Meet Black Fortune, The Maryland Rapper With His Own Language

Black Fortune is a promising rap and R&B phenom from Landover, Maryland. The 22-year-old joins the ranks with buzzing DMV rappers like Logic and IDK, but stands out nonetheless. “Everybody just hearing the same thing. You kind of have to dumb your raps down for people to understand it,” he states. They’ll catch on sooner or later though.

Black Fortune began pushing out music in 2016, but it wasn’t until 2018 when he caught a buzz from his breakout record “OsshWop.” Noticing that, he released his debut mixtape OsshRock later that year. The 12-track offering includes standout cuts like “Katrina” and “Gorillaz,” which has garnered half-a-million Youtube views since its release. Earlier this month, he re-released the project with three new tracks. When asked why he didn’t just drop a new one, “[artists] drop a hundred more [projects] and by the time they get discovered by the label, they’re washed out,” Fortune responds.

The Maryland-native is just getting started, but already has support from the likes of SZA, Travis Scott, and Diddy, who he met through his sons, Justin and Christian Combs. “They hit me up ’cause they fuck with my music and we linked up at Rolling Loud. We have been like family ever since then.” Black Fortune also reminisces on Christian’s album release party among other things. Peep the interview below.

Photo Credits: Claire Marie Vogel

Tell me about the moments leading up to you rapping.

I didn’t have a job or anything like that. I was doing home invasions and doing whatever I could to get money. I lived with my mother and I have eleven brothers and sisters, but I only lived with eight of them. We all shared a house together. I was getting the little money I got and I’d take it to use for studio time. That’s about it I guess.

Black Fortune, what’s the story behind the name?

Black comes from a couple of different things. I’m Black of course. My father’s nickname was Black, my uncle who passed away was nicknamed Black as well. The Fortune part comes from me just wanting to be fortunate. It sounds like money. My father would tell me about this dude named Tony Fortune and that kind of reminded me of my self.

Tell me about your upbringings, did you always want to make music? Were your friends and family supportive of it?

Yeah, definitely. My parents supported me when I started making music.

Being from the DMV, do you feel like it’s easier to get your music across different audiences?

No, it’s not easy at all actually. Everybody just hearing the same thing. You kind of have to dumb your raps down for people to understand it.

Maryland has rappers like Logic and IDK, were you able to watch them develop in the moments leading up to their success?

No, I knew about them after they blew up actually.

So a few months back, you posted a video with Diddy. How did that relationship develop?

From his sons. I’m cool with Justin Combs and Christian Combs. They hit me up ’cause they fuck with my music and we linked up at Rolling Loud. We have been like family ever since then. Christian Combs had a release party one time. His father had a cipher and it was really for the Meek Mils and high-profile artists, but Diddy’s sons vouched for me. He would tell me to keep going. Keep my creativity level to a high like it already it is. Just keep my foot on these artists necks.

Why did you decide to re-release OsshRock as opposed to delivering a new project?

I look at it like this: these artists drop a hundred mixtapes and make no money. Then they drop a hundred more and by the time they get discovered by the label, they’re washed out. Also, OsshRock did good out hear and different cities, but I wanted to drop it internationally. Originally, it had two million views. I had to re-release it so the rest of the world can hear so when I drop new music, the world isn’t lost. I released the deluxe with three new songs and for my fans that have been there, it’s something to hold them.

Can we expect new material from you this year and if so, what direction are you heading with your sound?

Definitely. You can expect new material from me in like a week. You know, same hype energy with different vibes. I’m also very lyrical, but it’s going to get real spicy in this motherfucker. It’s about to get crazy because I level up every time I go to the studio. You’ll hear a lot of different sounds and cadences. It’s a lot more Ossh.

What exactly “Ossh”?

“Ossh” is a language that I created. It can be described as jibberish or pig Latin, but it’s my own language. Only me and my friends will understand it.