Oklahoma City's Eastside incubation station is a homegrown breeding ground for multidisciplinary creation
Written by Archiebald Browne
Photos by Taeya McArthur
Narration by Original Flow
The love for music and art has always flowed seamlessly throughout Oklahoma. With the state in the middle of the nation, all forms of art and music fall here and create a mixture of art not seen anywhere.
405Nation, with its headquarters in the heart of Eastside Oklahoma City, is a platform and label where creatives from Oklahoma can come to create unique expressions of themselves.
Chris “The God MC” Cain created 405Nation with the help of his wife, Tion Bar-Cain, in 2020 to give all types of artists a community where they can collaborate and create.
“405Nation is an umbrella for all creatives from Oklahoma,” Cain said. “Producers, R&B artists, MCs, of course, painters, seamstresses, podcasters, directors, videographers, photographers, all creative artists as a whole.”
Cain, who has been rapping since he was eight years old, said he has been innovative in being a part of Oklahoma’s culture, arts, entertainment, and nightlife his whole life.
While every city in the United States has a lot of good artists, Cain said there is no need to be like other artists on streaming platforms. Instead, he wants to create something that can be seen and felt.
Cain didn’t find the space for 405Nation until 2023 but it has made collaboration much easier.
“Something that’s one of one and something that’s a reflection of us in a safe haven for us,” Cain said. “A home for us.”
Anyone who passes the headquarters of 405Nation in the parking lot on the corner of Springlake Drive and North Kelly Avenue will see a mural branded “405Nation” designed by OneLoveUni. They’ll hear music they’ve never heard before played even before they walk through the doors.
A producer may have a rapper throw bars into a handheld mic with noise-canceling headphones on, taking them and the beat into a new world. Different artwork all over the wall represents the unique culture 405Nation pushes out of Oklahoma City.
There’s a spacious stage where shows and open mic nights are held. Vertical fluorescent lights emit reds, whites, and blues.
Go down a hallway and it is painted ceiling to floor with airbrushed and spray-painted art. In the hallway, acapella are performed and recorded for social media promotions.
Another room where more art is hanging on walls, clothes on mannequins and, if one is there at the right time, one can hear more artists recording in the extra small room with a massive TV monitor on the wall.
Cain, who grew up on the Eastside, said there wasn’t a place like this initially. Now, it’s where a kingdom is worked on being built.
“When it comes to meetings, rehearsals, linking up with other musicians, it’s good to have your own place, and you’re not at the mercy of somewhere else,” Cain said.
Uni, who does airbrush art, said the headquarters have been his training grounds.
“Just figuring myself out. With my business, like how I run it and networking with all the artists that come and perform and everything,” Uni said. “And yeah, this is cool. Like I’ve never been a part of a collective before and I get inspired and get motivation from them.”
Uni said he wants to take his art all over the world, doing multiple events where his pieces are all over the wall, just like at the headquarters.
“Experimenting with mediums with everything and just put it all together,” Uni said. “Just making one big thing. Just taking it on a big screen with all the floods of expression that I can do.”
Oklahoma's unique sounds
Each region of the United States has its unique sound of hip-hop. There’s the West Coast bounce, the wide kicks, and snares of the East Coast boom bap, and the gritty bass of the deep south that includes the legendary triggerman loop out of Louisiana.
All regions come together in Oklahoma for a unique sound aimed at reaching an audience nationwide and beyond.
Cain said the artists in the state don’t deserve to be overlooked.
“Oklahoma, we’re different,” Cain said. “Being in the middle, influenced by everything. I mean, I’m pretty sure people all over were influenced by everything. But we were influenced by everything while being overlooked. We’re influenced by everything while not having a true identity. So I think that we’ve created a different type of beast in the art world. I just want to showcase it to the world. And continue to inspire, innovate, and move the world forward, move the culture forward.”
One artist who goes by Fendi said she is an artist of a lot of different genres while having her personal type. She has spent her time at 405Nation rapping, performing, and collaborating with artists like her.
Fendi favors wavy and euphoric beats that would have one floating. She said she looks up to artists in the experimental side of hip-hop while still going for some R&B.
“My main inspirations would be like Bktherula — (Playboy) Carti is not necessarily underground, but he has an underground sound,” Fendi said. “People like Autumn Summers, Destroy Lonely, Ken Carson, Masego, all of those. And then I also really look up to like, Frank Ocean and Steve Lacey, Lauryn Hill, all of them. I really like their sounds too.”
Music in Oklahoma can be a competitive world. At 405Nation, everyone believes they can be a successful artist with the amount of local support that other artist in their city gets.
“There’s so many raw talents here,” Fendi said. “Like a lot of a lot of them don’t even get the support or the flowers that they need right now. But I just know for a fact, based on their talent, based on mindset, based on how they pushed themselves.”
'I got a vision to do it'
405KingPing is a creative director with 405Nation, coordinating events and uniting artists around the city. Meeting Cain a year ago, it has been uphill from there.
“I’ve just been collaborating with artists over the years, and basically just was always recording artists and telling everybody to pull up,” Ping said. “So I was blessed to have met Chris a year ago. We’ve been locked in since just making plays.”
Holding onto the headquarters isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. Once all plans come together, everyone at 405Nation will be able to receive their flowers. The bar is set high.
“It’s definitely picked it up,” Cain said. “And I got a vision. You know, we’ve seen all the major companies and all the major independent companies around the country all over the years. You know, I got a vision to do it. I’m not the first one in the city who’s trying, I feel like it’s all one as far as everyone’s effort trying to get to where we need to go.”
There will be festivals planned and several artists will work to become known nationally.
“Next year, we’re going to be turning down deals,” Cain said. “We want our biggest artists to be doing arenas and stadiums and big festivals. And lower-level artists doing like city venues, House of Blues type venues.”
With a name, a space, and a goal, 405Nation is bound to get its artists on the spot, bringing Oklahoma City’s unique sound with them.
Archiebald Browne
Archiebald Browne is a freelance reporter from Oklahoma who writes about Oklahoma news while taking the time to write about the state's art and music scene. He is a music producer, going by Intro, of a wide range of Hip-hop. He also loves his cat, Akira.