The Art of Perfection + Development: How Philadelphia Production Collective, Working on Dying molded a star out Matt Ox
Written by Greg Harris
When it comes to the soundscape of what’s hot and what’s new, it’s a lot of artists who are coming up in different funnels of the rap industry, and with it being a climate where things can crash and burn very easily, you see a lot of these fast rising artists leave as fast as they came. In the young budding star from Philadelphia, Matt Ox’s case he’s been able to create a big splash with a crazy single and visual but during his process of growth he was able to maintain the tide to unleash a big wave with his debut project. In this piece, it’s not about highlighting the rapid talent that’s getting attention, it’s about putting effort and time into an artist and his sound to make something timeless in a world that’s very crunched on time to say the least.
It’s been a little over than a year since Matt Ox crashed the internet with his single, “Overwhelming” and the rest of it has been a documented piece of history to see what moves he’ll be making. Given the climate of artists that are achieving things in a fast format, these guys wouldn’t be far from signing to a label in that time frame. It seems like it’s pretty much standard, but even given a documentary on Noisey, a curated show with Chief Keef in LA, and many more cool things happening,
Matt Ox and his Working on Dying camp remained patient and stayed down. Given this tight knit relationship, it not only allowed Matt Ox to work with a talented bunch of producers that include the likes Oogie Mane, F1LTHY, The Loosie Man, and more, but it’s given these producers a true case study to experiment and mold over a course of time to develop the best product possible.
OOGIEMANE
WORKING ON DYING
F1LTHY
WORKING ON DYING
BRANDON FINESSIN
WORKIN ON DYING
THELOOSIEMAN
WORKING ON DYING
YUNG FORZA
WORKING ON DYING
The patience has paid a virtue and you hear it clearly throughout the debut effort, “Ox”. Although it stretches itself over 11 tracks, it’s a consistent vibe that’s carried out throughout the project. As far as producers the only other credits come from Real McCoy, who’s a rising producer from Pittsburgh and TrapMoneyBenny, compliments from Key! on “Pull Up”, but the bulk of work come from the Working On Dying camp. The versatility that’s carried out on the project from them surely defines their sound while also introducing a flagship artist. It’s similar to what Swizz Beatz and Irv Gotti did with DMX, keeping things strictly in-house to come up with a new alternative for their region and Ox and WOD are certainly creating a new wave for Philadelphians to follow. Much like Lil Uzi Vert, they topple over the matter of experimenting but it’s the reckless amount of youth energy that Ox carries that will make him a star, undeniably.
The newfound professional relationship between the collective and Motown Records has made matters easier to spread the material at a faster rate, but it’s also unlocking the key to what kind of potential that Matt Ox and Working on Dying have. From the sound of this last project, it seems like the sky's the limit.
Check out the project below.