MarMar Oso

This Sacramento-based R&B performer first attracted notice through his trademark Auto-Tuned vocal openings and the late-2018 breakthrough single "Ruthless (Nice Guys Always Finish Last)."

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii during his father’s army posting, he returned to the continental United States with his family once that assignment ended. Though known as a mischievous youngster, he drew career direction from an extended family populated by singers and rappers. The moniker MarMar Oso originated as a short-lived social-media username that stuck after skits featuring it gained traction. At 19 he cut his debut recording, yet it was footage of "Ruthless" that caught the eye of Dave DashO’s management firm and its Free the Lost label. Under that guidance the heartbreak-driven track achieved lasting viral traction and ultimately appeared on his 2018 Mixed Emotions EP; its popularity endured, keeping the song atop trending charts into summer 2020.

All seven of MarMar Oso’s major 2019 singles opened with the same instantly identifiable Auto-Tuned “Okay,” forging a sonic signature that set him apart in a saturated field. That same commitment to distinctiveness shaped Oso Different, his summer 2019 debut album, on which he devoted himself entirely to singing while contemporaries alternated between vocals and rap. In January 2020 he secured a distribution agreement with Empire, whose first release was the single "Choosin'." The next month he independently issued "Can't Think," a tribute to his closest friend Anthony Young Hayne, known professionally as Steezy, who had died by suicide. The subsequent mainstream tracks "Ride or Die," "Dream Girl," and "Let Me Love You" preceded his second album, Love Don't Cost a Thing, released in May and featuring guest appearances by TeeJay3k, Luh Kel, and Derek King.