While the eclecticism of his debut album The Find won him many fans, Watts Happening pushes the envelope to reveal even more about MC/producer Ohmega Watts and continues to challenge the expectations of what a rap album could be. The record includes collaborations with lauded Philly-based MC/producer Jneiro Jarel and up n’coming Brazilian vocalist Tita Lima who appears on the DJ-friendly Brazilian-tinged excursion “Adaptacao.” Watts wrote “Are You Satisfied” for Bay Area blues n’funkstress, and one of James Brown’s favorite female vocalists Sugarpie Desanto, inspired by recent losses she suffered in a tragic fire at her Oakland home. London instrumentalist, and label mate, Shawn Lee also provides some key sounds from his over-stocked studio. The album includes features from favorite Watts cohorts like the Lightheaded crew, Triple Grip and Theory Hazit.
Ohmega Watts has a wide-eyed, all-encompassing, set of musical influences that range from the more obvious soul and funk tunes, to being a big fan of Stereolab and Broadcast, psychedelic Brazilian sounds, to music by UK producers like Quantic and Mr Scruff. As such Watts Happening follows on from his debut album, The Find, exploring and presenting a multitude of beats, rhythms, and styles. With The Find he threaded these sounds together for the first time and his popularity grew organically from a virtually-unknown MC to one who has performed all over the USA including dates like Lollapalooza and Bumbershoot with Lyrics Born and The Greyboy Allstars. He has headlined the MusicFest NW show, and played dates with Breakestra, The Coup, Lifesavas, De La Soul, Blackalicious, RJD2, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Masta Killa, and Count Bass D. In addition he has toured throughout Europe and Japan.
Rolling Stone described his album as being full of “Funky soul and razor-sharp dance-floor cuts,” and continued, “this is hip-hop that everyone – not just fans of the genre – can enjoy". Cutting edge UK mag Dazed & Confused described him as “One of the freshest talents to have emerged out of hip-hop's leftfield in the last five years.” And The Source added, “Ohmega takes it back to when it was only about beats and rhymes, when Jam Master Jay was more than a memory and the culture had harmony."
Since recording The Find he has appeared on records by Galactic, Shawn Lee, Quantic, Connie Price and the Keystones, and Australian act The Bamboos.
On Watts Happening there’s a handful of party-pleasing dance-floor fillers in all different shapes and sizes including the hard-hitting Afrobeat drum-powered “The Platypus Strut” which was made with a cast of musicians from the red-hot LA funk and soul scene like Miles Tackett on guitar (Breakestra) and Todd Simon on horns and flute (The Lions, Connie Price, Antibalas etc). The space-funk of “Work For Wealth” featuring fellow-Portland-based musicians Ragen and Barry of Triple Grip, and rap cuts like “Eyes and Ears” and “Triple Double” will also keep the DJs happy. There are also mellow or thought-provoking tunes like “No Delay,” inspired by the movies Born Into Brothels and Boys of Baraka, “Found” addressing a Watts’ religious transformations and “Gone With The Wind” which opens with a tasty jazz drum lick.
+ CD includes a vocal AND an instrumental disc.
+ Making of & music video from the album to air in the weeks before release date.
+ Ohmega Watts podcast on iTunes to air in October
TRACK LISTING
01. What's It Worth
02. Triple Double Feat. Theory Hazit
03. No Delay Feat. Surreal of the Sound Providers
04. Shorty Shouts
05. Model Citizen
06. Few and Far Between
07. Eyes and Ears Feat. Jneiro Jarel of Shape of Broad Minds
08. Roc the Bells Feat. Lightheaded
09. Adaptacao Feat. Tita Lima
10. Saywhayusay
11. Are You Satisfied Feat. Sugar Pie DeSanto
12. Dedicated
13. Memory Lane Feat. Genahral Victor
14. Found
15. Work for Wealth Feat. Ragen Fykes and Barry Hampton of Triple Grip
16. The Platypus Strut
17. Freak Out
18. Gone with the Wind
TOUR DATES
OCT 05 2007
@ Raw Sushi and Island Grill
523 E. First Ave.
Spokane, Washington
$8.00 / All Ages
OCT 06 2007
@ Nectar
412 N. 36th St.
Seattle, Washington
www.nectarlounge.com
OCT 10 2007
@ Doug Fir Lounge
890 E Burnside
Portland, Oregon
$10 / 21+
www.dougfirlounge.com
EUROPE DATES / with Theory Hazit and Braille of Lightheaded*
OCT 12 2007
@ Hof Ter Lo
w/ De La Soul
Antwerp, Belguim
OCT 13 2007
@ La Maroquinerie
Paris, France
OCT 16 2007
@ Tuesday Club
Sheffield, UK
OCT 18 2007
@ Rira
Dublin, Ireland
OCT 20 2007
@ Cargo
London, UK
OCT 22 2007*
@ Bar Guru
Athens, Greece
OCT 24 2007*
@ TBA
Heidelburg, Karlstorbahnhof
OCT 25 2007*
@ Mekker Club
Baden, Switzerland
OCT 27 2007*
@ Rote Fabrik
Zurich, Switzerland
OCT 28 2007*
@ Stadgarten
Cologne, Germany
OCT 29 2007*
@ Ampere
Munich, Germany
OCT 30 2007*
@ 103 Club
Berlin, Germany
OCT 31 2007
@ Caberat Aleatoire (Ohmega & Theory only w/ Hocus Pocus)
Marseille, France
NOV 1 2007
@ Paradiso (Ohmega & Theory only)
Amsterdam, Holland
AUSTRALIA DATES : NOV 23
@ The Espy
Melbourne
NOV 24
@ Oxford Art Factory
Sydney
NOV 29
@ The Step Inn
Brisbane
NOV 30
@ Rosemount
Perth
DEC 1
@ Rockit Bar
Adelaide
US DATES:
NOV 06 2007
@ Mac's Bar
2700 E Michigan Ave
Lansing, Michigan
$7 / 18+
www.macsbar.com
NOV 07 2007
@ The Jazz Kitchen
5377 N College Ave
Indianapolis, Indiana
21+
www.thejazzkitchen.com
NOV 09 2007
@ Darkroom
2210 W. Chicago Ave.
Chicago, Illinois
$10 / 21+
www.darkroombar.com
NOV 10 2007
@ The Dinkeytowner Cafe
412 1/2 14th Ave SE
Minneapolis, Minnesota
$5 / 18+
www.tenthousandbreaks.com
NOV 14 2007
@ Chasers Nightclub
8005 E Roosevelt St.
Scottsdale, Arizona
www.chaserslive.com
