10 Essential Ocean Wisdom Tracks: UK Rap Assassin
Born in Camden, Ocean Wisdom grew up moving between London and Brighton. Inspired by the sounds of Reggae, Grime and Rap music, Wizzy began beatboxing at the age of seven and was fully dedicated to writing and spitting rhymes by the time he was a teenager. Since his arrival on the scene, he has built-up an impressive following, regularly hitting stream counts well into the millions without the support of major labels or platforms!
Ocean Wisdom’s breakthrough album Wizville featured household names such as Method Man, Dizzee Rascal, and Roots Manuva, and impressively charted at No.39 on the UK Album Charts. His unrivalled lyrical creativity, ferocious flows, aesthetic prowess, and impactful stage presence make him one of the most talented rappers to emerge from the UK Rap scene over the past 10 years. Here’s our 10 essential Ocean Wisdom tracks:
10. Gone (Feat. Lunar C)
The fifth track from Ocean Wisdoms debut album Chaos 93’, features battle rap prodigy Lunar C. “Gone” is definitely one of my most played Ocean Wisdom tracks! Both emcees rhyme effectively on this one, absolutely tearing up their verses and coming through with finesse on the catchy hook. This one’s an absolute belter!
9. Perspectives
“Perspectives” is Ocean Wisdom at his most vulnerable as he sings harmonically for the first time. He ruminates on friendships, whilst questioning love. It’s both ballsy and artful for a rap assassin like Wizzy to come through on a track with such emotion, but he delivers with skill and shows us his versatility as an artist!
8. Dragons (Feat. Kojey Radical
“Dragons” is a feel-good song, which was clearly recorded and released for summertime chilling! The track is an incredible addition to Ocean’s latest album Stay Sane. Kojey Radical comes through with his usual class on this one, and it’s really great seeing two of my favourite UK artists collaborating on the same track! These two are the definition of a power duo!
7. Uneven Lies (Feat. Maverick Sabre)
Uneven Lies addresses the deep, visceral impact of decaying relationships and emotional growth - “Can’t understand how you’re feeling/I try to relate but our lives too uneven, chill/I just need some more time for more healing/If you wait for me I’ll come back more appealing, swear”. I just love the underlying message and chilled, laid back nature of this song. They bounce off one another effortlessly throughour the track and their chemistry is clearly evident. I’m just hoping they do more tracks together in the future!
6. Incidents (Feat. Chester P)
Produced by UK Hip Hop legend Leaf Dog, “Incidents” features melancholic guitar riffs over a punchy Hip Hop beat. The instrumental has a dark and thought-provoking tone to it, as Wizzy and Chester P rap about life with their friends on the block. Ocean Wisdom comes through with some of his best bars to date on this boom-bap-influenced joint and Chester P delivers in splendid fashion reminding us why he’s one of the best UK Hip Hop MC’s to ever grace the mic!
5. Walkin’
It would be hard not to include Wizzy’s debut, breakout single “Walkin” in this list! With hard-hitting production from Dirty Dike himself, this one is a raw track filled with tight bars and rapid flows! Calculated to contain 4.45 words per second at one part, Ocean Wisdom’s flow on Walkin’ was once unofficially deemed the fastest rap flow ever on a track. Astonishing stuff…
4. Can’t Breathe Either
The most powerful song on his latest project Stay Sane is the final track “Can't Breathe Either”. As one would assume, the title touches on the last words of George Floyd, whose murder in May 2020 by police officer Derek Chauvin caused rightful BLM protests. Wisdom dwells on the series of tragic events that shook the world, rapping, “Like, look at that cop and where his knees are”. Wisdom not only reflects upon racial injustice in the U.S. but draws our attention to issues in the UK, referencing the mistreatment of the Windrush generation, and the lack of black representation in Parliament. Wizzy spits with a wave of anger on this track that really takes your breath away!
3. Revvin’ (Feat. Dizzee Rascal)
On this grime-influenced hip-hop collaboration, OG British Grime legend Dizzee Rascal and Ocean Wisdom both go ridiculously hard spitting straight fire for just under 4 minutes straight! The numbers don’t lie on this one, as Revvin’ is currently Ocean Wisdom’s most popular track amassing over 23 million Spotify streams. Straight fire!
2. Real Smooth (Feat. The Four Owls)
“Real Smooth” is certainly one of my favourite Ocean Wisdom joints. The record is a chilled vibe with jazzy production from Dirty Dike, and laid-back bars from Wizzy and The Four Owls. Ocean Wisdom also throws down some humorous flows on this record - “Real Smooth, Real Icey, I was in the booth with Dike, you was in a nighty, I was selling out a show, you was in a onesie, the ketamin you sniffing got you clumsy’”; showing his character and versatility as an artist! “Real Smooth” hints at what a more hip-hop centred project from the talented rapper would sound like! Straight heat!
1. Voices In My Head
“Voices In My Head” is hip hop storying telling at its finest! For me, it’s Ocean Wisdom’s best track to date. Every time I put this record on, it just hits differently! The song is all about Ocean’s troubled childhood, as he raps introspectively about what it was like growing up in his area, his behaviour, his parents and why he turned to rap. Wizzy is brave enough to offer us lyricism most would never share - “I went through a phase when I was 16, it was weird. I used to want to murder people, voices in my head”. This verse really illustrates how much of an outlet his art has been for dealing with his tough upbringing and personal insecurities. When you hear tracks like this you realise how important music can be for rappers and artists who grew up in troubled situations and environments. Really powerful record!
Thank you for reading this article! If you enjoyed the content be sure to bookmark the website, and follow us on Instagram & our other socials to stay up-to-date with all of our latest content. Be sure to follow our Spotify and Soundcloud for fresh playlists and new music releases:
vibe rating ~ Instagram | Spotify | Soundcloud | TikTok