A Columbus, Ohio native with dance moves that rival Will Smith in his “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” days, Greg Owens (G.O.) is living proof talent knows no age.
At only 18, this Columbia College Chicago student has a résumés including seven mixtapes as well as his record label, Young Nation Entertainment, a business he started at 14-years-old. Possessing the strict work ethic matched with the talent and grace, could G.O. be the future of hip-hop? One thing’s for sure, he’s far from amateur. Music has been running through this budding emcee’s veins since infancy.
“I started making music when I was a baby. I started off playing the drums when I was 2-years-old. I had a little toy drum, but that was when I fell in love with music.”
His love for making music grew into an interest in recoding. “I started recording music was when I was 13. I had been making beats, but I didn’t know what to do with them, so I decided to become a recording artist and make my own music,” he says.
While G.O. regards drumming as his introduction into music, he knew hip-hop was always a genre he wanted to pursue.
“I pretty much grew up around hip-hop. Hip-hop is mainly the voice of the young people, but it’s still for everybody. It’s a lot of conscious rap, gangster rap and conservative rap. It’s very relatable. I wanted to make music that was relatable.”
On track to achieving that relatable quality, School Dayz, G.O.’s seventh mixtape, allows the listener to experience the diversity of his skills. His producing talents are highlighted through songs such as “Popular,” while his verbal skills are showcased on songs such as “6 Foot 7 Foot.” He also notes that songs “Graduation” and “Prom Night” “truly came from the heart.”
Known around Columbia’s campus as “Mr. Popular,” G.O. hopes “to be a positive influence, not only musically, but as a person.” Continuing to ride high of the success of his seventh mixtape, School Dayz, an ode to his high school years, G.O. released the video last month to his latest single “Popular” (which samples the song of the same name from the Broadway musical Wicked). Featuring Bianca Portis, the video has racked up over 2,500 vies since it’s release.
When asked what motivates him, G.O. summed it up by saying he is motivated by watching others do their work well. “As an artist and producer, you’re always learning from other producers and artists,” G.O says. “I actually like going behind the scenes, and I listen a lot, I learn a lot and I put it into my work.”
G.O. will release his eighth mixtape, The G Files Vol. II at the top of next year.
“Popular” by Greg Owens
