London O’Connor made his internet debut two years ago with this YouTube video of himself tied up with a gun to his head, half heartedly pushing his fingers into the piano keys and singing the blues about the pressures of city life. The song ends in a resolve of, “I’m going through it now, but I’m going to be fine. And that’s my time. That’s my time.” As simple as the song is, it touches on the arbitrary nature of so many overwhelming everyday stresses, versus the reality that in the end everything is usually fine. Depending on whether or not you believe in this altruistic view of humanity is up to you, but O’Connor certainly does a fine job of bringing a humanistic element to hip hop.
In his first official release, “Oatmeal”, O’Connor continues this examination of the human condition, musing on striving for ambition while watching your family or friends fail to find it. There is something about O’Connor’s songwriting that feels moving without ever making too much of an effort, like reading someone’s secret diary. With over 10,000 listens in the past five days, O’Connor is definitely someone to watch out for in the next few months.
O’Connor posted the song on his tumblr with a message. “Every Saturday my uncle ingests 6 boxes of General Mills products and 12 hours of television,” he wrote. “I hate him. My name is London. My uncle does not exist. This is a song I produced.”
