Norman rapper S. Reidy stopped by Gray Owl coffee to discuss his latest record and the Norman Music Festival. He will be performing at 8 p.m. on Thursday at the Alley Stage.
Did you grow up in Norman?
I was born in Tulsa and moved around a lot until I was in first grade, which was 2001. I've been here ever since—23 years.
What do you enjoy about living in Norman and what makes you stay?
It’s just the culture here. East side Norman's culture is really beautiful—it's very small town artsy. They just care.
When exactly did you start with music?
I got a guitar for Christmas when I was in seventh grade. And I immediately—once I started learning how to play it—immediately all I wanted to do was write songs.
About 10 years ago, I got kind of tired of just writing a bunch of stupid love and breakup songs on my guitar—I was sick of being that guy. I really wanted to write music that says more—that said a lot—and hip hop just seemed like the avenue for me to do that since it's just so wordy.
I was inspired a lot by guys like Open Mike Eagle and Milo (R.A.P. Ferreira) and Nocandu and Mac Miller and guys like that back in the day.
Do you think that people that listen to your music also listen to the people who have influenced you?
Some do—it's a big mix because I play a lot of types of shows. I kind of pride myself in being able to be the kind of person who can slide in anywhere. ... But really, it's a very strange Frankenstein fan base that I have right now.
What has been one of your most formative moments as an artist?
I moved into an apartment in 2021 and we called it Mount Reidy and we started doing house shows there. And the very first house show I did there was just titled “House Show Pizza Party.”
It was a very random point from when I think that I started performing for people who kind of just knew who I was, into making something that I consider a culture around I'm doing. It was the first show that I noticed like "Whoa, people like know the words to the songs."
What do you hope people get from your music?
My music deals with a lot of really depressing and kind of dark stuff and something I've always made a point to do is to make sure that there's a light somewhere in there.
I want people to be able to see me … reach my own definitions of success, despite going through all the mental turmoils and stuff that I've gone through. I want them to see themselves in that, I guess. That seems a little corny and maybe a little self-serving but … I remember getting that from people that I looked up to when I was growing up when I was first getting into music.
What are some of your favorite spots around town?
We’re at Gray Owl right now and I'm here every day. This is kind of my office. This is where I've booked, I think, every tour I've gone on. I book all my own stuff – so I do it here.
If you want Italian food and you have Gabbarinos and Victoria's. If you want Asian food, you have Sweet Basil and Thai Delight. German food—obviously Das Boot Camp is great. There's a lot of great food at Greek House and then Sisters Mediterranean is really great. Taste of India is really great. I also go to the Earth a lot when I'm wanting some vegan food.
There's a really great deli, Midway Deli – all that's just very Norman and all that goes into the culture that I'm talking about
Talk about your involvement with Norman Music Festival and what it brings for you as an artist:
I went to the very first Norman Music Fest—I’ve been to every one.
I live four minutes away from the festival and getting to see some of my favorite music and be able to play with some of my favorite acts … doing it in my own hometown just makes me feel really proud.
To people who might not know any of the musicians performing at Norman Music Festival, what would you say to them to tell them to go?
I've gotten into a lot of my favorite artists from them just being on the Norman Music Festival lineup and just being like “Well I've never heard of this, let me check it out.” A lot of them have been really great.
If you haven't heard anybody … next time you're doing chores, I would pull up that Norman Music Festival playlist and just play it. I guarantee you'll be blown away by at least a few of the people on the playlist.
Tell us about your tour:
I dropped a record in January called “the rain gave me a pot of gold.” It was a record that kind of came out of nowhere and it was just a really random spirit of inspiration that I was kind of nervous to put out—it's very different from a lot of my other music. I put it out and enough people liked it I was just like, “Well, I guess I can make another tour out of this.”
I booked a tour for April and it just fit in to where I would get back right before the Norman Music Fest happened.
Coming home, I know all the supporters are gonna come out and I'm gonna get to see all the people that have supported me in my hometown for so long to end the tour.
This story was edited by Shelby Emery.
