In the post-social-networking era, an artist like Omar-S is not just a rarity, he's a treasure. The Detroit-based mastermind stands tall as a daring reminder of how things used to be, how things should be: authentic, exceptional music released on a carefully harvested grassroots label, with no attachment to hype or any incestuous "Top Friends" circles. Distributed solely off his own back, and diligently monitoring every step (even hand-writing notes on his white labels), Omar-S' FXHE imprint has become an underground cult of sorts, and his off-kilter productions bang as testament to his vibrant uniqueness. Bringing back the Detroit ethos but shaking up the formula in unimaginable ways, his music and label stand for everything the proud city represented in the past, as well as giving it a bright light for the future. Producing at such a prolific rate at an impressively young age, his style was so different that for years, the rest of Detroit didn't get it. Even now, despite his devout following and a myriad of hugely celebrated releases under his belt ("Psychotic Photosynthesis," his wondrously adventurous LPs, his collaboration with Shadow Ray as Oasis, etc), he rarely plays in Detroit and his hometown is none the wiser about the sound he's perfected. And his fan base, meanwhile, is none the wiser about the enigmatic man himself: with only two known interviews to date, looming aspects of his personal life, like his street-racing profile (a prevalent part of his Detroit life the last 14 years), have simply gone undocumented.