If you’ve been around the internet at all in the last month, you’ve probably seen a fidget spinner. The tiny brightly colored toys that supposedly help with disorders like ADHD have been everywhere in the last 30 days. And if you happen to hang out at the nexus point where the Rap Internet and the rest of the online world collide, you may have seen the work of Matt Ox.
The presumably pre-teen rapper saw his video for the song “Overwhelming” take off thanks to some well-placed shots of himself playing with the viral coping mechanism-cum-faddish toy (and Ox’s atypical appearance). In the video, the lanky kid stunts in ways that only a kid could think to do: Riding a dirtbike in the street, holding up wads of cash and convenience store snacks and — of course — showing off his collection of spinners.
It’s not just the passing obsession with brightly colored pseudo-tops that’s propelled Ox into the spotlight. The Philly-repping hook contains all the nervous energy that the toys are supposed to eradicate and Ox’s street-level bars are, admittedly, pretty funny when you’re looking at someone from Lunchables key demo. Ox seems to have a knack for finding jarring imagery to play against his own looks, like when he wields a machete wearing prison orange in the video for his song “This N That.”
Like all weird internet trends, it’s only a matter of time before the outside world takes notice. And it looks like that’s starting to happen for the young rapper. Diplo — a man who has made his entire career out of holding up niche sounds to a larger audience — tagged the rapper for his upcoming Mad Decent Block Party.
Ox will play alongside established acts like Flosstradamus and Diplo himself during the concert’s Philly stop. We hope the big stage isn’t too… overwhelming.
10 years of @MDBlockParty with 2 special shows this summer https://t.co/ssownzGAn3 pic.twitter.com/Y4bzXrbWUP
— diplo (@diplo) June 8, 2017
