I listen to a lot of beats. I don’t make beats but I do build playlists of dope instrumentals so I can keep them on shuffle while I work my corporate 9-5 job. While I do take advantage of what Spotify’s algorithms feed me through their daily mix playlists, I also go down rabbit holes in search for that one beat or one producer that I didn’t know about before. I will listen to beats in 4-5 second increments where I skim through different parts of a song and then I’m usually onto the next one. My mind is just conditioned like that now. It’s not healthy at all but this is the way I consume music in 2020. If my ears do pick up on something I like, I start the song from the very beginning and let it ride. If I can listen to a song in its full entirety, there’s a good shot that I’ll be digging other beats that this same producer has made. Then I go down another rabbit hole. I’m always on the hunt for beats because they inspire me to put in work on my 9-5 and my side hustles. Looking back, I should have saved up for an ASR-10 or an MPC when I was in high school but instead I invested it into tapes and CD’s from the artists I loved. I was a fan then and I’m still just a fan watching from the sidelines.
Back in 2018 I first heard the producer named Onra and his style was different. He was taking dusty old samples from the 60’s and 70’s and making beats that sounded like they were straight off the Enter the Dragon soundtrack back in the early 70’s. I knew nothing about Onra but discovered his Chinoiseries albums and knew I found a producer I was going to be listening to right alongside my favorites for years to come. He was almost on a RZA kind of vibe with the chopped up samples but it was more cinematic that RZA’s boom bap style production that was perfect for the Wu to spit on. I felt like I was in an old school kung fu flick while listening to Onra’s beats on the Chinoiseries. I live in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and Outlook all day so beats like Onra give me a little escape from the work stress and monotony.
Doing a little bit more research on Onra I found out that he resided in Paris. His father was of Vietnamese descent and he travelled to Vietnam, Thailand, and China over the years and accumulated a few stacks of vinyl while travelling to sample off of. This was the Asian inspiration he channeled for parts 1-3 of the Chinoiseries that I’ve listened to on repeat since I first heard the beautiful track “Bye Bye” which has stayed on repeat for years. One of these days I’m sure Spotify will start telling you how many times you’ve listened to particular songs and I bet Onra’s “Bye Bye” will be in the hundreds. And I hope that my streams and playlists put a few coins in his pocket and expose him to more listeners because he’s dope and should be heard.
Onra’s beats don’t just stay on these throwback Asian vibes though. He definitely doesn’t stay in one lane as if you make your way through his discography you can find him collaborating with a wide range of artists all the way from Black Milk in Detroit to Do or Die out in Chicago. A quick look at his features and I feel like his collection of cassette tapes and CD’s probably looks a lot like mine. So it was no surprise when he dropped his new album this year called Swing Convention which is a 90’s west coast R&B throwback type of album. I had to look twice when I saw that Domino was featured. Yes, that same Domino from “Sweet Potato Pie” and “Getto Jam” fame. All my Cali heads from the 90’s know all about Domino as he slid right in with the Montell Jordan and Nate Dogg type R&B we would slide in when we weren’t bumping our gangsta rap in high school. Onra might be from Paris but it’s not where you’re from it’s where you’re at right? Well Onra’s music influences make it around the world and back and take you back to the 60’s all the way to now. That is versatility right there. His new album shows that he could be right here in Cali in that 64 Impala bouncing up and down the Cali coast in the 90’s even if he is chopping up samples all the way out in France. Onra will remain a beatmaker that I’m always checking in on. Dude is mad talented.
Shout out to Onra. Keep knocking out those dope beats homie!
Catch Onra and many other dope producers on my music to work to playlist on Spotify. Over 32 hours with beats for days… literally. I use this playlist and other beats playlists in my library to help me focus at work. Lyrics distract me but dope beats put me in the pocket to be super productive for hours on end. Maybe one of these days I will pick up that MPC but for now I’ll stay on the hunt looking for dope beats from producers I’ve never heard of. Props to all the beatmakers out there!