Rap artist Gerard “Ogee” Allen, a.k.a OGee1523 is the epitome of following your dreams, no matter your age. This father of four and grandfather of ten has and will never let anything stop him, especially when it comes to music.
Residing in the Bronx projects, OGee1523 has made a name for himself as a hip-hop pioneer and artist. Over the years, he has been a part of numerous groups as well as solo projects where he was able to hone his craft in all five elements of the hip-hop culture: graffiti, break dancing, beatbox, DJing, and rapping. Some of these groups included the Talented Rascals and The Funky Fresh Duo, Da Cuzinz, as well as numerous other projects. No matter what section of life OGee1523 has released music in, he has always managed to stay youthful and capture energy and force in his music that is undeniable.
Diving into his track “GET’ EM UP” feat. Fatman Scoop, listeners are immediately met with an infectious groove, bound to liven up the party. OGee1523’s vocals punch through with liveliness and passion, hooking the listener on to every word. The song is backed up perfectly with a beat and production elements that elevate the engaging lyrics perfectly. With production elements of old-school Hip Hop from the 90s, “GET’ EM UP” is a fun-loving, care-free track, and we are living for it.
There is no option but the get up and dance when you hear “GET’ EM UP,” and that’s exactly what we encourage you to do when listening to the track. Go and show OGee1523 and Fatman Scoop some love and check out “GET’ EM UP” today.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, OGee1523, and congratulations on your latest track "GET' EM UP." Can you tell us a bit more about the inspiration behind writing this track? Thank you, and thanks for having me. My inspiration behind “GET EM UP” is my wife. My wife passed away six years ago, and she used to love all that kind of dance music. Nowadays, when I go to parties and when the DJs start playing the dance music, I would just sit and think about my wife and say to myself, "Wow, Lisa will be loving this music right now and pulling me to the dance floor so she can show out. I wanted to create a song for her, which I know she would've liked. All the birthday parties we used to go to made me want to do a birthday song. I went to the studio and sat with my producer Q-Banga The B. C. E. and told him I wanted to record a birthday dance song. That's when “GET EM UP” got created.
We love the energy delivered through both the vocals and the production within the track. What sort of atmosphere and vibe did you want the instrumentals and production to give off in "GET' EM UP"? Who helped bring the sonics to life? I wanted "GET EM UP" to be a dance song from start to finish - with a lot of energy. Arms are waving, feet moving, and head rocking. It's a real vibe, and even if it's not your birthday, it will make you feel like it's your birthday. The beat on the track will make you get up and rock to it, and it's a song for people of all ages. With FatMan Scoop's powerful voice on the track, it just made it a more hype song. It felt really good creating the track while sitting in the studio with Q-Banga. I knew at that moment that this record would be special even before the vocals got added. With the vocals, the song just went to a different atmosphere. I always say, "if little kids like your song and are walking around singing it, that song is a hit." Every day and every party, there's one or a few people's birthdays in that room, so everyone will have a blast together enjoying dancing to GET EM UP.
What was your experience of collaborating with Fatman Scoop on the song? Can you tell us a bit more about how that came to be?
Working with Fatman Scoop is amazing. He's very professional and very humble. It's the type of person. If you work with him, his good spirits will rub off on you. He'll guide you in the right direction and make sure your song sounds right; plus, I have been a fan of his for so many years, so I was very excited to work with him. Fatman Scoop got involved with the song through my Son Oun-p, they were in the studio together, and my son played the song for him, and he loved it. He didn't believe I was Oun-P's father, that's what really made him want to get on the song, the words from Fatman Scoop "This is not a young man's game, This is a good man game, and that's exactly what I am, A Good Man. Fatman Scoop is someone you have to appreciate in the music business.
Did you have a specific idea in mind of you who hoped this song would resonate with the most? What do you hope listeners will take away from this song when hearing it for the first time?
I hoped for everyone who likes having fun and enjoying themselves and doing that while dancing and feeling good about themselves even if it's not their birthday. This song is made for people of all ages. I want the kids to like it most because it will become a big song if kids like a song. Hearing this song for the first time, I want the response, Wow, that song is dope “Get Em Up” is the type of song that will be stuck in your head, and you can't help but sing it constantly. Every day is someone's birthday, and every day there's a birthday party going on somewhere. When it's time to get the birthday person out of their seat, “Get Em Up” will do exactly that.
What's next for you?
My Album "Never2Late, a few more videos for songs off the album. A concert with my family was titled "1523 Family Affair Concert". Also, Opening shows for some big-name artists, and hopefully putting on an i95 tour starting in New Jersey and going up to Atlanta and finishing in New York after the album drop. I will still be dropping freestyles just to keep my buzz up.
