On a freezing Melbourne winter’s day we welcome tropical vibes with the presence of Jamaican Omar Samuel Pasley, aka OMI. In a revealing interview, the 29-year-old discusses the uncanny rise of his 20-country chart-topping smash-hit “Cheerleader”, creating happy music, diversifying and challenging oneself as a performer, and “staying human” despite global stardom.He further shares his current timezone struggles, holding firm to his branding ideals, and checking his OCD in preparation for Slimefest this coming September!Music News: I am joined by world-renowned musician, OMI. OMI, welcome to “On The Mic”.OMI: Wow, what’s up, Mike? How are you doing?MN: I’m doing very well thank you my man. I’ve been following your Twitter, your Instagram, and I’ve seen that despite the fact you’ve travelled all over the world the last few months, you’ve been struggling with the cold here in Australia. Particularly in Melbourne and right now this is one of the coldest days we’ve experienced for the year so far, so how are you dealing with it today?OMI: (Laughs) Well you know, this is not the coldest I’ve ever weathered. I’ve been to Sweden and yeah, it’s snowed over and everything, so I’ve been through quite a lot before getting to this point.MN: So you’re surviving well, you’re adjusting then?OMI: (Laughs) I am adjusting, and surviving, of course.MN: But it still doesn’t have the tropical sunset that you have in Kingston.OMI: No, it doesn’t say anything tropical at all, but I can appreciate it because this is where my music has taken me…MN: Pretty much you’ve been travelling since the start of the year. How are you handling the nonstop travel schedule?OMI: Uh, you’ve got different time zones, you’ve got different cultures. You’ve got different time zones, did I say that? (Laughs)MN: (Laughs) Yeah.OMI: The timezone change is what really messes you up, you know what I mean, ’cause like now, I’m 14 hours ahead of my native time and it’s crazy. I’m awake when I should be asleep, really.MN: And in the last couple weeks as well, you started in Australia, then you kicked over to Papua New Guinea for a couple days…OMI: Yeah, yeah. It’s that we’re gonna be in Japan, I mean it’s crazy. We’re going to Ibiza, so it’s like a real world tour.MN: This is not just a number of selected countries, you’re going global.OMI: Yeah, global.MN: It’s fitting I mention global because “Cheerleader” had such an uncanny rise globally last year. I mean, I was looking at the YouTube views. Over a billion combined views. Number one in 20 countries which is sensational. Six weeks atop the US Billboard 100 charts. Did you ever anticipate that kind of popularity for your music?OMI: I mean the magnitude to which Cheerleader rose is quite phenomenal, and I’m just happy to be here celebrating the success with my wonderful team. When we do music, I do it so that people can enjoy it and people can appreciate it. So when I see it happening, and when I see all this manifesting, it’s like all the hard work that we put in is finally paying off.MN: And something you mentioned just then which is important is team. Because, you know, as a solo performing artist, so many people see you as the product but there’s so much that goes into it behind the scenes.OMI: Of course. I’m just a face, man. There’s a lot of things that goes on behind the scenes, a lot of people who work hard, who work overtime to make things happen, to make things possible, and you have to pay tribute to that.MN: When I listen to “Cheerleader” it makes me happy no matter what kind of mood I’m in. “Hula Hoop” too. How do you feel to know you can elicit that kind of response in so many people worldwide?OMI: (Laughs) I make happy music! You would have to go out of your way to be unhappy when you listen to my music. But I guess, you know, music imitates, it mimics life, basically, so whatever you sing about, chances are there’s somebody in the world who is going through that, or could use this motivation or this means of expression. So that’s why I do music, and as I said before, it’s good when people appreciate that.MN: Well you did say you make “happy music” but what I was impressed about in reviewing your album is that you did take chances, you tried to show some diversity.OMI: Of course, of course. What would an artist, a true artist be without growth and development and showing diversity and different sides to his/her artistry, you know what I mean?MN: Yeah.OMI: It’s something that you almost have to do, you know, otherwise you just become “blah” or boring, and the last thing I want to seem is as though I’m not