May 21, 2012

Their fans speak of them as the future of hip-hop, while their detractors consider them the joke that went too far. The truth is that Nat Motte and Sean Foreman—the wisecracking duo of Boulder, Colorado, rap-scallions 3OH!3—have struck a nerve with Warped Tour nation, with their affinity for street-smart beats and dude-tastic rhymes. Hardly cut from the same cloth as your typical Insane Clown Posse fan, Motte and Foreman met in 2004 when they were attending the University Of Colorado (Foreman was studying astrophysics before switching to an English major, while Motte was planning on attending medical school). Bonding over a love of both hip-hop and indie rock, the duo dubbed themselves 3OH!3 (after the Colorado area code, 303) and began producing beats and creating rhymes, issuing their eponymous debut album themselves in 2007.

They caught the attention of Photo Finish Records, who released their second album, Want, in 2008, which featured re-recorded versions of two crowd-pleasing jams from their debut, “Choke Chain” and “Holler Til You Pass Out.” Motte and Foreman went on to headline the 2009 AP Tour in the spring, prior to heading out on the Vans Warped Tour that summer. Their third album, Streets Of Gold, includes a cameo from pop tart Ke$ha (“First Kiss”), but we’re pretty sure that the duo will continue to stick with what works. “We just try to rock as much as we can and tear our bodies apart every night,” Motte told AP in 2009. “It’s been like that ever since the first show we played.”