Outasight is the stage name for singer and rapper Richard Andrew. Raised in… Read Full Bio ↴Outasight is the stage name for singer and rapper Richard Andrew. Raised in Yonkers, New York by two music loving parents, Andrew's ambitions of becoming a musician were first sparked when his father gave him a guitar. He soon realized that his passion lay in singing and rapping and he started his music career with playing shows at small venues in New York City such as the Bowery Poetry Club and the Nuyorican Cafe. Outasight's second promotional CD, Radio New York, which was released in June 2008, attracted the interest of record labels and in October 2009, he signed with Warner Bros. His official debut single, Tonight Is The Night, was released on September 23, 2011.

Every so often a new artist comes along with a sound so innovative, they are able to help reshape the barriers that confine mainstream music. Meet Outasight, the Yonkers, New York bred musician who brilliantly weaves together the cadenced sounds of popular hip-hop and indie rock with the poignant sensibility of classic pop and soul music to create a fresh, new sound that is all his own. “People are conditioned to see certain images for different genres of music,” says the 27 year-old songwriter. “So if something looks or sounds out of the norm, it’s more difficult to understand at first.”

Growing up an only child in the suburbs of New York City, Outasight’s parents encouraged his insatiable love for making music from a very young age. When he was 8 yearsold, he taught himself to write songs on a guitar passed down from his father. “I was surrounded by thousands of records as a kid,” says Outasight who grew up emulating the diverse sounds he was surrounded by all his life. “I listened to a lot of classic rock, and pop, like the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and also soul artists like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. My friends and I would form bands and practice in someone’s basement and then I would go to school and write raps and spit raps on the playground. They were like duel personalities in a sense.”

During his junior year of high school, Outasight started venturing into the city, seeking out open mics where he was able to fine tune his own material in front of live audiences. “I used to perform a lot in Brooklyn at a place called Sputnik,” says Outasight. “It would be a very diverse crowd and I would rap and start singing and they would be like, what the hell is going on right now? Who is this White kid acting all crazy? But there were always people that liked it so I always took any type of acceptance as the fuel to go further.” After performing in the big city for a couple of years, the resourceful young artist started to gain confidence and create some extremely valuable music industry connections. He toyed with the idea of going to college but after taking classes on and off for close to five years, Outasight realized it was foolish not to capitalize on the name he had created for himself in the City’s burgeoning independent music scene.

In 2006, he decided to drop out of college for good and pursue music full time. The following year, he released a mixtape called Employee Of The Year with the help of his friend and business partner Dre Bond. The two started a new company to help promote Outasight appropriately named Daily Grind Music. After promoting the tape on Myspace and up and coming music blogs, Outasight and Daily Grind released his second project, Radio New York in June of ’08 which was featured on the Myspace Home page for three consecutive days—a tremendous feat for any new, unsigned artist. “The amount of people that I got exposed to was incredible,” says Outasight. “We were getting like 50 thousand plays a day! Dre and I made a video for one of the mixtape’s songs, ‘Good Evening’ that fall we got the video on MTV after winning the MTVU Freshman competition.”

In March of 2009, Outasight released his third mixtape, From There To Here, with world renowned hip-hop DJ Mick Boogie and a month later was asked to open for Ryan Leslie at NYC’s SOB’s. After winning over the packed house with his live show, Outasight’s manager, Norman “Storm” Bell of Purfek Storm Management, secured a meeting with Asylum Records CEO Todd Moscowitz who was instantly taken by the multi-talented MC’s growing body of work. That October, Outasight signed a deal with Asylum. Soon after his signing, Outasight released his latest mixtape Further. The project was sponsored by LRG clothing and was his most successful release to date, garnering over a hundred thousand downloads and counting. Due to its overwhelming popularity, Asylum is set to release Further as an EP exclusively on ITunes in March 2010 while Outasight continues to craft his first full length commercial release, the aptly titled, From Here to Eternity. “The concept behind my album is one person’s quest from the present moment to being timeless,” he says, “It’s something that lives way beyond me, it’s about the quest.”

On August 17th, 2010, Outasight released his latest mixtape, Never Say Never, again to much critical acclaim.

Stranger Than Fiction
Outasight Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

[Verse 1: Outasight]
It's sometimes stranger than fiction
But the weird things seems to be that
The storyline never stick to the script
And the characters involved don't match the description
We all tied up yet we still tripping
Over the small things which seem to all bring me
Back to when I started, a hopeless romantic left broken hearted

A bright eye teen seemed to disregard
Any advice given about my future plans
I had to go and make things hard
Was told to go to school, was told to be a man, damn
But I didn't grow up or be the lucky winner on "Who wanna blow up? "
And that's fine, shit happens
All the trouble makes for a better storyline
[Hook]
And I tried...
I tried to make something out of nothing before
I tried to leave the past on the cutting room floor
But the story runs until the credits roll
But I do know that I tried
I tried to put the blame on everyone else
Looking for excuses rather than some help
And I know that feeling when you don't fit in
It's stranger than fiction
[Verse 2: Outasight]
Play your part in the scene, never knowing lines
A beautiful backdrop, role undefined
September nights where breezes brushed across my back
Staring at the sky, fading in the black
Scratch the fingernails 'cross the storyboard, I'm bored
I may need to be woken up from years before
And when the plot begins to twist and turn
I'll try my best to keep myself on the road and learn
[Hook]
[Verse 3: Outasight]
Quiet on set, lights, camera, action
Take one, one take, no mistakes
Cut, check gate now roll the tape
Separate the real from the fake
Put the score on the board and it sounds great
No dialogue force on, course the break

