Oliver Tree Detailed The Surprising Terms Of His Will In An Interview A Few Months Ago

Yesterday, it was confirmed that "Alien Boy" singer Oliver Tree and five others passed away in a tragic helicopter collision. Within an hour, a clip from an interview that Tree did with Zach Sang this past April started circulating online, where he discussed his will and an arts foundation that he set up and hoped would continue well past his death. It's eerie.

The interview encapsulates Tree's profound prankster energy. He's dressed up as Shrek, his skin painted an acidic green, while still wearing one of his signature hairstyles — a half mullet, half bowl cut. He admitted he had no reason for his costume. He laughed that things had gone downhill since the last time he was interviewed by Sang, which was four years earlier. Sang protested, pointing to Tree's many hits, but also added that every album presented itself as the final one. Tree said, "It's not schtick. You never know when it's my last album. I could die any moment. I could have died on the way here."

At the end of the interview, Tree and Sang ventured into creative existentialism. They discussed how there are really no original ideas; it's all a matter of execution, timing, and context. Tree reflected on making his music video for "Cash Machine," which involved a lot of special jet ski acrobatics that he'd been working on for months. One week before he dropped his video, Charli XCX and Troye Sivan's "2099," the follow-up to the nostalgia-eyed "1999," was released and also featured lots of stunts and jet skis. Sang pointed out that creativity is a communal pot that we're all just grabbing from. Tree then doubled down on not taking credit for his ideas, arguing that neither the ideas nor the wealth generated from them are solely his.

He then discussed what will happen to his assets when he passes away. They're not set up to go to any family or friends, but rather to future artists, investing in the act of physical creation. "The idea is that when I die, all the money is gonna go back to artists. So I've set up a foundation," he said. "It's called Doctor Oliver Tree's Art Grants for Baby Geniuses."

Tree detailed the specifics of the grant. It's not meant to go toward educational expenses, but toward the act of creating. Here's his full response:

When I pass, my family, no one is getting a penny. If I have a wife or kids or anything, they're not getting a fucking penny. I'll get my kids through college. That's the agreement. But they're not gonna be a silver spoon, they're taken care of because my dad worked on some stuff in the 2000s. The idea is that when I die, all the money is gonna go back to artists. So I've set up a foundation. It's called Doctor Oliver Tree's Art Grants For Baby Geniuses. It's set up so that the interest generated from my music, will take mostly that, but there's also room for other money because when I die, my art will continue to have residuals and probably be worth more than it is now. People will finally appreciate my stupid fucking videos and my stupid fucking songs. That's when people appreciate you, when you're not there anymore. Anyway, it might not. Doesn't even make a difference. Historically speaking, artists' worth go up after they die. So the art will continue to make money no matter what. Even the most diabolical people, their music still makes money after fucking shit.

You want to educate the youth?

Fuck no. I don't believe the money should go to education. I think teachers are important, and I believe in education and learning. I feel so blessed to be able to go to school and that's such a privileged thing. I've seen places where people aren't allowed to go to school. I'm not even going to begin to say that, but I don't believe in education being spent with this money. I want it to go to the actual physical making of art. You're not allowed to buy equipment with the money. You're not allowed to go to education and school for the money. You're allowed to physically hire people to help produce stuff. You're allowed to rent gear and equipment to make things. You're allowed to use the budget to physically produce stuff. But that's the belief for me. I have a committee that I've set up when I pass, and I plan to do it while I'm alive, where basically everyone will vote on who the money goes to each year, a few different people. It will be in the spirit of the Oliver Tree project, so collaborators I've made music or film or art with while I'm alive will get to make the decision where it goes.

You can watch the clip below.