Ohmega Watts, real name Milton Campbell, is an American hip hop producer and vocalist from

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He releases music under the name Ohmega Watts and as a part of the Lightheaded crew.

Biography

Campbell was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, by West Indian Parents from Jamaica. He lived in Brooklyn for eight years before moving to Laurelton, Queens, New York. He grew up listening to many types of music including

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, calypso, soca, death metal, 80's pop and hip-hop, but only started to take a serious interest in music when he was around 11 years old. He gravitated towards hip-hop, listening to "

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...

" artists including Run–D.M.C., LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane,

Dana Dane Dana McCleese (born September 6, 1965), better known by his stage name Dana Dane, is an American rapper known for performance of humorous lyrics and for his fashion sense. Early life Dana was born in the Walt Whitman housing project in Fort Gr ...

, BDP, Eric B. and

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

, Pete Rock and

CL Smooth Corey Brent Penn, Sr. (born October 8, 1968, New Rochelle, New York), known by his stage name CL Smooth, is an American rapper. He is best known as the vocal half of the hip-hop duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth. Career After the duo Pete Rock & CL S ...

and

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2 ...

, but the artists who influenced him the most sonically / production wise were artists in the

Native Tongues Posse The Native Tongues were a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and jazz-influenced beats. Its principal me ...

, such as A Tribe Called Quest,

Jungle Brothers Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop trio composed of Michael Small (Mike Gee), Nathaniel Hall ( Afrika Baby Bam), and Sammy Burwell (DJ Sammy B). Known as the pioneers of the fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and house music, they were the first hi ...

, De La Soul, and Black Sheep. Ohmega Watts' first release was “A Request”, a soulful and DJ-friendly solo 12" featuring his group Lightheaded and, former hip hop trio, The Procussions. “A Request” received praise from respected DJs, including Mr. Scruff, Gilles Peterson, Greyboy, and the Los Angeles-based Heavyweight Record Pool. Ohmega Watts' sound was compared to playfulness of Digital Underground and big drums and chopped samples the likes of Pete Rock. A record deal with

Ubiquity Records Ubiquity Records is an independent American Record Label that focuses on multiple genres, including but not limited to hip hop, electronic, funk, Latin, soul, jazz, singer/songwriters and other musical genres. History Ubiquity Records was conce ...

was signed shortly after this first release. Ohmega Watts' first solo album, "The Find", was released on Ubiquity in 2005. Producing since 1997 and MCing since 1993 the Ohmega Watts resume includes tracks produced for Mars Ill on Ill Boogie, for Listener on Mush, plus he’s recorded as Lightheaded for Day By Day Ent, and as Return To Sender on the Piece of The Action compilation. Hailing from Flatbush, Brooklyn, brought up by Jamaican parents Campbell moved to Florida for college and then settled in Portland, Oregon. He is now part of a bustling Northwest independent scene that includes the Lifesavas, Boom Bap, Soul Plasma, DJ and MC, Libretto, Lightheaded and The Blacknotes. He has produced for Beautiful Eulogy and also produced the entire Half Dead EP by Cataphant.

Discography

LPs

*'' The Find'' (2005,

) *'' Watts Happening'' (2007,

) *'' Pieces of a Dream'' (Sept 2013, Mellow Orange)

References

External links

MyspacePurevolume
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Ohmega Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Rappers from Brooklyn East Coast hip hop musicians Ubiquity Records artists Rappers from Oregon 21st-century American rappers