1-O.A.K.

Brandon McFarland, known professionally as 1-O.A.K. and a member of the Bay Area's Honor Roll Crew, grew up in Oakland absorbing classic gospel and soul while mastering vocals, drums, and keyboards through church services. Initially intent on confining his beatmaking to studio work and reserving his voice strictly for worship settings, the Oakland native gradually merged the two pursuits. Appearances on J. Stalin's "My Mind" and "When the Club Over," Philthy Rich's "That's the Love," and Teedra Moses's "So Special" preceded his own full-length project, Special Request. McFarland handled writing, production, and arrangement duties across the entire album, which stands among the strongest R&B releases of 2012, supported by executive producers DJ Tap.10 and WhizWard along with Trackademics and additional contributors. Late that year he and Trackademics formed the duo 2 Player Co-Op, delivering an inventive EP that reinterpreted material first recorded by the Smiths, LCD Soundsystem, Wham!, Go West, and the Cure. A deluxe version of Special Request, expanded with several bonus tracks, arrived in early 2013. That May he appeared on Zo!'s ManMade album.