Take five, try and enjoy the day
[Hook]

Overall Meaning

Outasight’s song “Stranger Than Fiction” is all about how strange life can really be. The first verse tells us that the weirdest things he has ever encountered are the ones that don't follow the script. In the second line, he says that even the description of the characters often doesn't match the way the story plays out. He then goes on to talk about how, despite everyone being tied up, we still find ourselves tripping over small things. This line is significant because it shows that sometimes, the smallest things can throw us off of our path. He then talks about his own life, how he began as a hopeless romantic but was left broken-hearted. He disregarded any advice given about his future plans, and instead chose to make things hard for himself. He was told to be a man, but he didn’t want to grow up. Although he didn’t become the lucky winner on “Who Wants to Blow Up,” the troubles in his life created a better storyline.

The second verse shows us that sometimes, we are not even sure what our role is in life. We have no idea what lines we should be saying or what the script is. The beautiful backdrop is there, but our role is undefined. The stanza talks about staring at the sky and scratching the fingernails across a storyboard, indicating a sense of boredom with the script. He then talks about the plot twisting and turning, and how he tries to keep himself on the road and learn.

Line by Line Meaning

It's sometimes stranger than fiction
Life can often be more bizarre than anything we can imagine in a story.

But the weird things seems to be that
Odd occurrences appear to be the norm.

The storyline never stick to the script
Life doesn't always follow a predictable pattern.

And the characters involved don't match the description
People don't always behave the way we expect them to.

We all tied up yet we still tripping
We feel confined or trapped, but we still find ourselves making mistakes.

Over the small things which seem to all bring me
We often worry about insignificant details that don't matter in the grand scheme of things.

Back to when I started, a hopeless romantic left broken hearted
The singer is reminiscing about past experiences with love and expressing disappointment in how things turned out.

A bright eye teen seemed to disregard
The artist was young and didn't listen to the advice of others.

Any advice given about my future plans
The artist was given guidance on how to shape their future but didn't follow it.

I had to go and make things hard
The artist made things more difficult for themselves.

Was told to go to school, was told to be a man, damn
The singer received common advice but it didn't work out for them.

But I didn't grow up or be the lucky winner on "Who wanna blow up? "
The artist didn't become a successful celebrity despite their hopes and dreams.

And that's fine, shit happens
The singer has come to terms with the unexpected challenges they've encountered.

All the trouble makes for a better storyline
Even hardships can add depth and interest to a person's life story.

And I tried...
The singer attempted to change their circumstances.

I tried to make something out of nothing before
The artist aimed to create something meaningful despite limited resources.

I tried to leave the past on the cutting room floor
The artist attempted to leave behind their past struggles and pain.

But the story runs until the credits roll
Life goes on until it comes to an end.

But I do know that I tried
The singer is proud of their efforts, despite not always succeeding.

I tried to put the blame on everyone else
The artist tried to shift responsibility for their problems onto others.

Looking for excuses rather than some help
The artist searched for reasons to justify their struggles instead of seeking help from others.

And I know that feeling when you don't fit in
The artist understands what it's like to feel like an outsider or not belong.

Play your part in the scene, never knowing lines
We must keep moving forward without knowing what will happen next.

A beautiful backdrop, role undefined
The world around us is often stunning but our place in it may not be clear.

September nights where breezes brushed across my back
The singer reminisces about specific moments in their life.

Scratch the fingernails 'cross the storyboard, I'm bored
The singer is frustrated with the direction their life is going in and wants to change things up.

I may need to be woken up from years before
The singer feels like they've been asleep, figuratively, for a long time and need to wake up to reality.

And when the plot begins to twist and turn
Life throws us unexpected curve balls.

I'll try my best to keep myself on the road and learn
The artist wants to stay on track and learn from their experiences.

Quiet on set, lights, camera, action
The singer is signaling a change in perspective, like the beginning of a new chapter or a fresh start.

Take one, one take, no mistakes
Rather than dwelling on the past, the singer is focused on moving forward and getting things right.

Cut, check gate now roll the tape
This line builds on the previous one, representing a new beginning or fresh start.

Separate the real from the fake
The artist is distinguishing between what is genuine and what is not.

Put the score on the board and it sounds great
The artist is making progress and it feels good.

No dialogue force on, course the break
The singer is taking a break from talking, focusing instead on reflecting and moving forward.

Take five, try and enjoy the day
The artist encourages themselves to take a break and appreciate the present moment.

Contributed by Savannah J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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