Interview: I Am Hip Hop Meet OptiMystic (@optimystic_mc)

By Adam KG • On Interviews , , , ,

optimystic

Under­ground emcee Opti­Mys­tic has been work­ing hard towards his latest hip hop pro­ject, the ‘Day of the Guid­ing Light’ album. Most def­in­itely no stranger to the music scene, Opti­Mys­tic has been mani­fest­ing dreams, mak­ing con­nec­tions and spread­ing his vibe the only way he knows how… with raw love and hard­core pos­it­iv­ity! His pas­sion and extreme addic­tion to the art of rap has lead him on an amaz­ing jour­ney from child­hood to the present moment.

Opti­Mys­tic released his debut solo album in 2005, ‘ReVamp’, an inde­pend­ent release that fea­tured Grammy award-win­ning super­star and all-round good fella ‘Speech’ from Arres­ted Devel­op­ment as well as artists such as Maya Jupiter, N’Fa (1200 Tech­niques), Big Village’s ‘Reverse Polar­it­ies’ and Halfcast.

The huge forth­com­ing double album ‘Day of The Guid­ing Light’, has seen Opti­Mys­tic go fur­ther, to work with even more artists. The album brings on an arsen­al of inter­na­tion­al col­lab­or­a­tions includ­ing New York’s Affi­cial Nas­tee heavy­weights ONYX, Keith Mur­ray (Def Squad) Krazy Drayz (Das EFX), Mr Cheeks (The Lost Boyz), Rock­ness Mon­sta (Hel­tah Skel­tah), Chip-Fu (Fu-Schnick­ens), Doitall (Lords of The Under­ground), Afu-Ra, Jeru the Dam­aja, Big Shug (Gang Starr Found­a­tion) and more!

The album fea­tures pro­duc­tion by pro­du­cers such as Daza­s­tah (Down­syde), Creed Birch, Rob Shaker, Loftee Beats, Wisdom2th and Sipn. Already Opti­Mys­tic has released music videos from this upcom­ing album on his you­tube chan­nel and web­site, includ­ing tracks such as ‘Fear­less’ and ‘Rock On All Levels’ shot in Brook­lyn, Browns­ville and Queens star­ring Afu-Ra, Doitall, Chip-Fu, Rock­ness Mon­sta and Mr Cheeks. Plus videos for ‘Exquis­ite’, ‘Sick Az It Gets’, ‘Mon­ster Stomp’ and ‘Chosen Sac­ri­fice’. And there’s more in the pipeline includ­ing ‘Spit That Shit’ shot in Times Square with Keith Mur­ray and ‘Madd Rush’ with Onyx.

With strictly hip hop vibra­tions pulsat­ing through­out the album, Opti­Mys­tic spits, rips and kicks a range of flows with vari­ety and pas­sion. This con­scious style rhymer deliv­ers top­ics of love, death, addic­tions, the great unknown, and just straight up hav­ing fun on the mic. OptiMystic’s love knows no bound­ar­ies! So be pre­pared and stay aware, for if there ever was a time for this MC to be unearthed to the masses… it’s now!

Your latest double album fea­tures a light and dark side, what come easi­er to you ?

It depends on the mood I am in, or the vibe of the beat that I am writ­ing to. Some­times I write early morn­ings when I feel fresh and ener­gized and some­times late in the middle of the night. It seems to be a bal­ance of the two.

Who are your biggest sup­port­ers ?

Mostly people that love and appre­ci­ate good hip hop that see the effort and heart I put into my music, but there are sup­port­ers of all sorts from dif­fer­ent walks of life, diversity is key… plus my mum thinks I’m cool, haha.

What inspired your name ?

My name came about from being a pos­it­ive energy per­son, no time for the bull­shit and neg­at­iv­ity , stay focused and enjoy the moments you have in this life, and spread the vibe.

What’s your favour­ite movie ?

I love the Evil Dead movies… and Lord of the Rings tri­logy.

You have been film­ing music videos all over the world, what’s your favour­ite loc­a­tion and why?

The video I shot with Rock­ness Mon­sta and Mr Cheeks, ‘Rock On All Levels’, we shot that on Sack­man street in Browns­ville and in a stu­dio in Queens. I think these were mem­or­able loc­a­tions because I would nev­er have vis­ited them if it wasn’t for Rock & Cheeks.

Your renowned for your high energy levels when per­form­ing and pro­mot­ing, where you get it from?

Man… energy is life ! You just need to absorb your sur­round­ings and give it back ten fold with a little twist of your own shit in the mix of it.

What are the 3 most import­ant things in your life at present?

3 most import­ant right now would have to be my fam/friends, my work and my pas­sion… hip hop ! I need all 3 of these to keep me bal­anced. ‘Oxy­gen to breathe, hip hop to live’.

Whats your favour­ite book?

I’ve read a few good books in my life, one that made a big impact was ‘Con­scious Evol­u­tion’ by Bar­bara Marx Hub­bard. Was an inter­est­ing read when I was 19.

You have worked with numer­ous artists through­out your career, who has been the greatest pres­sure to work with?

Oh man, I guess I would have to say Chip-fu. Not sure if pres­sure is the right term, but it was a little nerve wreck­ing when Chip said he would jump on board. The man has some craaaazy skills… and I didn’t want to let him down or make him regret work­ing with me.… but all turned out bet­ter than expec­ted.

Which top­ic do you find easi­est to write about?

I guess any­thing from per­son­al exper­i­ence to just hav­ing fun with word play and rock­ing the mic. Once again it really all depends on the vibe of it all… wheth­er it’s writ­ing about the death of a loved one, or about the love I have for someone or some­thing. Tim­ing is impec­cable.

 

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Adam KG

Adam KG, is con­scious Hip Hop artist hail­ing from Lon­don City whilst walk­ing the world’s pave­ments. He is inter­ested in the enter­tain­ment and media sec­tor, youth work and hol­ist­ic health.

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About Adam KG

Adam KG
Adam KG, is conscious Hip Hop artist hailing from London City whilst walking the world's pavements. He is interested in the entertainment and media sector, youth work and holistic health.