2009 was a year full of rapper/singer hybrids fighting for your attention. Outasight managed to separate himself from the pack with an unique sound and a host of feature efforts. The Internet favorite dropped two tapes, including the critically acclaimed Further, and his output throughout the year led to a deal with Warner Music Group. Despite his steady rise, he doesn’t seem complacent with his current situation. The Y-O native calls himself a “relatively unknown” artist among the mainstream crowd and is well aware of the road ahead of him.

Outasight doesn’t seem daunted in his pursuit of commercial success. In the meantime, he’s hard at work on his studio debut album, From Here To Eternity, and hopes to use it as a springboard to a wider audience. It’s not all about broadening horizons, though. He’s a Ray-Ban aficianado that enjoys some T-Pain prescribed Auto-Tunery with a glass of wine. He also draws inspiration from musical legend Stevie Wonder and has some surprises in store for 2010. As you can see, OU is a man of many shades and he’s just getting started.

TSS: Elaborate on creative process behind Further?

Outasight: You know it really came about where I had been working on a lot of music through the summer, into the fall and going into the winter; really just being in the studio a lot. And I had a lot of records. My last tape was in March so I knew it was time for me to drop a new project. I leaked out records and put out stuff since then. But I didn’t put out a full project just because I really tried to concentrate on quality over quantity. I put it all together, added some to make it more cohesive and it just came out to be Further.

TSS: Would you say that you’re a rapper or a singer?

Outasight: To me it’s all really equal–it’s all the same. It’s just about making dope music. It’s so natural, I never really try to define it. I guess if you’re a singer, you rap too so it’s open for interpretation. I never sat there and said “Well this is the part where I’m gonna rap.” I always let the vibe and the free flow of things lead the way.

TSS: So you wouldn’t prefer one style over the other?

Outasight: Yeah definitely not.

TSS: But what if you had your singing or rapping ability taken away? Which one would you do without first?

Outasight: (Laughs) I would probably sing first. I’ll be honest.

TSS: Why would you pick singing over rapping?

Outasight: Just because with singing it’s a little bit more open for possibilities. I’m a [real] musical guy. Music is boundary-less and singing can be the same way. There’s no limit in that sense.

TSS: It seems like there are a lot of other mainstream artists that are also in your lane. They do the singing and rapping thing, not even just hooks, but they will go into verses singing and then switch up into rapping midway. I notice you do that as well. What do you bring to the table that differentiates you from those kinds of artists?

Outasight: Yeah for sure, I think “to each his own.” For me, the only thing I can do is be myself. If I stay myself, then I’ll continue to get better at making music. It hasn’t failed me yet, you know what I’m saying? So I respect every artist who’s out there trying to make dope shit or is making dope shit. And for me, I just differentiate myself by just being myself and it’s as simple as that. What I have right now, is…I feel like it’s a very organic process and is a very good vibe to the music. People seem to really relate to it. I got a long way to go and I want to gain more listeners but I feel confident.

TSS: You’ve used a lot of live instrumentation in your recording and your songs lately. Do you think that’s a credible asset to being a musician?

Outasight: Nah, it’s not necessary to being credible. I mean look: DJ Premier is incredible and he samples. That’s the beautiful thing about music. It can be incredible no matter if it’s sampled, live bands or drums in the subway. For me, no pun intended, I just wanted to push it further musically. Like if you listen to my first project, Radio New York, it was all sample based. And from there I wanted to continue to grow sonically. One way to do that is have a lot of instrumentation involved.

TSS: It seems like you always have a thing for glasses, namely Ray-Bans. What’s really good with that in terms of your overall style?

Outasight: You know I’m wearing my Wayfarers right now (Laughs). You know that’s just me. I’ve always just rocked Ray’s for a long time. I won’t be in the club with them on–I’m not that guy…

TSS: O.K., cool (Laughs)

Outasight: Yeah that guy is…but you know I just rock my shades and just chill out. Right now I’m rocking them because I’m hung over, drank a little too much wine last night.

TSS: 6th Sense and Cook Classics were a big part in your career so far. Do you think they will be a major part in producing your first mainstream effort?

Outasight: They definitely are already. What’s dope with working with them is that we’re friends. We’re cool so that we can definitely bounce ideas from each other so it’s a good collaborative process. So they’ll definitely be involved in the first album. We [are already] working on a lot of stuff and we’ll see who hops on in terms of names and collabs. It’s still yet to be decided. But those are my people and I certainly wouldn’t have been able to make the dope project that I feel Further was without them, so much props to 6th and Cook.

TSS: Going into From Here To Eternity, your debut album, will you continue to use live instruments or go back to sample based songs?

Outasight: Oh, I’m going even bigger man! I’m going with symphonies, the whole nine! It’s only getting louder and bigger man for real. I know no other way. That’s really the vision. [The title] is basically documenting the musical journey that each project is and [on] From Here To Eternity, I’m just trying to make some real timeless shit and something really daring and crazy.

TSS: How far along are you in working on your major label debut?

Outasight: I got 20 joints so we’re working along. What we’re doing on March 16, we’re putting out a Further EP on iTunes and it’s gonna be four records from Further and two brand new cuts so you get to hear some new stuff and we’re gonna have all the videos and it’s gonna be dope. So we start there and we just keep working.

TSS: Can you shed some light on possible collaborations down the line or any new stuff you’ve worked on with different artists?

Outasight: Album collaborations yet to be (decided,) definitely got some possibilities. I have a remix with Asher Roth for the song “Catch Me If You Can,” so there’s one already.

TSS: Also you’re from Yonkers and you don’t sound like a lot of cats from Yonkers in general…

Outasight: (Laughs!!!)

