Meet Oxygen Pernell, he is a Penn State Junior majoring in English with an IST minor. As a Baltimore Maryland native, he discovered his affinity for writing poetry in middle school at age 11 and began penning rhymes at 13 writing my first rap called “Grace Blockers” for his local church. His love for making hip hop music all stemmed from his love of poetry writing. He has always loved music and wanted a different way of expressing himself so one day he and his friend were listening to instrumentals and began to rhyme with some of his poems. Oxygen’s friend rapped too and thought he was pretty good. Ever since then, he has only been perfecting his skills writing almost daily, trying to get his voice heard. Oxygen has recently been doing shows around his local area, going to open mics and performing at various venues & festivals. Oxygen has also performed in the AFRAM (African American Heritage Festival) two summers ago and then coming to PSU where he performed and won Schuylkills Got Talent two years in a row advancing to Berks Got Talent. More recently, he took home the win for the rappers portion of the NAACP Apollo on the 14th where he performed the anthem. Oxygen also released his first mixtape “Not That Serious” during his freshman year which was followed by my second mixtape sophmore year called “Lyrical Respiration”.
SITR’s interview with Oxygen Pernell
SITR: Where did your inspiration come for your new song PSUing?
My inspiration for the song came from me being a proud Penn State student. After watching Big Sean perform in Rec Hall and hearing the Men’s Basketball teams intro music when they hit the court I remember thinking “Why doesn’t our school sports teams have an cool anthem to come out to?”. After thinking for some time searching for the perfect instrumental for the song I came across this one I didn’t know where to start because I wanted it to be great. It was at that point when my friend called my phone and asked me “what was I doing?” and I though… “PSUing”. After that Eureka moment the song was written within the hour! And the rest is history. I wrote the song for all Penn State students, alumni and friends who bleed Blue & White and love PSU just as much as I do. Especially for the Penn State athletic team members who need that extra pump up before a game. Some of the football team members love it, so I hope everyone else will too!
SITR: What do you want fellow Penn Staters to take away from your song?
I just want to tell my fellow Penn Staters that no matter what people say, Penn State is still a great school and no one can steal our pride. If you believe in yourself then you can make great things happen in this world turn your dreams to reality. I strive to everyday. And always remember, “WE ARE”.
SITR: Is there anything else you are working on and what we should be on the lookout for?
I’m currently working on my EP “Ozone” which will come out this fall but am always releasing new singles for my fans. I just make music because that’s what I love to do. One day these dorm room tracks will lead me to something greater than even what my degree will offer, a chance to live my dream. Hip-Hop’s not dead…it just needs Oxygen.
Check out Oxygen Pernell’s HotNewHipHop Profile