Michael Sean Martinez (born March 25, 1979), better known by his stage name Onry Ozzborn, is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and producer from

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. He is a founding member of

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

groups such as

Grayskul Grayskul is an American hip hop duo based in Seattle, Washington, consisting of rappers Onry Ozzborn and JFK Ninjaface. Since its formation in 2003, the group has released ten solo albums. The duo often collaborate with artists from the Pacifi ...

Dark Time Sunshine Dark Time Sunshine (abbreviated as DTS) is an American hip hop duo, consisting of Seattle rapper Onry Ozzborn and Chicago producer Zavala. The group is signed to Fake Four Inc. History Dark Time Sunshine was formed in 2009 when Onry Ozzborn me ...

, and Oldominion, among others. Onry Ozzborn has collaborated with notable artists such as

Aesop Rock Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerge ...

Sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...

Mr. Lif Jeffrey Haynes (born December 28, 1977), better known by his stage name Mr. Lif, is an American rapper from Boston, Massachusetts. While being praised because of his political lyrics, he has released two studio albums on Definitive Jux and one ...

, P.O.S,

Slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...

, and

Busdriver Regan Farquhar (born February 12, 1978), better known by his stage name Busdriver, is an American rapper and producer from Los Angeles, California. He has collaborated with rappers such as Myka 9, Milo, Nocando, Open Mike Eagle, 2Mex, and Radioi ...

Life and career

1997-2003: Formation of Oldominon, Oraclez Creed, ''Polarity'' and ''The Grey Area''

Michael Martinez was born and raised in a small town in

Farmington, New Mexico Farmington is a city in San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census the city had a total population of 46,624 people. Farmington (and surrounding San Juan County) makes up one of the four Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

. Here, he grew up playing baseball and creating hip hop music. In the small town's elementary school, he came to know another hip hop artist named

, who alongside Pale Soul, created his first hip hop group, Oraclez Creed. Following Martinez's graduation, the group was put on hold as the members disbanded, with Martinez attending college in Arizona for his scholarship earned as a baseball player. Following a year, Sleep invited Martinez to visit

. This visit led Martinez to drop out of school and focus solely on his musical career. Oraclez Creed soon came back together and through making connections in the Pacific Northwest hip hop scene, they met another trio of rappers named Frontline, which consisted of

Destro Laird James McCullen Destro XXIV, usually referred to simply as Destro, is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books, and cartoon series. He is the leader of the Iron Grenadiers, and founder of M.A.R.S. ...

, Nyqwil, and Snafu. Soon enough, the six founded the prominent collective known as Oldominion. In 2002, Onry Ozzborn formed the duo Norman, consisting of Oldominion emcee Barfly and Onry himself. Together, they released the critically acclaimed rap opera album

Polarity Polarity may refer to: Science *Electrical polarity, direction of electrical current *Polarity (mutual inductance), the relationship between components such as transformer windings * Polarity (projective geometry), in mathematics, a duality of ord ...

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

gave it a very favorable 8.3 out of 10, saying: "The duo's cadences play leapfrog with the beats, and they often rap at halftime for a surreal effect. The depressive, layered production reflects the isolating, wet darkness that grips the Pacific Northwest nine months out of the year. It's the unmistakable sound of Seattle hip-hop." Following various solo albums being released independently, Onry Ozzborn released his 2003 breakthrough solo album ''

The Grey Area ''The Grey Area'' is a feature-length documentary film by Noga Ashkenazi about the lives of inmates at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville, Iowa. The film documents an eight-week feminism class taught by student volunteers ...

''. It features guest appearances from

Qwel Adam Vincent Schreiber (born June 6, 1980), better known by his stage name Qwel, is an underground rapper and author, originally from Chicago, Illinois. Qwel is co-founder of the underground rap crew Typical Cats, with fellow MCs Denizen Kane and ...

Luckyiam Tommy Woolfolk, better known by his stage name Luckyiam, is a rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is a founding member of Living Legends. He is also a member of CMA and Mystik Journeymen. History Luckyiam released ''Most Likely to Succeed'' ...

and Sleep, among others. The album was given very positive reviews, with

XLR8R ''XLR8R'' (pronounced "accelerator") is a website that covers music, culture, style, and technology. It was originally also a print magazine. History and profile ''XLR8R'' was founded as a newsprint zine in 1993 by publisher Andrew Smith in Sea ...

saying: "Onry Ozzborn gives us an album of wonderfully intricate storytelling and mostly tight production. Call it goth hop, call it abstract, call it what you want-we call it dope." The album also featured Onry's first collaborations with producer Mr. Hill, another Oldominion member who would help shape a new sound for Seattle and Grayskul alike.

2004-2007: Grayskul and Rhymesayers era

Through other Oldominion members and the local Seattle scene, Onry met another emcee named JFK Ninjaface. JFK Ninjaface was new to the circuit, as he had just moved from

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

to live with his aunt after several run-ins with the law. At the time, he was only

freestyling Freestyle is a style of improvisation, with or without instrumental beats (Mystrodamus), in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure and with no prior memorization.Kevin Fitzgerald (director), '' Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme' ...

before meeting Onry Ozzborn, who had encouraged JFK to write. Not much later, the two formed the hip hop duo

. The duo's music went from being released independently to being in the hands of Siddiq, the CEO of indie hip hop label

Rhymesayers Entertainment Rhymesayers Entertainment (sometimes abbreviated RSE) is an American independent hip-hop record label based in Minneapolis. History Rhymesayers Entertainment was co-founded in 1995 by Sean Daley (Slug), Anthony Davis (Ant), Musab Saad (Sab th ...

