Hip-hop has always been a confessional booth for the streets, a courtroom for the soul, and sometimes, a therapy session disguised as a banger. Enter One who May Ascend (OMA), the Texas-bred warrior-poet who isn’t afraid to lace up his gloves and swing against his own shadows. His latest offering, Talking To My Demons (released March 8, 2024), is less a track and more a sonic exorcism — raw, unflinching, and brutally honest.
From the jump, Talking To My Demons pulls you into an introspective odyssey. Every bar drips with the kind of truth you don’t usually hear outside late-night journal entries or court depositions where the stakes are life or death. The beat knocks, but it doesn’t just live in your speakers; it sets up camp in your chest. This isn’t party music. It’s survival music.
A Mirror and a Battle Cry
As I noted in my review for This Is Hip Hop HQ, the song scores a 10/10 — not because it plays safe, but because it dares to balance replay value with depth. OMA’s pen game is sharp, his cadence carries echoes of Hopsin’s fearless charisma, and the song structure even evokes shades of Eminem’s The Monster featuring Rihanna. The chorus lingers long after the track ends, making the whole thing feel like both a mirror for your inner battles and a battle cry to keep swinging.
The Man Behind the Music
For those just catching up: OMA isn’t your run-of-the-mill underground rapper spamming SoundCloud links. His résumé is heavier than most signed artists’ portfolios. He’s rocked stages at Texas A&M Corpus Christi’s Apollo showcase, the Corpus Christi Music Walk, Dallas Music Conference, RAW Austin, and even opened for names like Kevin Abstract, BROCKHAMPTON, Travis Porter, Gorilla Zoe, and Dub-O of EST 19XX. His accolades include the Scholastic Silver Key award for poetry and placements at Austin’s iconic MLK Block Party.
But what separates him from the noise is his purpose. He calls himself a cosmic entity and warrior-poet, someone locked in an “eternal campaign against ignorance” while chasing self-mastery. That’s not branding fluff — you can hear it in every word he spits.
Why This Track Matters
Hip-hop right now is flooded with microwave singles — catchy for a week, disposable by Friday. Talking To My Demons isn’t built for the algorithm. It’s built for the soul. It’s for anyone who’s ever had that 3 a.m. stare-down with their own mind and decided to turn pain into fuel.
This is therapy you can nod your head to. And honestly, the culture needs more of it.
The Verdict
With Talking To My Demons, OMA proves he’s not just rapping for streams — he’s building a legacy brick by brick, scar by scar. Expect more heat from him soon; if his catalog (How You Really Feel, Clarity, See the Light, LITTY) is any indication, this is just another level in his climb.
OMA is unsigned, unfiltered, and unstoppable. For artists reading this: take notes. For fans? Add this track to your playlist before you miss the wave.
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