ORILA, formerly known as Clarke Kent is in a word relevant. His music inspired by the life that chose him which translates into content and mannerisms that are relatable to the lives of his listeners. Better known as O, ORILA has been influenced by music of all genres, and began writing songs to pass time during incarcerations. O has evolved into a seasoned hip hop recording artist, who has recorded over 150 songs and performed at numerous venues in his home town of Milwaukee. ORILA combines a powerful delivery with originally clever lyrics and subject matter that reflects the urban culture which is embedded in his soul. Below is a short interview which captures some of the unique insights of the artist ORILA.
RB: What do you feel the challenges are being from a small market like Milwaukee?
O: Milwaukee artists are mostly judged based off a few impressions left by artists who know how to market. A lot of times it seems the good marketing type most them is marketing some bull shit. So it creates a road block trying to reach listeners cause they thinking shit im not going to waste my time hearing you, cause the last 3 people I heard locally wasted 4 minutes of my life, each, and we was friends, after that ho ass shit giving me that CD we aint cool no more. Even though it aint never that dramatic people think your wasting there time and well marketed bull shit is partially to blame. You have to think of creative ways to market your self to separate what you do from the lames, otherwise it can be hard to get people to listen to shit even if its free. Aside from Milwaukee not having good industry resources the biggest challenge is marketing, but reguardless where u from if you going hard . enough I believe eventually you gon get where you want to be.
RB:What makes a good song?
O: I heard from somewhere that people listen to music because they like the way it makes them feel. It seems obvious but that’s where it start, and I think a song can make you feel a certain way based off of the music itself, and the rhythem of the artist, how relateable the content of the song is to that persons expierences, or by saying something in a way its never been said before. I found if you be on real shit, you tend to write and deliver sounding like you be on some real shit, and people can feel that, and when it aint there you can’t hide it.
RB:What do you think needs to take place for Milwaukee to have a bigger role in the music industry?
O: In my mind the culture of the cities got to change. The attitude of the GP in Milwaukee is nobody wants to see anybody do anything unless they do it first, and another good share of people is followers. So it comes down to too many chiefs not enough Indians, and if you aint already established outside of Milwaukee a lot of people don’t want to give you the benefit of the doubt to support what your doing. In order for Milwaukee to be a bigger part of the industry you need to change the climate of the culture.
(Continued) O: To do that you need an artist that’s consistent, and can become established nationally so the follower crowd is told that there are some very talented individuals who bout business right where there at and I think that’ll open up their minds. From there that artist will need to set up a record label of the most talented and unique artists in the city and get it to the streets using his/her name to get the initial response and the consistency and quality of the music to keep their attention.
RB:Is that your plan to do it independently or are you looking for a major label?
O: I intend to build from the ground up and put a team together because I believe thats the only way sure way to get me where I want to be, but if any label major or otherwise was interested in putting some effort and some money into what im doing id probally fuck with em without thinking twice about it.
RB:Aren’t you worried you could sign a bad deal?
O: Bottom line the goal is to make money off of music and any help I can get on getting my brand out there is going to lead to opportunities to make money.
RB:Are you worried given that your race and the type of music that you make some people wont take you seriously?
O: 9 times out of 10 reals gon recognize real and anybody meet me know im bout mine. If somebody don’t that don’t matter either cause im a still do me. I don’t live my life worried about what the next man thinks cause I decide how I live and what I like. I stand on who I am, and I know there aint a single person on this earth who can prove me otherwise. Im O and im a still be that when they get through talking cause I know they can’t do nothing to me outside of running there dick suckers.
RB:Where do you see yourself being in the next 5 to 10 years?
O: Back to prison, shot, or greatest rapper ever.
RB:Why did you change your artist name?
O: The Clarke Kent name symbolically was meaningful in a few ways. One I felt like even though some people see just a man at first take, I feel like im capable of great things. Until you get a chance to be around me I could be just any body if you don’t know no better. I changed the name for a few reasons. One my initial O has came to represent me, as a person. In the last year or two my music has become the spitting image of who I am so I needed a name that was more personal. Also if you google Clarke Kent im not near the top for results, but if you google ORILA my shits on top of the list. Im strong with this rap shit, like gorilla. I keep a G or better in my pocket and im always holding Ls so im good as just ORILA. (Continued) O: Really though if not for the amount of shit associated with my birth name (Orion) that was my first choice, but I wanted to make sure if someone was looking for my material it wouldn’t be hard for them to find me.
RB:What can your fans expect from you?
O: It’s hard to say what can be expected of me musically because im always looking to add new elements to my game. One thing that doesn’t change is my content. I’m always going to have real life shit and creative lyrics. My delivery will always evolve because I don’t believe in just doing one thing, I like to experiment and learn shit that makes me a better artist. I pick a lot of shit up working with other artists, cause when I see something somebody does well, I give the credit where its due, and I learn how I can incorporate the concept into my music. I don’t believe theres a ceiling on how good you can be, even with music, im always looking for a way to improve the product. Running out of material I don’t think is an option for me cause I always feel like my next songs my best song.
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