Social media allows indie artists to streamline their records to the masses in a way that’s totally devoid of any corporate puppeteers. It’s a process based on natural attraction, not unlike dealing with people on a day to day basis. But while some songs are sonically inviting in a way comparable to experiencing love at first sight, others are so quirky that forming an opinion off a single listen is ludicrous. That, in premise, is the story of OG Maco, the Atlanta-bred rapper who’s literally and figuratively making a lot of noise due to his chaotic single, “U Guessed It.”
Having amassed over three million YouTube views in just a month, it’s safe to assume that Maco is on to something. And that’s not to say that the bubbling rapper doesn’t have more to prove. His situation, however, is different because he appears to be in complete control, despite the track’s quick traction. In our best impression of Denzel Washington’s Training Day character, Alonzo Harris: “The sh*t’s chess, it ain’t checkers!”
Maco has aligned himself with QC Records, which is ran by Kevin “Coach K.” Lee, who previously managed the likes of Jeezy and Gucci Mane. His independent label also houses Migos, who know a thing or two about extending 15 minutes of fame in the face of naysayers.
It’s no wonder that one of Maco’s follow-up singles is aptly titled “Want More,” as his Live Life 2 project featuring production from Cardo is set to release sometime within the next 15 days. In short? We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the newcomer, now.
Who: OG Maco (formerly Maco Mattox) hails from Atlanta, a city that never completely loses the underdog mentality it had pre-Outkast’s success, despite their obvious dominance on the charts since the mid-2000s. That said, the young rapper’s mentality and a gambler looking to strike big in the casino are synonymous. The only difference is that Maco can count cards, while the next artist is betting their life’s savings. Such can be heard in confident delivery on wax, as it appears that he’s discovered his formula early on, though he contends that he has more to give.
Credentials: OG Maco made his impact felt on four tapes, including Live Life, which released February 2014. But it was the Give Em Hell EP, which he and fellow ATLien Key! co-created, that held his breakout single. Live Life 2 and OG Maco will arrive sometime between October and December.
Fun Fact: Maco is fairly quiet, though the sound of his popular records infer otherwise.
Hip-Hop Wired: You recently released the “U Guessed It (Remix),” featuring 2 Chainz. How did that collaboration come about?
OG Maco: It’s not really a remix, but we’ll refer to it as that right now. 2 Chainz was actually the only person I really wanted and that I heard on the record immediately. Even before I let Key! get on it, I heard Tity Boi on it.
Time was going by, and there’s a bunch of big names who reached out to get on the record, but Tity Boi was really the one who said, “Yea, I’m f*cking with this sh*t, hard body” and sent back the verse. That ni**a killed it.
HHW: What do you have to say about the role that Vine played in “U Guessed It” becoming a viral hit?
OG Maco: Man, that sh*t is crazy [but] it’s cool at the same time because we knew the record would be successful. I personally don’t vine; I don’t give a f*ck about it. Summerella, Wolf Tyla, King Kerraun, and Reg Couz played a part [in the song’s success]. But do I think the song would have gotten to three million without it, eventually over time. For that explosion, nothing’s stronger than the people. Salute Vine for that.
HHW: TheGive Em Hell EP you did with Key! held a few potential hits. What made “U Guessed It” the one?
OG Maco: That’s not even the reason why we went with it to be honest with you. “U Guessed It” was on Give Em Hell, but “RoadRunner” was also on the project; that was my active single and it was going crazy. “RoadRunner” was getting into every club around the city, then “U Guessed It” happened. We didn’t pick that sh*t, people did. People f*ck with me being angry.
HHW: You’re pretty mellow right now, which is a total departure from how you’ve sounded past tracks. How do you channel that energy in the booth?
OG Maco: It’s like this. I’m really, really quiet, completely chill, and in my own world or I’m really explosive and right here. But when I’m in the studio, it’s not really either of them. I don’t really know how to explain it.
That’s like all that savage sh*t that I’m holding in and not really doing right now, because we’re rapping; we’re getting away from all that sh*t. But all I have to do is think about that sh*t. It’s not old for me. I ain’t been rapping for 15 years, 10 years, or five years. My sh*t is real fresh, it’s real active. I just lost ni**as; ni**as just died. It doesn’t take much for me to get angry. I’m always angry.
HHW: What would you say is the difference between this generation of Atlanta rappers and past ones?
OG Maco: I feel like every other generation musically in Atlanta—and I’m not taking away anyone else’s greatness in my next statement—but I feel like all the other past generations of Atlanta were based on some type of format and some real copy cat ass sh*t. It’s like “Ok, that’s what we on right now, so we’re all on that right now.” Whoever are the best artists at the moment will be copied, and that’s how everyone blows up.
Our generation, we’re really rebels. We really don’t give a f*ck. All of us rap however the f*ck we want to rap—if you want to even call it rap. We all do whatever we want to do and we do it however long it takes until people realize it’s great. We believe in each other before mainstream catches on […] we all support each other first. We all say each other are legends first, then people find out why because they pick up on the music.
When no one sounds alike and there’s still that kind of unity, that sh*t hard. It’s progress.
HHW: Speaking of unity, Atlanta artists actually seem like friends more than collaborators who respect each other. Why is that?
OG Maco: It’s more p*ssy to keep that friction in your city, because no one gets any glow from that. Anything else is attention, and that isn’t sh*t. Every place that had attention because rappers were going at each other, it all collapsed in on itself.
Meanwhile, all of us have actually been friends—no matter how we met. A lot of the people I met through rap didn’t meet me rapping, even if they themselves were already rapping. When you actually know a person, you really care about situations and doing something that you’re friend would jump in on. Something that could create a situation, now all of your futures are in danger.
Not too many people are willing to think about the next ni**a. We should always be thinking about the next man, because we’re going to take care of ourselves—or God will.
HHW: You created your upcoming project, Live Life 2, with producer Cardo, which a departure from the sound fans are loving. Any cause for that?
OG Maco: It’s funny you use the word “departure,” because what a lot of people don’t know is “U Guessed It” is a departure from my real sound. My first mixtape had Cardo sh*t on it, and sonically, it’s picture is more in depth than the “U Guessed It” beat. But Brandon [Thomas] made beats that are really simple, but really intrinsic. Cardo is way closer to what my fans are used to me doing.
HHW: That said, how do you plan to bridge the gap between your new fans and core fans?
OG Maco: The best way is literally just to do it. Everybody’s going to listen to Live Life 2. What you do when you see a two? You go and listen to the first project. Live Life 2 has enough components from what new fans love from “U Guessed It,” “F*CKEMx3,”and “Want More,” that when they hear the things that were missing from those records, because people weren’t ready for it, they’ll say “Oh sh*t! It’s real now.”
There’s arguments going on right now about what kind of staying power, what kind of impact I’m about to have. And there’s people [rooting for me] who think they’re going to win that argument. They’re going to win that argument.
