Outasight

Richard Andrew is a rapper from Yonkers, New York who describes his music as "energetic hip hop mixed with melodic soul," but these days he’s going by a new name. Andrew took the stage name Outasight once he began playing venues and he hasn’t looked back since.

Richard Andrew grew up surrounded by music. His mother hung records on the walls and his father gave him a guitar at the age of 9. Because his family never stayed in the same apartment long, Richard used that guitar and the music he learned to make with it to create a sense of home for himself. The rapper took on the name Outasight to rap in small venues around New York City and released his first EP, “Employee of the Year,” under that name. After that, things started picking up and Outasight rapped alongside bigger names like Ghostface Killah at the 2007 Hip-hop Festival.

Outasight released several mixtapes during that time and in 2009 he signed with Warner Bros. Records. In September 2011, the up-and-coming talent received a call from his manager asking if he would be interested in lending his music to a Pepsi commercial. The soda company wanted his single, “Tonight Is The Night,” as a background track for a montage of hit Pepsi commercials from the past. "I think I found about it on a Monday, I saw the commercial the next Monday on my laptop, and it started airing that Wednesday,” says Outasight. “It was amazing, suddenly seeing it on my TV after such little time has passed. It was like dominos falling." The ad, showcasing pop superstars that had previously worked with Pepsi including Michael Jackson and Britney Spears, will run through February 2012.

The commercial gained Outasight a remarkable amount of exposure. The song currently sits just under Billboard’s Top 40 and has landed the rapper spots on “X Factor,” “90210,” and “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” He even had to cut a tour with Gym Class Heroes short for promotional appearances. "There are so many ways to distinguish yourself, doing shows, doing mixtapes, or doing videos, and the label has been extremely supportive in all that process," Outasight says. "Things are really starting to whirl now. It's been a lot of hard work to get to this point, but it's fun and it's what happens. It's real. I've enjoyed it and I'm taking it all in."

“Tonight Is The Night,” like most of Outasight’s music, is fresh, carefree and the perfect track to dance to. It’s a party-starter, and it doesn’t look like the party will end anytime soon for Outasight.

Check out his music video for “Tonight Is The Night” and the Pepsi commercial featuring the track below: