OAR hires DJ Premier and Brady Watt for “Gonna Be Me”: Listen

OAR are thrilled to have collaborated with producers Brady Watt and DJ Premier. On Friday, the rock band released their self-reflective first single of the year: “Gonna Be Me (the friendship song).”

“The first time we played Madison Square Garden, we walked to ‘Work’ by Gang Starr,” said singer and guitarist Marc Roberge in a press release, referring to the Premier-produced track. “DJ Premier is a giant in music, but also in the world of OAR. To have the opportunity to make a song from scratch with him and the genius of Brady Watt is literally a once in a lifetime experience.”

Premier and Roberge met at a New York Rangers game and talked about working together at some point. “Fast forward, we ended up booking a session at my studio, mainly to bounce some ideas off of Brady Watt,” Premier said. “I heard them both sing the first words in our live room and started beatboxing a drum pattern to myself. By the time they walked into my control room, I had the drums programmed and Marc brought in his guitar and strummed the opening melody to my cadence.”

He added: “Then he and Brady wrote the rest of the lyrics and before I know it we had a song and a single. It happened that fast.”

OAR’s new track comes at the start of the group’s summer tour with Fitz and the Tantrums, which will see them stop in cities such as Atlanta, Irving, Austin, Los Angeles and Cleveland.

“It’s time for us to go out there, play a full set, rock out and have another best summer of our lives,” said Roberge. “We can’t wait to hang out with our friends Fitz and the Tantrums, Ripe and DJ Logic this summer!”

The group’s last release was in June 2023, when they released “Hiding on the Moon” with Cory Wong. Their last album, The arcadewas released in 2022. As for Premier, he joined Chance the Rapper on “Together” and Nas on “Define My Name” earlier this year.