O.c.

An American rapper from the Diggin in the Crates Crew, Omar Credle—better known as MC O.C.—has maintained a lengthy recording career both on his own and through partnerships with the Crooklyn Dodgers '95, Luv NY, and Perestroika. Early ties with the members of Organized Konfusion led him to appear in the 1991 clip for their single “Fudge Pudge,” which in turn secured a contract built on his thoughtful, articulate style. Born in Brooklyn in 1973, Credle relocated to Queens at age 11 and found himself living directly across from Pharoahe Monch. Once Monch teamed with Prince Poetry to form Organized Konfusion, O.C. remained connected and supplied a guest verse to “Fudge Pudge” on the duo’s self-titled debut. By 1994 he had secured his own deal, yet Wild Pitch Records lacked the budget to market his first album, Word...Life, prompting him to decline further sessions and ultimately leave the label.

He surfaced on Organized Konfusion’s follow-up LP, Stress: The Extinction Agenda, as well as the Crooklyn soundtrack, but nearly two years passed before Payday Records, then under PolyGram/EMI, offered a new home. His second album, Jewelz, arrived in August 1997, boasting beats from DJ Premier, Da Beatminerz, and Freddie Foxxx; “Far from Yours” became his highest-charting Billboard single at the time. Bon Appetit followed four years later without comparable notice. Credle stayed silent until 2005, when Starchild restored much of the critical regard that Bon Appetit had lost and earned him a contract with Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings; that same year he also released Smoke and Mirrors.

In 2008 he teamed with fellow New Yorker and DITC affiliate A.G. for the joint album Oasis, which featured production by Statik Selektah, Lord Finesse, and E-Blaze. Another collaboration, Trophies with Apollo Brown, surfaced in 2012. After issuing a pair of Ray’s Cafe projects alongside Ray West in 2014, Credle returned to solo work with the free digital album Same Moon Same Sun, whose beats came from recurring associates including Lord Finesse, Showbiz, Motif Alumni, and Gwop Sullivan.