The mutable sounds of rapper and producer Ovrkast. are first and foremost true to self. The Oakland-born artist’s moniker honors his lifelong love for the quiet introspection of a rainy day, an ambiance that comes across in his pensive demeanor and in his music, which garnered underground acclaim for its experimental yet elevated lo-fi. While Ovrkast. is part of a new generation of indie genre-benders such as Mavi and Pink Siifu—who are also his friends and collaborators—his versatility easily finds mainstream appeal, like in the two tracks he produced for Drake’s 2023 chart topper For All The Dogs. Ovrkast. grew up hearing gospel at home alongside new millennium classics like Kanye West off his older brother’s iPod and first tried his hand with beat-making software and writing raps in high school. He cites contemporaries Odd Future, Kendrick Lamar, and Knxwledge as formative, as well as pioneers like MF Doom, all of whom demonstrated the importance of holding one’s music sacred and taught him to follow his own instinctual evolution over the industry’s often fickle metrics. Ovrkast.’s debut album, Try Again (2020), and most recent EP, RESET! (2023), showcase a careful minimalism with which the rapper brings his devoted fanbase into his private world while also offering incisive discourse on the times. Rather than a signature sonic attribute, you can count the impeccable delivery of pithy and concise observations, exemplified in his two latest singles: “BIPPERS JOINT” and “PAYMEAGRIP”. The latter is produced by fellow up-and-comer Cardo Got Wings, with whom Ovrkast. is collaborating on the forthcoming tape “Kast Got Wings.” A third solo album is in the works, too, and while it surely will not disappoint, it may also delight and surprise.