Noisey, FT and I-D writer Precious Adesina on Osh's My Ye Is Different
Meme culture is creating a new way of thinking about music. Whether intentional or not, the ambiguity of the lyrics in Osh’s My Yé Is Different prompts questions about what it means to go viral.
I first heard a portion of the Croydon rapper’s original freestyle for My Yé Is Different – where he raps over an instrumental version of Ye by Burna Boy – on Twitter. His line “My Yé is different to your Yé” was widely shared on social media, giving him a larger platform to showcase his prowess.
Osh’s next move was a bold one: he recreated the song with original music and a video, while managing to keep the integrity of the initial (and annoyingly catchy) chorus that caught the attention.
In this new version, Osh shows that his vocal abilities go beyond the short-lived successes of virality, solidifying his place as a reputable new musician. Videos of people singing along to his songs at nightclubs are now inescapable, while Stormzy and MistaJam are among his fans.
When I asked Osh, what the line meant, he told me it would be clarified in the new version, however, I am just as confused as before. Perhaps the real question is, what will he do next? I for one am intrigued to find out.
