Fresh

When I first heard this track I admit I was like.. yeah, this is hot. But when I listened to it again, it had everything a hit track should have. The lyrics the delivery, the production and the track are all polished and this piece is HipHopOklahoma.com CERTIFIED! - Hip Hop Oklahoma

This is most definitely for them...

Last week, Oklahoma rapper and Lawton native, Fresh dropped his latest project Retros and XO’s 2. If you’re not familiar with the rapper and his past work, Retros and XO’s 2 is the follow up compilation to his original project Retros and XO’s, which was released back in February of this year. Fresh once again makes the 90s relevant by composing a mixtape on classic retro beats--new school meets old school if you will.

This is the third project from the rapper this year, and despite the amount of work the rapper has been putting out, there's no need to skip a single track. With features from DJ RnR, Split Personality, Jody Oklahoma, and Darsha, Fresh never skips out on making meaningful music that listeners can not only vibe to, but also relate to in some way. Fresh released the first single from the project, “Just Fresh” back at the beginning of September. While "Just Fresh" is a hot track, there are some other noteworthy tracks on the tape that you just can’t ignore.
“I was told earn it, but don’t act like you deserve it”
— Fresh
On the track, "Til It’s Gone", Fresh discusses how thankful he is for his blessings and the importance of realizing how blessed you are before it’s too late. Jody Oklahoma lends his talents to the track, and what we get is two very different perspectives on blessings. Other personal favorites, "Ease My Mind" and "What I'm Tryna Say" -- both have been on repeat this week.

A lot of people were wondering how the Lawton rapper was going to follow up Empty Venues, well Fresh didn't disappoint. 13 tracks of easy listening, start nodding your head now because you’re guaranteed to be nodding it all the way through. - Bellevue Bizz

Now that the Finals are over, there’s going to be a void until football season. Unless you’re a baseball fan anyway. Oklahoma’s Fresh has the perfect solution for us with this basketball inspired new video for his “Wrong Proof” track. The song shows the tedious task that chasing a dream can become for athletes and aspiring hustlers as well while showcasing Fresh’s skills on the court and the mic. Check the video for it below. - Joe Hovas MF

“I don’t care what nobody say about me, this voice inside my head keep saying I’m on.”
– Fresh, “Wrong Proof”

Self-motivation, preservance, and faith. If you can’t see these characteristics within yourself then you ain’t “on” AND The Greener Side of Hip Hop can’t dig you. So Fresh, – “this for you”, “this for you”, (yep, channeling one of my favorite tracks from you) – we salute you for being today’s #eMceeCrushMonday! - Greener Side of Hip Hop

The Sooner State isn't known for its hip hop scene, but a Lawton native is looking to change the tune of Oklahomans, or at least expand upon it, in the near future.
Entrepreneur Jacobi Isham creator of three musical projects, two websites and one clothing line ventured to Oklahoma City more than nine months ago in hopes of beginning his entertainment career. Through various art avenues and outlets, he has striven to promote a single message of hope and inspiration a message he hopes will find its way to more eyes and ears in upcoming months.
Mission
"Flipping negatives into positives that's the whole thing," Isham said. "That's what my clothing line stands for, and that's what a lot of my music is about. I try to send positive messages for sure, but I try to balance that with being an honest person."
The Eisenhower High School graduate started experimenting with beats, melodies and lyrics in middle school a fad that kept him in studios and off the streets during his youth but didn't take his craft seriously until college. He studied business management at Seminole State College from 2008-12 while playing college basketball, and then transferred to Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee to complete his degree in 2013.
"I got saved (religiously) after high school and I was like, 'OK, I'm not doing this anymore,'" Isham said, explaining the content of his lyrics did not always coincide with his morals at that time. "So I stopped rapping and just wanted to focus on basketball and my education. I got back into it sometime later, though (with some other musicians), and our group ended up parting ways because of bad contracts. ... After my last year of playing ball I had one more year of college left, so throughout that time I was thinking about what my next step should be."
Isham contemplated playing basketball overseas or investing his time and talents into an established business. He decided to take an ever bigger leap of faith.
"When it came down to it, I really wanted to do music and become an entrepreneur," he said. "I decided I wanted to make my own way, so it's all become a lot more personal."
Music projects
Isham's recent mixtape releases include "Retros and XOs," February 2014; "Empty Venues," July 2014; and "Retros and XOs 2," September 2014. His latest project a music video for "Wrong Proof," the "theme song of the come-up," was released June 17. " Isham's stage name, "Fresh," is representative of the unique and energetic presence he brings to a project.
"'Fresh' has been built into something that I really take pride in it's that breath of 'fresh' air," Isham, now 25, said. "You can look into hip hop right now and see a lot of saturation, a lot of things that aren't adding to society or people. It's made up of visual or materialistic things. I'm in that, but I'm not with that that's where I separate myself, with my music."
Playing off of situations and experiences that "anyone can relate to," Isham said, his music is "personal" and "exclusive." Listeners have said his sound is similar to a mixture of Big Krit, Jay Z and J. Cole, but Isham believes he falls into his own category. He said he has finally gained a following on the Oklahoma City circuit and hopes more success follows.
"I just try to be honest and raw," he said. "I'm constantly trying to improve. I started going to open mics in October last year, and I was just performing for nobody. I remember I would be at these open mics and there were maybe two people in the audience maybe just one. Sometimes it would be completely packed for the guy before me and then I would go up and nobody would be there. ... I never went with anybody to these things; I never asked my friends to go with me. I feel like, as an artist, it's your job to make people want to support you. You have to earn that."
He kept at it, he said, understanding that "all of the greats have been at that point before."
"From my perspective, it was just my time to work on my craft and to really see what I am made of, then, to take that and learn from it and get better while nobody is watching," ," Isham said. "That way, when somebody does watch, I have something to offer and can provide a quality product."
Clothing line
BOMBnCOMS, a streetwear line designed by Isham, made its online debut on Black Friday of 2014. The name of the clothing line abbreviates a personal saying that relates to Isham's overall mission of promoting positivity: burdens on my back and chips on my shoulder.
"I'm trying to use this clothing line to connect with people," he said. "It's there for a reason. It's showing people, 'Hey, you've got these burdens on your back and these chips on your shoulders you've got these struggles and things you're going through, yes, but you can turn them into positives.'" (for more go to the link and create an account) - The Lawton Constitution