From the dark tundra of Alaska to the heaving jungles of Papua, OldBoy Rhymes has experienced a lot — from terrorist attacks to home invasions. He’s befriended billionaires, kids in “third world” slums, and people at all levels in between; OldBoy Rhymes has lived a crazy, multi-polar life, and his lyricism is drenched in the love and angst he soaked up along the way.

“I’ve spent the majority of my life outside the US,” explains OldBoy. “Since I was a kid, rhyming has been an outlet that I’ve leaned on to process my perspective on life and society.”

OldBoy’s stage name functions on different levels. Most obviously, he doesn’t feel young. And he’s not. “I don’t believe a no-name nobody has ever dropped a debut album from out of nowhere, in their late 30’s, featuring a bunch of genre icons,” says the rhymer, typing in his top secret American headquarters.

OldBoy’s journey includes a visit to a mental health ward and a life-and-death street scuffle. It almost ends in a plane crash. He takes notes the whole time. Palestine. The pandemic. Generational trauma. Terrorist attacks. An American legacy of murder from JFK to Trayvon Martin. Dysmorphia. Abandonment issues. The immunocompromised life. Body dysmorphia. OldBoy knows what is hard: Life is hard.