Melbourne rapper Ogwetth is 20 years old and starting to trust that he can make music his career. His single “SHOW DEM” drew attention last November, but he’d been developing his sound long before its release. He started rapping with a friend at a party when he was around 14 or 15. At 16 or 17 he went back to Tanzania for six months, where the power and internet were unreliable.
“I was so bored at times, so I just thought I might as well just try to make some beats,” he says. “Slowly and steadily, I started picking it up and getting better at it.”
This year, he followed up “SHOW DEM’s” success with two singles, “OTW” and “Juggin,” and at the time of this interview, was just two days out from the release of his debut project, Monie Made A Way. Almost entirely self-produced, the project moves between trap and Afro-influenced sounds, with Ogwetth making every beat except “Cake,” produced by lith. There are no guest features, and MixedByDaniel handles the mixing.
He’s also the face of JD Sports’ latest campaign with On, themed “In The Making.” For Ogwetth, it comes at a point when he’s beginning to see a future in music. “I think prior to this stage… I wasn’t sure if music was a viable option for me. But I feel like now I’m in a place where I can trust myself. I feel that I can make this happen.”
Speaking to Complex Australia, Ogwetth talks about learning to produce, finding his feet on stage and becoming the artist he wanted to see growing up.
Tell me a bit about how you got into music?
Well, before I even started making music, everyone in my family was already into music. My mum, she’s made a couple of songs, I’ve got cousins who make music, my older brother used to produce a little bit. That’s kind of how I got introduced to it all.
When I was around 14 or 15, I was with one of my friends, his name’s BabyBlacc, at a party, and it was just getting dead. We were controlling the music for the party, but then we just started playing beats and rapping. I guess it all just kicked off from there.
You’ve been making music for awhile, but you really captured people’s attention last year when you released “SHOW DEM.” Now your debut project, Monie Made A Way is here. How are you feeling about it?
I’m feeling good. I’m definitely feeling good. There’s about eight tracks on it. It’s just like a collection of music I’ve made over the last two years. I just kind of accidentally made a project.
Can you speak to some of the themes on the project?
It’s called Monie Made a Way, and I guess the theme is in the title. On the project, I’m basically saying that somehow, some way, the money will get made. I’m not 100% sure how, or when, but it’ll happen. I just have a feeling within myself that I’m going to find a way to take my music to whatever place I want it to go. I think this is kind of my process when it comes to making music as well. I don’t always have a clear idea of what or how, I just know that I’m going to do it.
When you’re making music, do you usually have an idea in mind, or are you just open to seeing what you create in the moment?
Exactly. More specifically when I’m making beats, I might know that I want to make a trappy beat, or some afrobeats, but at some point it just turns into whatever it’s supposed to be.
The beats are clean and have a lot of sonic range. How did you learn to produce?
Well, my brother used to make beats, I remember just messing around when I was like 13, but my stuff was ass back then. When I was around 16-17, I went back to Tanzania for about six months. I was in a situation where I didn’t always have power or internet. I was so bored at times, so I just thought I might as well just try to make some beats. Slowly and steadily, I started picking it up and getting better at it. I was already making music, so I kind of knew how I wanted things to sound. When I came back to Australia, I just continued learning and watching YouTube clips and stuff to learn more.
You’re in JD Sports’ latest campaign with On. What was it like making this campaign with JD?
It was honestly amazing. It wasn’t my first time working with them, but it was the first time I’ve had a lead role in a campaign. I flew to Sydney for it, and it was great because I had my boys with me.
The campaign is all about being “In The Making” Where do you feel you’re at as an artist right now?
Right now, I feel like I’m finally in a place where I can trust myself. I think prior to this stage, I was just kind of like, ‘alright, I’m doing this for right now,’ but I wasn’t too sure how it was going to work out. I wasn’t totally sure if music was a viable option for me, or if it could work. But I feel like now I’m in a place where I can trust myself. I feel that I can make this happen.
When did this click for you?
It was definitely this year. I dropped “Showdown” last year, and then the first six months of this year I was just kind of dealing with some difficult things in my life. I think more recently, just having gone through everything I’ve gone through, to still have come out of it and be pushing—I think that’s when I clocked it. I was like, I can actually do this if I put my mind to it.
To finish up, what are you hoping to achieve as an artist? What’s the dream? My aspiration is to first and foremost, push this all as far as I possibly can. I guess one other thing I always think about is how when I was growing up, I didn’t really have any artists to look up to in Australia, especially artists who looked like me, you know what I mean? In future, I want to be in a position where maybe someone who’s coming up can look at me and be like, “Oh look, music is something that I can do.”
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