growing as an artist.MN: Because there would have been the pressure there as an artist to say, “Hey, “Cheerleader” has hit it to such a phenomenal level that if I mimic this another 12 or 13 times, that’s where the demand is gonna be”. But you mentioned before that you feel that challenge as an artist.OMI: Of course, definitely When you come with something quite as great as “Cheerleader” and you know, it has the impact that it did, it’s hard to follow up, it’s difficult to follow up, if you’re trying to follow up on the same niche. Yeah, you’ve created something that put you on the map and something that people respect and admire you for, but that doesn’t mean that’s where you’re supposed to stay, forever and forever, amen. You’re supposed to grow and develop and let people see different sides to you.MN: But a lot of the tracks on your album too, they were pieces that you had worked on previous to your success with “Cheerleader”, the global success I should say.OMI: Definitely, and that’s one of the things that I’ve always talked about in my interviews. We released “Cheerleader”

[Original Version] in 2012, but we weren’t sitting around waiting for it to blow up. We were always putting in the ground work and still recording, and, you know, just toiling away in the lab.MN: And you actually, you initially wrote the song in 2008, is that right?OMI: Yeah, yeah.MN: So from 2008 to 2012, that’s a slow burn.OMI: That’s a long time (Laughs).MN: So, you release it in 2012 in its initial form. What’s your popularity like on the streets of Jamaica at that time?OMI: Oh, very popular. The thing about Jamaicans, Jamaicans don’t really get starstruck. They will respect you and they will give you a shout out, but they don’t really get starstruck in a sense. But they do respect what we’ve done and the mark we’ve made in this generation gap on the Billboard charts, and all the success, you know. Breaking records in the UK, they respect that.MN: Has much changed at home since the success, well, in the Summer of 2015 in the United States?OMI: In terms of?MN: In terms of your life in general. How you’re received by the people, everything.OMI: Definitely, definitely. Significantly. It comes with the territory. With great success you’re gonna have greater responsibility, of course. So it’s like, when I’m at home though, I try to be at home, I try to take myself out of work mode, so to speak. And just relax and recoup…MN: And enjoy your family and friends?OMI: Yes, and enjoy my family and friends, of course.MN: So it’s about staying grounded as well.OMI: Staying human. I like to put it like that because when you are at the top, and when you are respected and admired by many, sometimes you’re seen as superhuman, as if you’re this person that is always in this character, or always has to be in character, so you need that downtime to kind of reconnect with your humanity.MN: The slow burning journey that you have had in the industry where you became an overnight sensation, so to speak, on the end of seven years of hardship.OMI: (Laughs) Right, right.MN: Was there any time along that journey where, you’re a struggling artist, so many musicians are starving artists until they have that hit. Was there any time along the way where you started to lose faith with where you were heading with your music?OMI: Um, no, no, because you see, I did not see myself as a struggling artist because I dabbled in other things, I occupied my time with other things so that allowed the time to pass.MN: So you didn’t have everything contingent on the music.OMI: I was involved in other things. Have you ever sat down and tried to wait for someone, or wait for something? Just sit there and do nothing and try to wait. It makes the time seem a lot longer. But if you try to occupy your time doing something, before you know it, you pass the time and you still maintain the patience.MN: What do you do to occupy yourself? How do you pass the time?OMI: First of all you get another job, that’s what you do, so you have a source of income. And you still continue to go to the studio and do your recordings so that you don’t lose the music because it’s very jealous, and you cannot let it leave you.MN: Yep. When did you start performing? How old were you when you started live performing?OMI: About 19 I started gracing stages and seeing what it was like on that other aspect of music, and delivering music, not just walking in the booth and recording but actually delivering it to the people. My whole idea is growth and development. Even now as a world-renowned artist, or a popular artist, what you