Think of hip-hop as a tree. Now make every different type of hip-hop a branch; so that includes indie rap, club bangers, instrumentals, etc. After it's all said and done you have a huge tree of hip-hop, with unique branches stemming off of the trunk and with that you can categorize artists to their respective genre. Then you hear Late Night Thoughts Vol.2: Fame and Misfortune by Ogden Payne and
you have absolutely zero clue on where to categorize this guy. The music on this album is so soft, and smooth, so thoughtful, and real and it's honestly in a class of its' own. From the beats to the lyrics this project is elegantly put together and is beautiful hip-hop.
The beats come from various producers, yet they all have the same polished and sumptuous feel to them. The beats sound heavily influenced by smooth jazz minus the horn section. Piano heavy is a recurring theme on most of the songs on Late Night Thoughts Vol.2: Fame and Misfortune and in my opinion, it sounds great. Though, none of the so
ngs have beats that are really erratic they still create a great theme that goes hand in hand with the tone and lyrical content from Ogden Payne.
Prior to this release I had no knowledge of Ogden Payne, and unfortunately I feel that many of the readers are also unsure of who he is. The young emcee out of Austin, Texas created this album to stop the cycle of young adults suffering from a lack of direction and faith, through mentor-ship and leadership. Through this, he dealt with pain, healing, and human growth which are all factors you can hear in his music. He pours his heart into his lyrics and many of the songs are from his own personal trials and tribulations especially in my favorite track on the album, "Payne Killer." When I asked Ogden about the back story to the song he had this to say:
"Payne Killer is a song that's about knowing that a relationship is over, but trying desperately to stay together. After my ex and I broke up, we still got back together occasionally, and tried to make it work like before, but we both knew that it just wasn't right and never felt right. And being a Christian, I knew what God wanted me to do, but I just wasn't able to let go because she was all I had known for the past two years, and I was afraid of the pain and emptiness. So I struggled with doing what I wanted, knowing it was completely wrong, and doing what God wanted me to do, which was to let go. I have to give so much credit to Skip Downey and Isaac Haze on that track because I just had the chorus written at the time, and Skip took that, and had the chords laid out literally within five minutes. Haze came in and just brought everything to the next level with the strings and timpani, and just the overall production and structure of it. Love those guys, haha."
After he told me that I grew to respect Ogden so much more as an artist and as a person. It takes a lot to put one's true feelings into a song, and "Payne Killer" is an all around beautiful song. Everyone needs to get this mixtape because it will broaden your spectrum on hip-hop. This album is not the album that you would listen to with the windows rolled down cruising on a summer day, but it is the album you listen to at nights when you're deep in thought watching it rain in the dark. A great project from a great guy that I can't wait to hear more from!
*Download Late Night Thoughts Vol.2: Fame and Misfortune here
*Follow Ogden @OgdenPayne and check out his site http://www.ogdenpayne.com/
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