By A. Knight II

Word…Life is the debut album of one Omar Credle. It is possibly the ultimate display of raw musical Hip hop expression, seeded in beats, rhymes and life and culminating in an album that is sonically pleasing as well as gravely thought-provoking. It is an unabashed, uncompromising display of life and music that establishes producer Buckwild within the musical genre, and validates O.C. as the illest emcee within the ultra-talented and legendary D.I.T.C. (Diggin’ in the Crates) crew.

Musically, Word…Life pulls from many sources of production. The album features several noteworthy producers including Organized Konfusion and the legendary Lord Finesse. More significantly, it introduces Bronx native Buckwild (“Whoa”, “I Got a Story to Tell”) on a grand scale. Producing 7 of the 14 tracks, Word…Life can be considered Buck’s debut as well as O.C.’s. The 2 show substantial chemistry and versatility throughout the LP. On “Time’s Up,” Buck abuses piano and guitar to lay the foundation for O.C. to spit one of Hip

Lyrically, O.C. masters the conversational flow used by the likes of KRS-One and Jay-Z to coherently communicate his music. However, O.C. also displays an impressive cerebral style and tone (used by the likes of Rakim and Nas) to manifest his life reflections and observations into imagery and visualization to form a subtle wisdom in the listener’s ear. On “Born 2 Live,” O.C. “speaks” on the realities of life and death from the perspective of a child. He reminisces about a childhood friend who died after being hit by a car. O “tells” us, “It opened my eyes, saw that the flesh was weak/As a kid thinking sh*t like that was madd deep.”

Comparing O to his D.I.T.C. emcee cohorts, Lord Finesse, Big L, AG, and Fat Joe reveal the former as the best of them all. Each of the aforementioned is an emcee great in his own right but O.C. is the artist among them. His depth and honesty surpass the braggadocio of the other legendary members.

The album is, perhaps, characterized by the Organized Konfusion-produced intro track “Creative Control.” Here O.C. contemplates his experiences in making an album. In his conversational rhyme style, O.C. explains the conflict between artist and label executive as he holds steadfast in molding a product that is true to his heart versus commercially acceptable. O spits, “I ain’t no mascot for no master/I missed the slave drive some odd years ago and yo/…Get your ears ready for creative control/Cause no one’s gonna tell me how to sell out my soul.” This 1 minute, 45 second song exemplifies Word…Life’s greatness. On the surface it displays the struggle of artist vs industry, giving O.C.’s assessment of the state of Hip hop in 1994 when most artists followed a path determined by record execs who focused on chart positions and sales. More importantly, it establishes the tone of the album. This song features no fluff, no gimmick, nothing added besides a dope beat, an emcee in full control of his style and lyrical gift and a verse that is the unadulterated truth. Word…Life was created as a musical exhale, a sonic release of frustration and self and world-examination with the honesty of words passed from father to son. The songs on this album are not O.C.’s most catchy tunes, but are literally his BEST songs at the time. Besides the incredible production and lyrical prowess on Word…Life, the unprecedented honesty and adherence to truly “keep it real” on this album is most impressive. O.C.’s Word…Life - Certified Classic.