Ovrkast. is quietly becoming an integral part of hip-hop. As both a rapper and producer, his beats have provided the backdrop for the likes of Drake, Vince Staples and Earl Sweatshirt, most notably providing a standout moment on Drake’s ‘ICEMAN’, providing the soundscape for . 

Behind the microphone, he is perfecting his craft, forging alliances with fellow trail blazers and along the way. With thoughtful lyricism, a penchant for melody, and an ability to craft concepts and storylines through both disciplines, Ovrkast. has dropped some of his best work to date with his .

CLASH sat down with the artist to discuss his musical origins, establishing himself as a top tier producer, white artists using Black music as a stepping stone, and his latest album.

Can you tell me about your musical origins? Where does your journey start?

I first made music when I was in high school. There was an after school club with a music teacher: it wasn’t anything fancy but he knew how to use FL. It was just a computer, some speakers, and we made beats. I was already into listening to different producers but at this point it was just casual. I wasn’t actively seeking it out. I was more into rapping than making beats, but I ended up liking both and ten years later, here we are.

You are as known for production as you are for being a rapper. Did rapping come first?

I was rapping before, for sure. I was listening to a lot of Odd Future, finding beats on YouTube and rapping to them. I’d find Knxwledge beats, and also listen to a lot of Mick Jenkins, a lot of lyrical rappers. I was writing raps for a long time, and then the beats just came out of nowhere.

How would you describe your production style?

Early on? It was real rough. I was just trying to emulate what I was hearing, so it was really like the bare bones. But it was good, because I learned how to develop my own style. Of course, you’re always copying all the producers that you hear, so you can get a reference point. I guess the goal became finding what I thought was cool to my ears, and that slowly developed into my own style.

You worked with Cardo on your project ‘KAST GOT WINGS’ – What did you take from that experience and how did it help you grow musically?

It was a cool time to just let loose and let someone else kind of help out. A lot of the stuff I did with Cardo, I spent time sequencing myself, and trying to figure out how, like, this fit here and that fit there. and like, It was a cool practice of collaboration, you know? That kind of helped me be able to do While the Iron is Hot, and seeing the success from that helped me get to where I am now. That opened the door to be even more collaborative.

I guess a turning point or a crucial stage of your career was working with Drake as a producer on Scary Hours. How did that come about and what has been the impact of that on your career so far?

It’s one of those things where it’s hard to see until 10 years from now. I’m so in it, it’s so meta that it’s hard to zone out. I think, honestly, working on Iceman is the first time I’ve started seeing the impact. I’m doing something that others don’t really do. It feels like I’m doing the impossible. Working on one Drake song is one thing, but working on three means that I’m a trusted collaborator. Everyone listens to Drake growing up and when you start in music, that’s kind of like a goal to work with him, but you never really know if it will ever happen. 

I never thought it would be to this extent that I would become a producer who is this important to like culture, and to rap in the 2020s. I kind of felt it could happen when I was younger and first producing, but I think we all kind of project ourselves to be something great. For it to happen this way, I’m still processing it and my mind is still catching up. 

With your work on Iceman as well, producing ‘Make Them Pay’ made for one of the best moments on arguably the biggest rap album this year. What has that been like for you?

That’s my favourite shit on there and I’ve had so many people come up to me and say the same thing. Like, damn, I had one of the standouts on our album. It’s crazy to be part of something so big. It’s like Alchemist level lore. I feel like I’m really inside of hip hop now, like I’m credited inside of hip hop. I feel like I’m only just starting my journey but to be on this timeline, this storyline feels crazy.  

When I worked on Scary Hours I had just sent some beats to Yachty, and then two years later, Drake was on them. This time around it was more focused. His manager hit me with some ideas then I just started working. I thought the beat I sent off was so iconic but I didn’t hear back, and I kind of just let it go. Maybe I’m not on this video, this album. Maybe I’ll be on Scary Hours again or something. Then I get a DM from Drake being like, ‘Yo, can you send me a pack?”

He sends me his new number, and I’m just shooting shit over and over and I don’t hear back for a few days. I sent him a congratulatory message for For All The Dogs going Platinum, and he texted me back responding to the Make Them Pay beat saying ‘I did my best rapping on this’. Again, it was a waiting game. I was hearing that I was on the album, I wasn’t, and then I didn’t know officially until the stream dropped.

