"O.C."
"O.C."
Omar Credle (born in 1972 in Brooklyn, New York), known by his stage name, O.C., is an American rapper who has been involved with several renowned underground hip-hop groups and also released many solo albums.
Credle was born in Brooklyn and raised in the Bushwick section. In 1991, he made his recording debut on Organized Konfusion's "Fudge Pudge" and one year later he made a featuring on the remix of MC Serch's "Back to the Grill" (which also features a very young Nasty Nas). By 1994, he had signed with Wild Pitch Records and recorded the seminal classic Word…Life which featured his most notable single "Time's Up". The album was critically acclaimed and remains beloved in hip-hop circles.
In 1996, Credle appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, America is Dying Slowly, alongside Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan, and Fat Joe, among many other prominent hip hop artists. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as "a masterpiece" by The Source magazine.
In 1997, O.C. signed to Pay Day Records, where he released his second album Jewelz — another critically acclaimed effort that kept O.C. headed in the right direction and featured collaborations with DJ Premier, Da Beatminerz and Freddie Foxxx. The album featured the single "Far From Yours", which peaked at #81 on the Billboard Hot 100. This is O.C.'s highest charting single to date. By this time, he was a part of the underground rap act known as Diggin' in The Crates together with legends like Lord Finesse, Showbiz & A.G., Diamond D, Buckwild and Big L. In 2000 the crew released their self-titled debut album through Tommy Boy Records on which O.C. featured on the majority of the songs.
The 2001 release of Bon Appetit was met with very mixed reviews; the negative accused O.C. of selling out with a polished, shining and toned-down sound. This was although Buckwild produced the large bulk of the album with the only help coming from Lord Finesse and Ahmed (pretty much the same formula that made Word…Life a success). After the disappointing release O.C. disappeared from the scene until 2005, when he released his fourth album with Grit Records; Starchild which only dropped as a very limited Japanese/European import and was met with great acclaim. Later that year, he signed with Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings and teamed up with Bronx-native producer Mike Loe, and dropped Smoke and Mirrors.
O.C. is also known for his feature on the Clockers soundtrack as part of the Crooklyn Dodgers, which also featured rappers Chubb Rock and Jeru the Damaja on the now classic DJ Premier produced "Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers". This is however the only time the group has ever collaborated.
Right now, O.C. is collaborating with fellow D.I.T.C. member A.G. for an album entitled Oasis. The bulk of the album is produced by French beatsmith E-Blaze with additional tracks supplied by Lord Finesse, Statik Selektah and Showbiz who also acts as the executive producer of the album.