OneGreatBastard Talks Creative Influences and Recent Drops

No matter what era you view it from, hip-hop music is self-authorship at its purest form—a paper-backed canvas where artists wield their words to craft the stories that define them. A rapper’s discography is probably the most straightforward example of a creative’s ability to actively shape their own narrative. The pen for many is a tool for escape, allowing writers to transcend the hardships of their current situation and verbally manifest the reality they were meant to live in. In OneGreatBastard’s case, lyricism emerged as the most natural way to make sense of his surroundings at an early age.

Referring to itself as the spoken word capital of the world, Baltimore’s poetry scene played an important role in refining his storytelling growing up. As a rapper, he can now be found performing at venues up and down I-95, building community at every destination. The self-proclaimed “rapping ass nigga/poet ass nigga” out of Maryland has been stamping himself into the east coast underground with appearances on recently dropped tracks such as “Anxiety,” “Never Let Shit Go,” and “Holy Ghost.”

lyricism emerged as the most natural way to make sense of his surroundings at an early age.

We recently spoke with OneGreatBastard about his recent releases and his involvement with the Astroknot Collective, a creative community in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) region. Listen to our full conversation below. 

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Interview Timestamps

0:38 - Inspiration for the stage name OneGreatBastard

3:25 - Growing up in the DMV art scene

4:54 - Poetry’s impact on OneGreatBastard’s music

8:00 - Baltimore as a source of inspiration

9:48 - Reflecting on the single “Holy Ghost”

13:29 - Highlighting the Astroknot Collective’s work in the creative community

19:45 - Closing thoughts/things to look out for