After ‘Scary Hours’ you dropped your solo record, ‘While The Iron Is Hot’. Can you delve into the concept of that project?

While ‘The Iron is Hot’ was supposed to come out three months after the Drake shift, and it was supposed to be just like five or six songs. Just like some here, here’s who I am. We ended up switching the concept and dropped ‘KAST GOT WINGS’, which worked well too. After that, I just got back in the lab and worked on some shit that I really wanted to do, and three or four months after the project was ready. I literally came out the lab, dropped it, and it went crazy.

The underlying theme of the album is kind of a metaphor. There’s this character, me, who moves to New York City to pursue music. In this universe, I work as a metalworker, and one day I’m working and get hit by lightning. Then I get these static-shock, Thor-like powers.

It’s kind of a metaphor for fame and notoriety. A lot of the time, you’re locked in, working and working, and then one day some shit happens and everything changes. Maybe it’s a new position, a new job, something just clicks. I think that metaphor kind of bled into real life, and started mirroring what was happening to me.

That project put you on the map as a rapper whereas before you were probably better known for your production. Do you feel like both disciplines help one another?

People ask me sometimes, like, ‘Yo, what do you feel like you’re better at? Rapping or production?’ Honestly, I feel like they kind of help each other. If I’m getting better at rapping and understanding things like breath control and pauses, and storytelling, all this stuff, I’m always gonna have a fire beat. 

It’s like trying to become like a pro athlete. If I’ve got the best basketball court in my backyard, I can just fucking play all day on that shit and put up shots all day, because I have the best court, you know? I can make the most fire beats, so I have the best runway to practice. It feeds itself.

On that project, and your new album ‘STRIKING’, you work with Mavi and Samara Cyn. All three of you are some of the most exciting talents in this new generation. How does that process work for you?

Working with those two, it’s like fire. They’re just like me in that we’re all very passionate people. The goal is for it to be fire, and if it’s not, we won’t use it and we’ll be mad. I’m just blessed to be around people who are also just really talented, and like it’s easy for us, you know? We all put our hard work in but it’s fun at the same time. Mavi rapped his first raps over one of my beats. It’s just a brotherhood. We would be doing this if no one else was listening, because it’s cool as fuck to us.

With this new project, it feels as if your production style has evolved slightly…

For sure, yeah, there’s like more of a cinematic thing that’s going on. There’s a little more thought put into like the songs, in terms of the direction that they go in. It’s funny, because after making While The Iron Is Hot I was wondering how I could top it. I think with STRIKING I’ve managed it. It’s also down to the collaborators on the album and trusting them, allowing them to help me. It’s a sense of community that has made a sound that’s bigger.

I made most of the album, and then I went to a writing camp to polish it. I had the homies there, people pulled up there. It was a whole thing, so it was cool to be able to live in the album for a little bit.

This album also feels like an extension to While The Iron Is Hot…

I would say While The Iron Is Hot is like Spiderman One. I’ve just got my powers and I’m trying to figure out how to use them. There’s a bunch of things happening for the first time. On STRIKING, I’ve figured it out. You could say this my Dark Knight whereas the first one is Batman Begins. This is my best record to date. It’s my best attempt at a lot of things I’m new to, and I had to be patient with it but it’s definitely my best. We’re also doing a short film that comes out after the album drops. 

You already dipped your toe into acting with the music video to ‘I’M ON’, what was the message behind that?

It’s kind of laughing at white rappers who don’t realise they’re being silly. They think assimilating Black culture is fun and shit.

It’s like something Redveil said: I think white audiences, a lot of the time, interact with Black art and Black music in a half-assed way. They only engage with it how they want to see it, based on what they imagine it to be. They don’t really want to hear the feedback; they just want to say what it is.

I think that happens with a lot of blogs and sometimes fans too. People interact with it in this flat, fake way. I think the video is me showing people coming into the culture without really understanding what they’re doing. They just don’t see it. People will also use Black music as a stepping stone. We see it every day, bro.

In the near future, me and Mavi are doing MavKast, which I think will be really cool. I definitely see myself doing more placements too. Then, like, ten years from now, I can see myself doing some Alchemist-type stuff: making albums with people and producing their projects. I feel like I’m getting plugged into hip-hop history, and I want to be able to use that in the right way.

‘STRIKING’ is out now.