Exploring the idea of rap as a form of intellectual art, radical hip-hop artist and storyteller OTISH MENSAH releases his debut EP ‘Rap Poetics’ – a six track project challenging and breaking down the white-washed elitism of the art world.
Otis’ work reads like a stream of consciousness, documenting journeys of thought as he manoeuvres expertly throughout the project. Valuing art as a fundamental form of activism, Otis is opening up an important dialogue between himself and the ruling establishment, positioning emotional vulnerability at its core.
Lead single, ‘Grand Finale Funeral Show’ tackles the pressures of the art world – to continue to create, design and compose. Otis documents these journeys of thought with artful introspection, his experimental hip-hop rippling with themes of displacement and artistic vulnerability.
Recently making his debut book premiere with SAFE METAMORPHOSIS!!, a collection of poems and philosophical ideas exploring the voice of unspoken trauma, ‘Rap Poetics’ is a continuation of this earnest human expression, taking rap as an art-form in its own right – one that is raw and impassioned.
Describing the artist as “dynamic, skillful and radical”, former Lord Mayor and current MEP Magid Magid appointed Otis as the first hip-hop Poet Laureate of Sheffield in 2018. Having performed with the likes of Mahalia, Arrested Development, Killah Priest, Oddisee and Open Mike Eagle, as well as garnering support from The Guardian and EARMILK, Otis articulates societal injustices with innate precision and candidness.
Enjoy the video for ‘Grand Finale Funeral Show’ below:
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