Pursuit of Happiness: Ovrkast. Finds Peace in Sunshine and Samples

June 4, 2025

There’s a world where Ovrkast.’s name is a metaphor for steady melancholy, but in this one, he probably chose the moniker because it sounds cool. He’s just a pretty chill dude. Hailing from the Bay Area, the rapper-producer has learned to absorb the world with even-keeled acceptance. His tracks — at once muted and kinetic — mirror the soul of a creator who finds escape in sunshine and samples.

“One thing I know that never fails is when I go home and I can just be back in the element that I used to be in — just nature,” says Ovrkast., who released his While The Iron Is Hot project last month. “I just love being outside.”

When he’s not in the great outdoors, he’s getting lost in drum loops — or open-ended phone calls with his best friends. It’s part of a heal as you go mental health maintenance program he’s developed through years in the industry. As a musician and a human being.

Speaking with Okayplayer, Ovrkast. breaks down the ways he keeps up his mental hygiene. Tap in to see what he’s got to say below, in an as-told-to lightly edited for length and clarity.

Ovrkast.: Mentally, I’m pretty good. I’ve done pretty well. I’ve gotten over the hill. I’ve gotten over the hill of self-doubt. I think now my new stresses are just the managing of things. There’s too many things going on right now. But back in the day, I had the doubt of having nothing going on where it’s like, ‘I guess I can’t do it. It’s not going to work, blah, blah. But now it’s like, “f—, I got too much to do.’ It is a new type of stress that I’m learning how to deal with. It’s good stress, but it’s like I’m figuring out ways to not have it impact people in my life in negative ways. That’s the biggest one. Trying to figure out how to balance it to the point where it doesn’t spill over.

I get away from online negativity by going back home. I moved to New York a year ago, and it’s always really busy, so it’s hard to find quiet. There are quiet places, back home in the Bay Area, it was really easy for me to go and drive somewhere really quickly. Just get away. It’s one thing I know that never fails when I go home. I can just be back in the element that I used to be in or just in general. Just nature. I love being outside. Sometimes I’ll turn my phone off or put a playlist on and just walk around. I’ll just be there and look at the scenery. But there’s things I do on the internet that are also peaceful. I’ll make movie boards and I’ll write lyrics. Or I’ll watch old movies. Criterion Collection has a bunch of good shit. I love watching old films. I’ll put some incense, watch an old film in my crib, or I’ll pull the SP out and I’ll just start making beats. It’s just stuff to just get my brain moving and feeling good. It’s almost ritualistic; cutting on the incense, opening the window, letting the air out. And then to me it’s like a challenge. The SP and YouTube and my drum packs. I’m hunting to find a good sound to use. I’m flipping through tons of samples and I’m flipping through a bunch of things to see what I can find and see what I can flip. If I can get a good loop, it’s a good way to just get away and feel like I’m 16 again.

For me, being a more positive thinker comes down to humor. A lot of ridiculous things happen in our lives and I call my homies and we just laugh at it. Sometimes life is like a sitcom. It’s unreal how crazy sh— happens or how people act, and it’s like, ‘What the f—?’ It’s about not taking myself too seriously. It’s not that deep all the time. It’s about stepping out from that pessimistic [idea] ‘no one understands.’ Not everybody is going to understand that’s what it is. Find people who do understand.

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