“McDonald, who goes by the stage name Opliam, has found a way to incorporate his struggles into his music…McDonald’s music fuses genres such as electronic, reggae and hip hop, plus he is an acoustic singer songwriter.”
-KBJR 6
“An emcee that pushes the boundaries of rap, talking about things beyond a stereotypical rapper. Production that’ll you’ll get lost in and rhymes pertaining to physics, time, politics, things that’ll make you question our existence and enjoy the beauty of life.”
-TwinCitiesmedia.net
OPLIAM’s music crosses all musical boundaries. He plays rock and roll, hip hop and reggae. Sometimes separately, sometimes cosmically interwoven. OPLIAM has toured internationally, playing shows in Australia and New Zealand.
He recently won 1st place in Flowfest ‘18’s “Peoples Choice Contest” ,in Puna, Hawaii where he shared the stage with artists Mike Love , Dustin Thomas and Eoto.
OPLIAM is American Indian on his fathers side and has never forgotten where he comes from as a musician. One of OPLIAM’s first shows was playing Winona LaDuke’s Birthday party with Nahko and Medicine for the people. OPLIAM than later had the opportunity to rock the main stage at Darkening of the sun (a festival in 2017 celebrating the eclipse) with Chase Makai of Medicine for the people.
OPLIAM’s first EP “4.4.4” was released in 2015 followed by his 2nd EP “MESCALATION VOl.1” released in 2016. OPLIAM’s latest release came out June 21st , 2018 titled “Medicine Womxn”.
“MEDICINE WOMXN”, is OPLIAM’S largest project to date. It is a solid 12 track LP that has taken 2 years to complete. The title MEDICINE WOMXN is a dedication to OPLIAM’S great great grandmother (Delia Duchamp), who was a traditional Mohawk Medicine Woman in the North East. Her picture is featured in the album’s cover art. She practiced her spirituality in secret during a time when being Native was not only dangerous for simply existing, but Native spirituality and ceremonies were outlawed by the U.S government. This album is an acknowledgement of OPLIAM’S Native ancestors struggles to survive. It is a call to their spirit to help him make it through modern struggles as a Native person today. The album holds back nothing and includes songs of darkness as well as songs of love and inspiration. OPLIAM uses his 4 current favorite styles in this album – reggae, acoustic rock, hip hop and poetry which weave beautiful stories to a musical back drop that will certainly leave listeners wanting more!