Ovrkast.’s ‘STRIKING’ Is Out Today: 12 Tracks, a Kendrick-Size Cosign, and a US Tour Starting Nov. 17

OAKLAND FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2026

The underground doesn’t stay underground forever, and Ovrkast. knows it. The East Oakland rapper and producer — the one who taught beat-making to Oakland high schoolers before moving to New York, produced for Drake’s ICEMAN, and landed on Billboard’s radar as July Rookie of the Month — released his new album STRIKING today, a 12-track statement that sounds like a guy done asking for permission. Alongside it comes a new Joshua Pausanos-directed music video for “WINDO,” featuring Michael Sneed, the track that the Hype Magazine reports set the sonic blueprint for the entire record.

02 What ‘STRIKING’ Sounds Like

Twelve tracks, no filler by design. The official tracklist runs from the “Intro” through “WINDO” (feat. Michael Sneed), “STATIC” (feat. Joey Bada$$ & Nali), “PANE” (feat. Self Proclaimed Narcissist), “WASHEDOUT,” “HOME,” “ACTRANSIT/LEMME AT EM” (feat. DavidTheTragic), “KNOCK” (feat. Samara Cyn & MAVI), “Heroes & Villains” (feat. MARCO PLUS & Ben Reilly), “Wata” (feat. Niontay), “Hopecore!” and closer “PHREE (Swing)” (feat. Amal Zenab).

The architecture is Bay Area to the bone. Ovrkast. built his name on a jazz-influenced, sample-heavy sound in the lineage of J Dilla and Madlib — Anita Baker and Questlove on one shoulder, Knxwledge., Odd Future and Flying Lotus on the other — and STRIKING keeps that foundation while aiming bigger. The Hype Magazine notes the album pulls from Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. and Jay-Z’s 4:44, blending introspective storytelling with polished, dynamic production. It was created over a year and a half of uninterrupted work, then refined at a weeklong writing camp in Los Angeles alongside Michael Sneed, Grant Lapointe, Like — yes, the producer behind Kendrick’s “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst” — and string arranger Aaron Paris.

And the early critical read is loud. Billboard’s Carl Lamarre said Ovrkast. “dazzles over soul-grabbing samples with elastic precision,” and goes further — crediting him with “box-office potential akin to another West Coast messiah by the name of Kendrick Lamar.” The FADER’s Raphael Helfand wrote that the Oakland MC “finds a pocket between the old school and the new, flowing dextrously over Dilla-indebted beats but adding enough personal style to the mix to beat the throwback allegations.” Genius’s Jaelani Turner-Williams calls him “a cornerstone in underground hip-hop.” When three different publications reach for three different versions of “he’s next,” it stops being hype and starts being a consensus.

03 The Road Here Was Not Short

Ovrkast. didn’t appear out of nowhere — he apprenticed everywhere. He introduced his solo work with Try Again in 2020, followed it with RESET! in 2023 and KAST GOT WINGS, a 2024 joint tape with Grammy-winning producer Cardo. His production résumé reads like a who’s-who of the last five years: Drake (“Red Button,” “The Shoe Fits,” and “Make Them Pay” on the new ICEMAN project), Earl Sweatshirt (“EL TORO COMBO MEAL”), redveil (“automatic”), MAVI (“Chiasma,” “Reason”), plus production on Vince Staples’ critically acclaimed CRY BABY. He also served as executive producer and featured artist on Samara Cyn’s latest EP Detour, and recently expanded into a creative partnership with JD Sports.

Last year’s While The Iron Is Hot was the breakout: features from Vince Staples, Saba and MAVI, a spot on Billboard’s 50 Best Albums of 2025 (So Far), and that July Rookie of the Month nod. He spent the year on the road opening for Saba’s Big Picture Tour, Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist’s Alfredo 2 run, and Earl Sweatshirt’s 3L World Tour — plus a one-night-only Carhartt WIP collaboration back in Williamsburg. Signed to Brooklyn-based three times LOUDER, he’s built the whole thing on a self-sufficient sound and a close-knit community.

It hasn’t all been smooth. Last month, OutKast sued Ovrkast. for trademark infringement over his stage name — Hypebeast reported the complaint claims he backed out of a deal to rebrand as “Overkxst,” an agreement he denies ever signing. The case is a reminder that the closer you get to the mainstream, the more expensive your name becomes.

04 The Rollout Had Range

STRIKING was announced last month with a billboard in New York City’s Times Square, accompanied by special screenings in Los Angeles and Oakland of a superhero short film — also titled STRIKING — directed by Khufu Najee. A superhero short film as an album trailer is exactly the kind of swing that separates world-builders from playlist-fillers. Pre-release singles “Wata” (featuring Niontay), “Play This” and “PANE” (featuring Self Proclaimed Narcissist) set the table: sample-heavy, jazz-inflected, Bay Area-rooted, with the polish turned up.

The “WINDO” video landing day-and-date with the album is the thesis statement. The Hype Magazine reports the track established the sonic blueprint for the entire project — its bold production and commanding energy became the reference point for everything that followed. Lead with the blueprint, then hand over the building.

05 Still Striking Hits the Road

The Still Striking US Tour kicks off November 17, and the routing tells you exactly where Ovrkast. is in his career: the rooms are intimate, the cities are the ones that matter. Confirmed stops so far include November 19 in Toronto at the Hard Luck Bar; November 21 in Chicago at Avondale Music Hall’s Backline room (doors 7, show 8, general admission $32); December 1 in Los Angeles at The Echo; and December 3 in Atlanta at the Masquerade’s Altar stage, with MarcoPlus, Earf2Liv and DavidTheTragic on the bill.

That’s a victory lap routed through the underground — 300-cap Toronto rooms and the Altar stage in Atlanta are where you go to convert believers, not to coast. Today’s other big drop is playing arenas; Ovrkast. is playing rooms where he can see every face. For an artist whose whole appeal is intimacy — the rainy-day introspection, the pensive delivery, the community of collaborators he brings on stage with him — that’s the right call. The box office can wait. The box office is coming anyway.

Catch up on everything else dropping this week, and see what else is moving on the music desk.