Tulsa rapper/singer Johnny Polygon has seen growing success lately, due in large part to single “Riot Song” and “Rebel Without Applause,” a free mixtape he released.

He performs tonight in the Oklahoma Memorial Union in a free show for OU students.

The Daily spoke with Johnny over the phone about his musical style, music videos and staying independent.

The Daily: How did you get started making music?

Johnny: Well, I started as a break dancer when I was around 14. At one of the break dance jams — that’s what they called them — I saw an MC battle and I hopped in it. I won it and the DJ who was one of the judges invited me to his studio to record for free.

The Daily: Would you cite any specific influences for you getting into making hip-hop music?

Johnny: Lauryn Hill, Eminem, the Beatles, Bob Marley — you know, all the standard stuff that everybody else says. I kind of think of myself as a mix between ’90s Lauryn Hill and ’90s Eminem. I like to sing, I like musicality, I like there to be some musical depth in my music and I like it to be intelligent; but at the same time, I also like talking about ignorant s**t sometimes.

The Daily: You’ve got the whole hybrid singer/rapper thing going, do you prefer one or the other?

Johnny: Nah, it really depends on the composition. Sometimes the song is like, “OK, this is a rap song,” and then other times it’s like, “OK, this is a singing song” and then sometimes it’s both. I create from a completely blank slate. Someone asked me the other day if I like singing or rapping better, and I asked them if they liked smiling or laughing better.

The Daily: You’ve drawn some comparisons to Kid Cudi, what do you feel about a comparison like that?

Johnny: It doesn’t really faze me, I mean Cudi’s my homie, and we both have a lot of respect for each other. I just think that that’s something that someone would say who’s never heard my music, like they hear a snippet of it, and of course the closest comparison to another artist right now is him. But my fans don’t think that, and especially anyone who’s ever heard my albums. I think that’s an initial judgment.

The Daily: How often do you make it back to Oklahoma?

Johnny: Oh man, I try to make it back as much as possible, at least once a season. Every time I leave, my career goes into a different place, and it’s like I always feel like if I don’t go back then it’s like people getting left behind. Like being on tour or doing something, like I did Rock the Bells with Nas, and as soon as I got off with that I wanted to go back to Oklahoma; because I’m going around the world playing like 30,000 seaters, and I got to get back home and share this love with people.

The Daily: How would you compare a home crowd to one in another city?

Johnny: It’s completely different. Other cities I don’t look out into the audience and see people I grew up with, you know what I mean? [In] other cities, the crowd’s full of strangers and new faces, but back home I can be on stage and say, “Put your hands up” and start talking to people using their first and last name.

The Daily: What’s it like traveling across the country after starting out in a pretty small state with a pretty small hip-hop community?

Johnny: It’s amazing man, it’s absolutely amazing. I appreciate every single step that I’ve taken, or every single stage I’ve stepped on. You know being from Oklahoma, I never really had an idea of what the rest of the entertainment world was like. It’s also made me the person I am today, which is a proud individual.

The Daily: You’ve had a chance to work with some really big names like Nas, Kid Cudi, Dead Prez and DJ Green Lantern. What were those experiences like for you?

Johnny: They were really casual, actually. I always pictured that all these famous people and all these artists that I idolized and stuff there would be a lot more bells and whistles, but they’re just like “Hey, Johnny.” Super, super casual. All the biggest stuff in my career all has happened like it’s no big deal.

The Daily: What was it like performing on the stage with Nas and BET’s Inaugural Ball?

Johnny: That was crazy man, like I’ll never forget that experience in my life. That was like my first time performing on national television, and I’m alongside a legend, it was just crazy. It was like an out-of-body experience.

The Daily: On “Rebel Without Applause,” you got production from Picnic Tyme and Green Lantern, but who are some other producers you’re working with?

Johnny: I’m working a lot with, same with “Rebel Without Applause,” Picnic Tyme, he’s like my go-to guy; working with these guys the Town Men, and really just random whoever. I don’t really play the like “I need a big name producer” game, if you’re a nobody and you have a dope beat, then I’m going to use it.

The Daily: So are you on a label, or are you remaining independent?

Johnny: I’m independent as f**k man. At this stage in my career, I have to make my own decisions. I can’t have anyone to blame for my failure or anyone taking responsibility for my success. Plus I’m doing everything in house, so like there’s nothing much a label would be able to offer me. They’re going to be like, “Well, we’ll get you in the studio.” Well, I already got a studio, or, “Oh well, we’ll get your video on MTV.” You know I’ve already done that. So unless they’ll give you a million dollars to keep being yourself then it’s not happening.

