Have you ever worried about not getting eight hours of sleep? Atlanta-based multi-disciplinary artist Oceanworld is only getting two. I think that’s what it takes to spread across music, digital art, anime, gaming and everything in between.
Apparently it’s working, though. At only 19 years old, Oceanworld has already caught the attention of Kanye West, Movalola and Offset.
But when it comes to collaboration, Ocean is determined to work with collaborators that really enables him to expand his expression into new mediums that he can’t handle alone.
Enter Realm, a new metaverse company that launched to the public at NFT.NYC 2022.
Realm’s core mission is to make the Metaverse experiences accessible to all. They enable artists like Oceanworld to fully expand their art in an interactive experience without limits, free from financial constraints.
Without scope, NU RADIO would exist only in audio form.
NU RADIO began life as a mixtape, launching in November 2021 as a showcase for digital-first artists such as Yameii Online, a vocaloid artist co-produced by OseanWorld with fellow artist Deco .
But with the help of Realm, Osian turns NU RADIO into a full-fledged game, fulfilling a dream he has nurtured since childhood.
NU RADIO fully embraces OseanWorld with bespoke avatars and immersive experiences, such as a multiplayer racing game launching ahead of NU RADIO’s official launch in mid-July. As a realm, that is, as the members of the realm community are known, you are immediately taken into the mind of Oceanworld.
Okay, Osien, before we get into the realm and NU Radio, I need to hear about your Kanye experience. did you meet him?
So, Movalola grabbed my crap and sent it over and I found a post on their Twitter, which was crazy. Then, Movalola gave me his number and one day I got a text from him like “Yo I’m in Atlanta. Pull up.” And I was like, “Yo, this is crazy. I can’t believe it, bro just texting me and doing shit.”
We just hung out, I watched him work for three or four days. It’s one of those weird things where these types of people come into your life, they inspire you, and then they take the plunge. it was very nice.
I see a lot of Murakami in your work – too many Kanye graduation circa 2008. Maybe Kanye recognized her too?
That’s the fun part, so when I first started doing Oceanworld stuff, I had no idea who that was. And then people will be like, “Oh yeah, your shit looks like Murakami.” I was like, “I have to find out who the fuck it was.” I didn’t know she graduated for Kanye. I was like, “Yo, this shit is fire.”
I just finished playing your NU Radio racing game on Realm and I thought it was amazing. This has made me think jet set radioAlthough there are clearly some similarities Mario Kart, very. What are some sports that have inspired you?
I liked it sonic adventure 2 battle A lot as a kid. I was an only child, so I only played one game for a while. And then as I grew up and started making my own art, people would say to me, “Hey, you remind me of this.” it would be something like Kingdom Hearts either jet set radio,
I look at all these different colors and all these different aesthetics and stuff and then incorporate it into my thing.
So we are here with these beautiful custom arcade units on this pop-up where you can play NU RADIO on Realm, and compete with your merchant. But scavenger hunts were happening around New York too – what was the idea behind that?
I like that aspect of art where you can have the stuff surface level, which is totally fine, or you can go down this crazy rabbit hole with a bunch of other shit. It’s like a video game where you can do side quests to unlock other stuff.
I put all of these Realm scavenger sites around town so fans who want to go deeper can do so. He was rewarded with a Merchant at the pop-up here. In Realm in the future, I’d also like to do this – create side quests where fans are given rewards that go deeper.
NU Radio was a mixtape before this game was done right? What inspired you to turn it into a game with Realm?
NU Radio Deco was a collaboration between me and all these artists that I love. We did this concert in Atlanta, and I wanted it to be super interactive, like I wanted people to feel and participate in my universe.
So, at concerts you could go to see a person perform, you could go to play video games, you could run a competition – it was super interactive. Now that I’m building NU Radio City inside the realm to complement that shit. Something digital happens in the realm while we all have fun in real life too.
Why did you choose to collaborate with Realme? What was the impetus for you there as an artist?
For artists like me, it is very important to recognize the style by the brands. When I have great ideas and no one necessarily recognizes my personal style, that sucks. The reason I got into 3D in the first place is to do things my own way.
You have potential collaborators emailing you and saying “we want you to do this, follow this acronym” – whatever. But the realm hit me like, “We know making games has been your dream, we want to help you.” And, I was like, “Of course, what the fuck?” Like, this is crazy.
Okay, so I think you’re in the first phase of this collaboration with Realm. What does the rest of the roadmap look like?
We want to make so many mini games and so many different kinds of things. We’re going to have customizable avatars, crazy clothes – we really want this to be not just a place to play, but a place to live in.
At some point, it’s not even really a sport anymore, it’s just a way of life. Like we have devices, iPhones and shit like that. At the end of the day they are just tools. That’s what I want my scope to be, because it’s the same thing.
Maybe you started playing it as a video game, but 10 years later, you’re using it to brush your teeth or something.
Damn it, watch out, Oral Bee, Ocean’s coming for you. The role of the artist in the metaverse seems to be getting so strong.
Yes, facts. Area and I are examples here.
As artists we’re like, “Hey, I know how to make this art and I can get your company doing things you couldn’t before.” So, now artists are the middle man between art, technology and these companies, which is great.
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Source: www.highsnobiety.com