want to see it as, I still believe in growth and development. I still believe in improving on each performance, trying to make each one better than the last, if you know what I mean. That’s what I believe, and I believe it’s not going to come overnight. A lot of very good artists are still trying to master that aspect of it.MN: It’s always having challenges ahead of yourself.OMI: It’s a package, man. It’s laying down the right tone on the record, and it’s delivering the music on stage in front of 50,000, 80,000 people, you know, or three…MN: Is that how many were at that first performance?OMI: (Laughs) See, that’s the thing. If you are a performer, you’re a performer. It doesn’t matter how many are in the audience. You’re gonna always give your best, and you’re gonna always give the same performance like as if the numbers are great.MN: When you think back to that guy on the stage in the early days, when you’re walking out, delivering your shows in Jamaica I am guessing to pretty small halls. Do you think mentally back then about, “What if I get there, what if I get to them 30,000, 40,000, 50,000 people”? I mean now you see yourself there.OMI: It’s because I was always thinking like that why I am in this position today. I wasn’t wearing myself out doing all that, or doing things that would prevent me from being whom I am today. To cheapen the brand. Never, never, never ever, cheapen your brand. Because at the end of the day, your brand is what’s to be marketed so you can’t ever reduce the value of that.MN: Is that what motivates you as a performer?OMI: Definitely. Keep building your brand. And keep it exclusive. Exclusivity makes people curious, it makes people want more, it makes people wonder what’s next, and it keeps you interesting. If you dilute that in any way, then you’re losing and then no major label or company is going to take interest in you because you’ve devalued your brand.MN: How do you mentally prepare for a performance? Like an hour before you go out on stage,what’s going through your mind, how do you get yourself ready.OMI: I don’t say “Okay, I am going to perform.” I look it as enjoying the company of my fans. I’m going out there to people whom already love me, already know me for a certain type of music, and already have certain expectations of me. When I go out there, it’s not a talent show. I’m not out there to prove myself. They already know what music I do, I’m already popular, so I’m basically going out there to share a moment. I tell myself that so it kind of takes some of the pressure off of me.MN: But you’re in your happy place, too.OMI: And you have to get in your element, in your happy place, as you put it.MN: Now something I know that you’re probably not overly happy about is getting slimed…OMI: You know, it comes with the territory. As I said before, there’s different things which…MN: It’s part of the branding?OMI: Yeah, there you go. What if I’m at home and there’s a role in a movie and the role goes against, like, I have OCD. I like things neat and tidy. But then I hear [for a role] I need to crawl through a gutter, it comes with the territory. It’s a role, you get what I’m saying? So I have to adjust my mind, and adjust myself, and my wardrobe, and be at Slimefest (laughs).MN: So you’ve been slimed what, once this week?OMI: Yeah, definitely. It was egg roulette, something like that. Pretty interesting game. And the slime wasn’t too bad. Once you get over the OCD aspect of it, it’s not too bad.MN: You’re back in Australia for Slimefest September 25 in Melbourne at Rod Laver Arena, and September 30 at Sydney Olympic Park. You’re the headline act, the pressure’s on, but if this interview is anything to go by, you ain’t gonna be feeling any pressure at all.OMI: Oh, definitely, definitely. As you said before, it’s all about being in your element, being in your happy place, and trying to devise ways to make yourself comfortable. Whatever works for you, whatever you need to tell yourself, just do it. And at the end of the day, have the desired result and reaction.MN: OMI, thank you for joining me On The Mic. I look forward to welcoming you back to Australia in much much warmer weather, I promise.OMI: (Laughs) Don’t make promises you can’t keep, man!MN: I think I can keep that one as it can’t get much colder than it is today.OMI: Alright, I’m gonna hold you to that.Listen to the full audio here.For more information on OMI, visit his official website at: omimusiconline.comListen/Subscribe to the On The Mic With Mike Altamura podcast here or Via ITunes: here.

Source: Music News.com – Interviews