The Daily: Who are some artists that you’d like to work with?

Johnny: Norah Jones man, she’s on the top of my list. I’m dying to do a song, an album, a collection, a box set with Norah Jones. I think that my sound is rooted in hip-hop, but it grows all over the place, like my next EP, “The Wolf in Cheap Clothing EP.” [With] all of my projects, I try to display a broad range. There’s no one-sided people in the world, but there’s plenty of one-sided artists, which confuses me. When I put out a project it’s like, “Hey world, this is my personality right now; this is the person I am,” and that’s definitely not a one-dimensional person, hence “Johnny Polygon.”

The Daily: Is that EP going to be a free release?

Johnny: Definitely. You know, I give my music away, knowing that when people like it they’re down to support. They’ll come to my shows, pick up my merchandise and help me along as an independent artist. Even though I’m independent, I feel like my label is my fans.

The Daily: How about the new mixtape, “Catch Up?”

Johnny: You know I get a lot of people who are like, “Hey, where’s this old song of yours?” or “Hey, where’s this other song of yours?” or you know with the escalation of things lately I’m just picking up so many fans and so many new fans who only know me for say “Riot Song,” or who only know me because me and Cudi are homies, but they don’t know my back story and my back catalog of music. “Catch Up” is a collection of essential songs of mine both released, unreleased [and] some very rare only released overseas spanning from the beginning of my career to now, that have shaped me into the artist I am today. That’s a name-dropping mixtape within itself; we got production from like Green Lantern and Picnic Tyme of course; and guest vocals by like Nas and Kid Cudi and Adele and Dead Prez and blah blah blah, it goes on and on and on. That’ll be like 25 songs that anyone who knows me needs to hear.

The Daily: Tell us about the “Riot Song” video. Who came up with the live action cartoon concept?

Johnny: That’s actually the Graphic Foundation. The girl who stars in the video actually also directed the video and wrote it, came up with the treatments, came up with the whole concept. I had nothing to do with that video, I just sang the song and showed up that day. I just wanted something creative and different, and a quality video. The Graphic Foundation definitely hooked that up.

The Daily: What’s it like having a music video playing on TV?

Johnny: It’s crazy, it is absolutely crazy, it’s a lot different than I thought it would be. I thought that I’d be rich by the time I was on MTV. My first MC battle, I’m thinking, “I’m going to be on MTV, and by the time I am it’s going to be on some Justin Bieber sort of thing. I’m going to be rich and famous and traveling the world.” I’m just missing the rich part.

The Daily: “Riot Song” is getting play overseas. What’s it like having some notoriety outside of the states?

Johnny: Incredible, man. I did a remix with Adele, I’d say like a year and a half ago, and I got some love overseas from that, and I got a couple friends who are really big artists overseas. So that was another thing I always said when I was younger is like, “I want to be big in Japan” or “I’m big in Europe.” I thought that would just be like the most baller thing to say ever. Everything right now is just so crazy man.

The Daily: Have you done any shows overseas?

Johnny: Nah, I’m going to be heading over there at the top of the year. I can’t wait to get over there.

The Daily: What’s up with the “Johnny Polygon Show”?

Johnny: Oh man, the Johnny Polygon show is always going to be in the works. Right now I think I’m just focusing more on my music and stuff like that, as opposed to taping my ramblings and posting them on YouTube. But yeah, we’re in between seasons with the “Johnny Polygon Show” right now, looking for a place to pick it up.

The Daily: How would you describe the content of your music?

Johnny: I would like to think my music is a complete musical experience, and I hope everyone else does too.

The Daily: Who’s your favorite musical act at the moment?

Johnny: I’ve really been getting obsessed with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Arctic Monkeys, and you know there’s this really dope kid from Oklahoma named Benjamin Lyman. He’s super ill, I’m actually going to bring him out to New York with me and try to get some work done with him.

The Daily: Why would you urge people to come check out the show?

Johnny: If you just want to have a good time and not be a loser you’ll be at my show.

Concert Bill

WHO: Johnny Polygon
WHEN: 9:30 tonight
WHERE: Meacham Auditorium in the Oklahoma Memorial Union
COST: Free for OU students
INFO: Students can print their free ticket at ticketstorm.com