhymes,”The beat is now a lady, I’mma beat it like a game, squeeze tight like you maiming peace out you faded.” It’s classic hip hop story telling using the Father as Funk as comparison. The track is a slow but much-needed switch-up placed in the middle of the project.
Goldenfist ‘s penultimate track, “GBC,” brings back the symbolism in household entertainment technology that kept a young Lord OLO preoccupied, as well as serving as inspiration for some of his rap stories. Pokemon and Nintendo were really portals of communication through which the neighborhood kids could relate to each other, despite race or upbringing, Lord OLO explains in his story telling. These games were also sources of contention as every little kid wanted to be the biggest and baddest pokemon master in class. Young OLO found ways to obtain the GBC by “balling on a budget.” GBCs were hot commodities. This trading and selling of money and technology at a young age are indicative of structures set up for adulthood. Cash really rules everything around us. Money is power, and the more pokeballs you stack, the more likely you are to cash in. This grind probably followed Lord OLO into his adult career and instead of flinging pokeballs at Charizards he’s tossing records at the people who doubted him. Overall, the mood of the album is on point. It translates into many languages as an artistic procession of dancing thoughts and life experiences. - Jessica Brant

Since third grade, rapping has played the scenes in Lord OLO’s life. The Seattle-to-Ohio rapper gives all-due respect to his teacher.
“I rapped in my head until my third grade teacher one day gave me the bright idea.  We were doing a test on a book we read I was done first and asked her what should I do until everyone else is finished. She said write a story, write a book, and looked at me with wide eyes and said write a rap! So my third Grade teacher is responsible for the monster at hand.”
As we fast forward to the current time, he’s still at it, yet much better, of course. He presents his new album Goldenfirst — an enlightening album that fills the air with stories. It’s surely not an album you can get through in one listen, due to the amount of content OLO places within his lyrics.
In songs like “Sermon” [produced by Wann Sklobi], you’ll catch the influence of Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler, the Creator, and Kanye West. His production style of choice is drawn somewhere in between Mr. West and DJ Premiere. He brings the essence of hip-hop in his music, while telling his own story of what he’s witnessed. You can also hear the love he has for the music, cadence-drilling his tracks with ambitious tales and motivation. - Craig T Lee

The songwriter and performer of hip hop known as Lord Olo has released his latest LP album, “Super Pisces Robot Kingdom.” The full-length record contains 12 original tracks for an approximate total listening time of half an hour. It has been proudly published as an independent release without the involvement of the corporate music industry. Varied, colorful, stylish and aggressive, “Super Pisces Robot Kingdom” is easily one of the most inventive and entertaining hip hop records of 2017 so far.
Seattle’s Lord Olo cites as main influences Kanye West, MF DOOM, Lex Luger, Eminem, and Snoop Dogg. Of these, his overall sound lands closest to Doom’s, but Olo is an artist with a unique tone, a unique image, a unique message, and a unique delivery. His rhymes and lines sometimes recall the fundamental pioneers of rap and sometimes sound like innovations branching from hip hop artists from 2005 and later, but when his beats and backing melodies are stirred in, the result is often mysterious, enigmatic, and occasionally even mystical – in other words, unique.

This cryptic feeling is integral to the Lord Olo experience, as evidenced by comments from the man, himself.
Asked to describe the theme of “Super Pisces Robot Kingdom,” Lord Olo writes, “This work of Piscean art is to express the true Nature of myself. Inspired by my overwhelming breakdowns and depressions of 2016, I realized that my sign the Pisces is the root of my problems: Understanding more than I want and feeling more than what’s necessary. This Art piece is for anyone who thinks and feels above the modern expectation but especially molded for my water-sign friends.”
Lord Olo, originally from Akron, OH, has been crafting rhymes since third grade. 10th grade found him recording his first mixtape, “Novus,” followed by his “L O R D” full-length in grade 12. By 2016, he was ready to collaborate with Wann Sklobi on a third album, “Goldenfist.” IamtheIndustry.com wrote of the record, “While the production may be unconventional, [Lord Olo’s] flow and lyricism is not. He’s confident on the mic, delivers bars and puns, and has real talent. And even the production itself, which uses sampling, is great.”
In the end, “Super Pisces Robot Kingdom” is a chimerical monster which deserves plenty of attention. The songs average out at three minutes each so the whole album moves, and each track is a beast of a different color. Hip hop fans should definitely apply. - S. McCauly