Ozzy the Painter is a non-binary rapper, producer, and multi-instrumentalist from Minneapolis. Though they were born in St Paul, they've called many places home; they spent their childhood and early adolescence in Alaska, and finished high school and studied music in their mother's hometown in northern Sweden. After many years of nomadism, a long road trip, and a $300 parking ticket, they spent a summer in Minneapolis and decided to set some roots in the twin cities once more.
Ozzy's music touches on themes of travel, love, queerness, mental illness, radical politics, and their relationship to the quest for a place to belong. They've collaborated with Twin Cities artists Zeus James, Mariah Mercedes, Chase Vibe, and Endless Grudge, among others. They draw inspiration from many styles of contemporary hip-hop, including artists such as Saba, Noname, EarthGang, and JPEGMAFIA, as well as modern jazz/fusion artists like Anomalie, Kiefer, Snarky Puppy, and Shai Maestro. The result is a sound that embraces its grit and its fluidity in equal parts, and leaves an impression as complex as the world that gave rise to it.