Thumb on the Pulse: Meechy718 and ORG Or Nothing

New York City is sustained by the magic that draws in dreamers like moths to white flame. Transplants and visitors alike quickly learn that this city’s pulse has a way of sweeping people in at its mercy. From the magic found in its galleries and street art to the stench of urine that accompanies even the cleanest subway stations, the shared experiences attached to the Big Apple become things that shape the forces of culture.

The rest of the world joins those of us blessed enough to call this city home through YouTube, film, fashion, art, theater, social media, and even language - being deadass. But few mediums fuel the spirit of this city like music and none have been more important to the city’s culture of music than those from here. Speaking as someone who moved to this city from Florida, it took me years to learn that success in any field, but most especially music, would come from building authentic connections.

As I started to put my own ego to the side, and show genuine support to the scene of underground artists, I found myself running into many of the same people regularly. Among these were a collective of young men, most of whom were born and raised in New York City, operating under the umbrella collective, now label called ORG, short for Organize, Radiate, Great. While known for curating shows and experiences that help to empower artists across all mediums, including currently-under-renovation Nuyorican Poets Cafe’s Open Mic, music has arguably been the most prominent spearhead behind the collective’s rise. At the forefront of that would be an artist fast developing a name for himself as the Voice of Brooklyn: Meechy718.

“At first we started in 2013 and 2014 was when we started releasing music and creating stuff. It came about from the three co-founders, Oniisan, Solpreme, and Meechy718. We were waiting outside of an open call job interview at Paragon, and when we got there, all the employees told us there was no open call or orientation. From there, we just stood outside, thinking about what our plan was gonna be for the rest of the day. And this is just gonna be ORG.” - MEECHY718

Originally from Flatbush, Brooklyn, Meechy718, Meech for short, has been an active voice in New York’s music scene since first debuting in 2018 as ORG Mass with his EP “More Love, Less Hate.” With writing rooted in honest storytelling, sharp wit, and a delivery that flows smoothly over any production, Meech has built an eclectic and inclusive sound that draws in folks who support him not only for his talent as an artist, but his character as a person.

“After the creation of the group, we’d all meet and make music off the shitty iMacs, recording on the microphones and really begin to hone our crafts. We’d start to have different functions and different artists in our community, and then we’d start to add more members. I think we started off recruiting members, and it came to the point where we were receiving applications.” - PROPH

Since 2018, having dropped two more projects as Mass, “Active Mode” in 2019, and 2020’s “M4SS” in collaboration with M4, one of the architect’s behind New York’s current wave of foundational music producers, a decision was made to reintroduce himself as Meechy718; to be truer to his own name and the iconic borough that’s been his home. With a string of successful singles, Meech has shown wonderful versatility across a variety of subgenres that show a balance of raw grit and tenderness. From the hard hitting Drill and R&B fusion “Poseidon” with New York’s prince of R&B, Zach Durham, to seamlessly flowing over the bouncy West Coast inspired production of his most recent single, “Laser Tag”, Meechy718 shows that he has no limits to the scope that his sound encompasses.

“We just took that as an opportunity to grow, because we couldn’t wait on nobody else to help us out.. Outside of Paragon, we took the time to organize a plan for what we wanted to do with our lives. We just took the time, made the music and content, and just let it radiate.” - ONIISAN

Meech and some core members of his label came to meet us at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as we discussed his career, his label, the greater vision, and desires for the future of art, tech, culture, and beyond. Joining us were ORG Zeus, president of the organization, ORG Prophecy, one of the label’s chief soundsmiths and curators, ORG Titanhood, the label’s short-form content expert, and ORG Oniisan, director of media communications and management.

“Each and every one of us in the crew, we all have our own path. This is gonna be a super bloom between the media side, music side, the film side, the gaming side, the crypto side.There’s a lot of things we got going on. From here on 2024, we’re stamping the label, and going forward with the path that we choose. We just expect a lot more from everyone in their evolved form.” - MEECH

For years, ORG has been a name widely associated with some of the most engaging events in New York’s underground art, music, and fashion scenes and more. Doing more than just bolstering their reputation, As they built a strong foundation on electrifying performances and phenomenal event curation, the group made a concrete decision to pivot away from being called a “collective”, and began the hard work to restructure their individual and collective roles and responsibilities to operate as a fully functioning independent music label.

“We’re very realistic about these things. I think people think once you get into music, once you get any type of success, that things are gonna go real sweet and everything’s gonna go good. We still have real life situations that we have to deal with, we take that into account with everyone who wants to consume our music, our merch etc. And we do try to keep that philosophy going as we move forward.” - ZEUS

Pairing the most vivacious dreams of domination with a sobering dose of reality has helped propel Meechy718 and ORG for over 10 years, with no signs of stopping. As a collective, a label, and a greater movement, these folks are reminding everyone that they have been here, and are here for the long run. It’s ALWAYS been ORG or nothing.

“We also all share a vision towards a bigger expansion. So you should expect to see more ORG here in the U.S next year, but also internationally.” - TITANHOOD

Written By Nik VRSI
Interview By Nik VRSI
Photography By Bleu Pablo
Editing by Josh Sauceda