Matt OX

Philadephia-based rapper Matt Ox was only 12 when his music career exploded. Exposed to rap first through listening to Kendrick Lamar and Eminem at age four, Ox was writing his own rhymes by age five and continued to hone them as he grew up. In interviews he said his early rhymes were filled with profanity but he toned down the cursing when he started making music for public consumption, worried that too much explicit content would make his songs less commercially viable. In May of 2017 he released his single “Overwhelming,” an Auto-Tuned two-minute trap track produced by Oogie Mane. The accompanying video featured young Ox dancing and flexing around Philly neighborhoods, and quickly racked up millions of views. More songs and videos followed, and within a matter of months Ox signed a deal with Warner Bros. and was said to be collaborating on new songs with rappers like Lil Yachty, Lil Pump, and PnB Rock. ~ Fred Thomas