CROSSING LINES
Oompa aims to unite fans of hip-hop and poetry
Boundaries don't work for Oompa.
The rising Boston artist doesn't recognize the border between hip-hop and poetry. Her music nabbed her a New Artist of the Year nomination at the 2017 Boston Music Awards; her verse won her the 2017 Women of the World Poetry Slam. She happily performs with peers from her genre and rock bands. She writes introspective, nostalgic gems and intense, awesome anthems (listen to the Black Lives Matter song “SayHERName”) in her own voice.
“How many black queer artists are out here?” she asked. “And how many are speaking to that experience?”
But while Oompa feels free to roam around artistically, getting fans to follow can be a challenge. Despite her success with slam — she was also a finalist at the 2017 National Poetry Slam — she hasn't been able to connect the two scenes.
“I've been hoping for a little more crossover than I've been seeing,” she said ahead of her April 27 Great Scott show. “Last year, with all the (slam poetry) work, I was thinking I could build a bridge, but that hasn't really happened. People in both worlds are really supportive of my work, but they only know part of what I do.”
Connecting Boston's hip-hop and rock communities can be equally challenging. A recent bill at the Sinclair with Oompa and the rock band Palehound was encouraging, but it's more the exception than the rule.
“As a community, we have to do better by hip-hop artists,” she said, adding that Boston clubs have never embraced hip-hop artists as they have rock, folk and Americana acts.
“The Palehound show was really cool because I got to be exposed to music I normally wouldn't be. Hopefully the (rock fans) at the show thought it was cool to be exposed to me.”
If any artist can bridge the gaps between poetry and hip-hop or rock and hip-hop, Oompa is a great candidate. Her politically charged, sonically adventurous work would have been a hard sell a few years ago. But in the age of Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, Kendrick Lamar and SZA, mainstream audiences might be ready for Oompa's revolutionary approach.
“I get bored really quickly,” she said, describing her artistic range, then laughing. “I'm really interested in unpacking a lot of stuff. My work is honest, deeply personal, but also reflects the larger world.”
There seem to be great differences between the contemplative “Take Me Back” and confrontational “SayHERName,” both off her debut “November 3rd.” But Oompa sees a red thread between them.
“They are both connected to the process of grief, different stages in the process,” she said. “This is a theme to my work. This and being unapologetic about following your dreams.
“As I do work in different worlds, one thing that remains the same is the pressure to create something that is authentic to my experience,” she said.