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Born Ramon Scott Omari in Cleveland, Ramon Omari was born and raised in the lower-middle-class area of Shaker Heights, along with 2 siblings, by his elementary-school-teacher mother, Harriet, and, until he was 10, his father Ronald, a World War II vet and house painter, who died of cancer at age 67 in 1997. His father’s passing, though, also spurred Omari’s creativity. After catching him singing under his bed one day, Harriet pushed him to join the school choir. She bought Calvin and the Hobbes anthologies to encourage his drawing. And when he took a serious interest in rap and some singing, she supported that, too. Still, the quiet melancholy never disappeared. After being a “C and D student with a teacher mom,” Omari enrolled in Toledo University, only to drop out after a year of studying film. But he was also recording demos, funded by his countless shifts at a local Applebee’s.
After leaving Cleveland, Omari roomed with his uncle, former NFL linebacker Jimmy Jay, in the South Bronx. He had $500, no clothes, and no friends. He worked at a few Manhattan clothing stores, before eventually sharing an apartment with his close-friend Chase Graham and the two started developing the famous Ramon Omari style: a sometimes atmospheric, R&B/Hiphop take on melodic rap, with a dollop of charming, off-key singing. Omari and Graham are still close friends and Omari is currently helping Graham try to break into the industry. But the two no longer live together.
Omari is fidgety but funny in person, using different voices and playing different character as he tells stories. But he’s also deeply sensitive, and can be brutally honest in his lyrics, rhyming about the impact of his father’s death, his mother’s financial struggles and how he had contemplated suicide. He can also become very aggressive if pushed to that edge
That honesty – coupled with an aspirational slacker attitude and a fashion-forward sensibility – has made Omari uniquely marketable. His early association with Bape (he once worked in a Bape store) certified him with a street set . But despite all the positives that have happened in his short, but onlooking career, he’s still made some mistakes.
On June 12, 2010, Ramon Scott Omari was allegedly arrested on charges of felony criminal mischief and possession of a controlled substance (alleged to be liquid Cocaine in a large water bottle). The charges were however, later dropped.
In August 2011, Omari released his debut album Revelations: Part I following the cult success of his debut single "Ms Hollywood" under recording label, Tric Jam Records that had moderate success on the charts. The album was something Omari cited as "sounding like something you could potentially hear pounding in clubs around the world within the next year. The chorus is simple: “I’m not that bad at all/When you think of the world/It’s not that bad at all. Stuff like that”. He ended off the Revelation's with the "Night Terrors Tour" that started in September and ended in November of 2011.
With all Omari’s imperfections, he has to think things are not that bad. But Omari is definitely prepared for whatever the future holds. After taking a break following his album release, he's ready to bounce back and make the right impact on people, and broaden that strong cult following to become the rap/r&b superstar that he yearns to be.
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Genres;Alternative Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop, Pop, Rap
Record Label;Tric-Jam Records
Revelations: Part I (Out August 10)
TBA
Ms. Hollywood
Night Terrors Tour
09.20.11 – Miami, FL @ James L. Knight Centre
09.21.11 – Miami, FL @ James L. Knight Centre
09.24.11 – Tampa, FL @ University of South Florida Sun Dome
09.28.11 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
09.29.11 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
10.01.11 – Binghamton, NY @ Binghamton University
10.02.11 – Washington, DC @ DAR Constitution Hall
10.03.11 – Washington, DC @ DAR Constitution Hall
10.06.11 – Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre Atlanta
10.09.11 – Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum
10.12.11 – St. Louis, MO @ Fox Theatre St. Louis
10.13.11 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
10.14.11 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
10.16.11 – Bloomington, IL @ US Cellular Coliseum
10.17.11 – DeKalb, IL @ N. Illinois University
10.19.11 – Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre Detroit
10.21.11 – Hartford, CT @ Oakdale Theatre
10.26.11 – Lowell, MA @ UMass Lowell
10.29.11 – Houston, TX @ Reliant Arena
10.30.11 – Dallas, TX @ Nokia Theatre Grand Prairie
11.02.11 – Denver, CO @ Wells Fargo Theatre
11.04.11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre
11.06.11 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint Las Vegas
Archive;Live at Los Angeles Nokia Theatre