. Siddiq signed them and released their 2005 album '' Deadlivers,'' with most production handled by Mr. Hill. The album featured appearances from

Canibus Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Canibus, is an American rapper and actor. He initially gained fame in the 1990s for his ability to freestyle, and eventually released his debut album Can-I-Bus in 1998. ...

and

, the latter becoming a frequent collaborator to Onry Ozzborn. In the same year, Onry Ozzbron released his solo album In Between.

2008-2012: Fake Four Inc, ''No Hoax'', ''Hold On For Dear Life'' and Dark Time Sunshine

Subsequently following the release of two Grayskul albums on Rhymesayers, Onry released ''No Hoax'' separately as EP's in preparation to the release of his solo album ''Hold On For Dear Life''. The album reached #3 on KEXP charts and garnered favorable reviews as well. In 2009, he met the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

producer Zavala and formed the group

. Later that year, he signed to

Ceschi Julio Francisco "Ceschi" Ramos (born July 24, 1981), better known as Ceschi Ramos, or simply as Ceschi (pronounced "chess-key"), is an American hip hop musician based in New Haven, Connecticut. He is a co-founder of Fake Four Inc. He won the Co ...

's indie label

Fake Four Inc Fake Four is an independent record label based in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded by brothers Ceschi and David Ramos in 2008. According to an interview with Ceschi on Ugsmag.com, the Ramos brothers started Fake Four with help from Grimm ...

2013: ''Zenith''

In 2013, Grayskul released their long awaited follow up album

Zenith The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction (plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The zenith is the "highest" ...

''2016 - present: Duo, C V P ii D, Nervous Hvnd, THE RvTTLESNvKE MvRTINEZ MIXTvPE''

In 2016, Onry Ozzborn released '' Duo,'' a solo album which included guest features on every track from artists such as

Kimya Dawson Kimya Dawson (born November 17, 1972) is an American folk singer-songwriter, one half of the anti-folk duo the Moldy Peaches. Dawson's work with the Moldy Peaches earned them a cult following and critical acclaim, with their 2001 song "Anyone El ...

Rob Sonic Robert Smith, better known by his stage name Rob Sonic, is an American rapper and record producer from the Bronx, New York. He has been a member of the groups Sonic Sum and Hail Mary Mallon. He is a founder of the record label Skypimps Music. B ...

and P.O.S, among others. The album was released with a video consisting of short snippets of the album and played together as a short film. In February 2017, Onry released
C V P ii D
' (pronounced as Cupid) featuring Alison Baker. In September 2018, Onry released ''Nervous Hvnd'', a solo album which included guest features from DJ Comfortable Kathy/vioLit
Ethos
an
Swamburger
Like previous albums, ''Nervous Hvnd'' released with a music video featuring short snippets from the album. In October 2018, Onry released a surprise mixtape ''THE RvTTLESNvKE MvRTINEZ MIXTvPE'' which included guest features from Iame and Scotty Del.

Style

Onry Ozzborn's lyrical style has been described as brooding, thoughtful, and unique. He is also known to use different names depending on the project he is working on.

Discography

Solo

Studio albums

* ''Knightingale'' ** Released: March 22, 1997 ** Label: Self-released * ''Alone'' ** Released: January 8, 2002 ** Label: BSI Records/One Drop Records * ''

'' ** Released: June 17, 2003 ** Label: One Drop Records * '' In Between'' ** Released: November 8, 2005 ** Label: Camobear Records * '' Hold On For Dear Life'' ** Released: January 25, 2011 ** Label: Fake Four Inc. * ''Duo'' ** Released: March 29, 2016 ** Label: Fake Four Inc. * ''C V P ii D'' ** Released: February 28, 2017 ** Label: Ted Records * ''Nervous Hvnd'' ** Released: September 13, 2018 ** Label: Ted Records * ''Tantrum'' (Nigel) ** Released: November 22, 2019 ** Label: Michael Martinez

EP's

* ''Venom EP'' ** Released: January 31, 2001 ** Label: BSI Records * ''No Hoax (1-4)'' ** Released: December 26, 2010 ** Label: Fake Four Inc.

Mixtapes

* "Black Phillip" ** Released: July 17, 2017 ** Label: 300 Club Records * ''THE RvTTLESNvKE MvRTINEZ MIXTvPE'' ** Released: October 31, 2018

Collaborative

Aurora

*"S7V7N Days" (with

) ** Released: July 14, 2001 ** Label: Momentum Studios

Norman

*''

'' (with Barfly) ** Released: March 4, 2003 ** Label: Under The Needle

References

External links

Onry Ozzborn
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Onry Ozzborn
at

Grayskul
at

Dark Time Sunshine
at

Dark Time Sunshine
on

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Onry Ozzborn Living people American male rappers Record producers from Washington (state) Record producers from New Mexico Underground rappers 1979 births 21st-century American rappers People from Farmington, New Mexico Rappers from Seattle 21st-century American male musicians