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Going Further Than Genres

Written by Jake Greene. Published: Monday, May 24, 2010.

R&B singers aren’t supposed to be white. Singers aren’t supposed to rap. That’s the way it works, because that’s the way it’s always been. That is, until Outasight – the product of a James Brown, Bob Dylan and Lupe Fiasco theoretical ménage à trois – got thrown into the mix. A white guy with a soulful style and a rhythmic flow; Outasight is smashing assumptions like Elin Woods with a 9-iron.

The 27-year-old is from New York, but not NYC, Brooklyn or even Buffalo, but Yonkers, the fourth largest city in New York, and the only one in the top four that most people haven’t heard of. The obscurities don’t end there. Outasight, the man known federally as Richard Andrew, clean shaven and donning a suit, looks more likely to do your taxes than to hop on stage and grab a mic. “If they see me on an urban/hip hop blog, people will dismiss me, but at the same time there is an ill element of surprise, and people are like ‘oh shit, this is hot’,” says Outasight. “It’s like Billy Hoyle from White Men Can’t Jump,” he says, drawing comparison to the Woody Harrelson role, “Everyone looks at this guy stretching in the dumb headband, but then he comes out and does his thing.”

It’s like Billy Hoyle from White Men Can’t Jump

Before recently signing a deal with Warner Bros./Asylum, Outasight was shown the door by a few labels that told him they didn’t know how to market him, saying that “somebody else has to sing your hooks.” Now Outasight can look back at these meetings and laugh, stating that, “This was before the era of the singing rapper, before Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreaks and Drake.”

The singing rapper is becoming more common as of late, but Outasight isn’t in the mold of Drake; he employs more of a throwback soul sound, what he calls “feel good music, a collective blend of hip hop, rock, and soul.” This sound is the reason the Further EP is listed as R&B/Soul on iTunes, where only a few weeks after being released had risen up the charts to number 39 in the genre, passing up the likes of Usher (8701) and John Legend (Evolver). Some may dismiss Outasight’s rapping ability simply from the fact that he isn’t categorized as “rap” or “hip-hop”, but one listen to “Don’t Say Anything” and you hear a sound reminiscent of Lupe, coupled with a cadence as true to hip hop as anything in the game.

The six-track Further EP brings together soul, funk, R&B and hip hop backed with live instruments. Including previously released tracks from the mixtape presented by LRG (the same line of mixtapes that jumpstarted the career of B.o.B.), Outasight’s initial Warner Brothers/Asylum release incorporates dance music, intricate rhyming patterns, and also his ability to sing in a raspy drone and or a clean falsetto. The single, “Catch Me If You Can”, is an “I’m doin’ me” track that shows Outasight has more guns in his arsenal than T.I. has in his kitchen. The EP is just an appetizer of what to expect from Outasight in the near future with his debut album.

With the early success of the Further EP, the ability for Outasight to succeed in two traditionally non-white genres is impressive, and speaks a lot for the growth of music as a whole. Although a white rapper is hardly a rarity in the post-Eminem days of hip-hop, R&B is still resistant to this change at the top. Outasight is only one of three white guys making noise on the iTunes R&B/Soul chart – a testament to his ability to bend genres and make music without borders.

This was before the era of the singing rapper, before Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreaks and Drake

As Outasight has begun his path to the top of numerous genres, the Billy Hoyle of hip hop and R&B will continue to trump the racial stereotypes as he looks to release his debut album later this summer. Working behind the same label as Cam’ron and Reflection Eternal, Outasight will definitely be making noise on radio, record charts and having his who-is-this-white-guy picture plastered across the web.

Category: Music