TSS: What would you say made you stray from the typical New York style from being another “grimey, underground New York rapper” or “an artsy hipster cat from The Village?” What makes you avoid those labels and just be you?

Outasight: Well you just gotta be yourself you know what I mean? When people try too hard, it’s like the first thing you can tell. You can see when someone’s trying to be too artsy or you can see when someone’s trying to be gangster when they’re not. I just stay true to myself and there’s no other way to do it because, if, you’re going to be in the public eye and not be yourself, you’re fraudulent. You don’t want to live that type of life. I keeps it real!

TSS: (Laughs)

Outasight: (Laughs) D-Block what’s good! Nah I’m just kidding.

TSS: (Laughs) Would you say the music that came out of Yonkers had an influence in how you rap?

Outasight: Oh for sure! I mean look. I grew up in Yonkers and you can’t deny DMX and The Lox’s influence. It was huge and it was something the whole city, especially if you’re a Hip-Hop fan, was proud of. We was bumpin’ it. I was bumpin’ it. It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot is a classic. The whole “Let The Lox Go” campaign was epic. Those are things where I’m definitely proud to be from the city it came from.

TSS: Do you think that getting signed is the beginning of another grind for you? What’s the process behind getting signed and being a new artist trying to make a name for yourself?

Outasight: It’s cool because I got signed for the music that I have which is a good thing. I’ve never been co-signed. I never collabed with any big names or anything like that so the music speaks for itself. But with that being said, there’s a lot of work to do. I’m definitely relatively unknown. I’m a new artist still in the majority of the public. It’s a long road ahead man but that’s why we do it. I’m a competitive person and I consider challenge to be a good thing and I’m ready to work.

TSS: No offense, but you don’t sound like a lot of mainstream artists that kids like these days. What do you think is going to be the hardest thing to accomplish in reaching a new demographic?

Outasight: Sure I mean you’re right and it’s not a knock on me because a lot of this shit sounds the same and it’s a little generic, I’ll be honest. But for me I just make the music that I do. But I also definitely try and keep a sensibility to it that is pop and what a mainstream audience might like, especially going further down the line in the music I’m making now. Not that I’m making dance records that sound like everything else but I think it has a certain catchiness that people can relate to and a certain message that people can relate to. Occasionally, and thankfully, original stuff breaks through when it’s dope and accessible enough and that’s my plan.

TSS: What’s been the most difficult thing you’ve dealt with in regards to breaking new ground with a mainstream audience?

Outasight: It’s always a challenge to continue to gain new audiences because there are so many artists out there and there’s so much content out there. And me as just a listener you have to filter through so much stuff and it’s always a constant battle to get new ears to listen to the music for every new artist. If your music is good enough and you stay persistent, then things start to fall into place and so far so good.

TSS: I saw a video of you where you mentioned Stevie Wonder as a major influence. Where exactly does that influence lie in honing your craft?

Outasight: Good question. Stevie, vocally and melodically, was just incredible because he is a genius. From a young age he almost taught me melody. Him and Paul McCartney are just the masters of melody to me singing wise. Stevie made some epic records man. Take a record like “As.” How epic did that record just grow into? You can’t take away that musicianship and 40 years later you can’t take away how great that music was. So it’s inspiring when you have records that were made from records from 1970 to 1975 when he was just slaying shit. You listen to it now and it’s as classic as it’s ever been. To me, that’s the dopest.

TSS: Going back to your music and all your different types of styles, I remember you did a song on a Daytona tape where you were rapping in Auto-Tune…

Outasight: Ha! (Laughs)

TSS: Go ahead I’ll let you explain yourself. I’m not totally anti-auto tune or anything but I thought that was kind of crazy when I heard it.

Outasight: That verse, the first line says it all “This is my signature sound, here’s an autograph.” I was just poking fun at the game because it was such a Hip-Hop track, and a straight posse cut, so I was like “Yo throw my shit in Auto-Tune.” Let me poke fun you know?

TSS: Oh, so you just added it in. You didn’t have Auto-Tune in mind?

Outasight: Nah I did it completely for fun. I thought of it as just a jab at all the Auto-Tune rapping that’s been going on or was going on especially when that record came out.

TSS: So you’re not for or against it? It was just you having fun basically?

Outasight: Yeah exactly. I mean look. I don’t care. T-Pain comes on at a party and I’m dancing. I’m not gonna sit here and act like I’m the higher power of Auto-Tune. “Bartender” still stands up in my eyes. I bump that shit.

TSS: Name three artists that you would want to make music with that you would want to tell your grand kids about?

Outasight: Okay, let’s get D’Angelo out of the streets and get him to sing a hook.

TSS: Just the hook?

Outasight: Yeah he can do whatever the hell he wants. That would just be crazy. You know Paul McCartney is still alive so I would love Paul McCartney to sing a hook. Wouldn’t that be crazy? He still sounds good too. Just for shits and giggles. It’s always be dope to work with a Kanye, or a (Common) or (Mos Def,) somebody that I really came up on. I always liked Hip-Hop but those are the MCs and artists that were incredible to me. That whole movement, that Rawkus movement, I was a New York City kid and I thought that shit was incredible. I had all the records on vinyl and to do a record with an artist of that nature would almost be like coming full circle.

TSS: Anything else you want to add?

Outasight: Nah, shouts to the whole crew. TC, David and Gotty, what’s up? Big fan of the site.

Outasight’s Further EP is currently available on iTunes & Amazon for a cool Abraham Lincoln. Scoop it now for your chance to win a HD Flip Cam, Adidas prize pack and Skullcandy headphones.