Oddisee = Encore Status!

artwork by: aniekan


What up DMV! (DC, Maryland, Virginia) We in the building right now putting the spot light on Largo, Maryland's own Oddisee. You all may remember him from his first commercial appearance on Dj Jazzy Jeff's 2002 release The Magnificent, in which he produced and spit on the cool out track, Musik Lounge. Since then, Oddisee has worked with the likes of Jean Grae, J Live, Wordworth, Little Brother, and Saigon. This month Oddisee has been flooding the web with two mix tapes. First he released Oddisee 101 and Oddisee 102 on iTunes, if you feelin some of the joints on here, PLEASE Support. Second, Hot 97 Radio Show Host, Peter Rosenburg recently posted a mixtape called "A Rosenberg Oddisee" of tracks featuring MCs he personally recruited to spit over Oddisee beats. With cosigns like these and musical talent, Oddisee is destined for greatness. Now that we understand, Oddisee is a rapper and a producer, let me recommend some of his illest verses and beats.
When I first heard Oddisee, I liked his song the Musik Lounge. The current state of music has conditioned me to like a song before the artist. Usually artists come out with one hot track and drop a subpar album, or they get pushed back until you forget who they were. Well I have heard much more from Oddisee and I can finally say I like him as an artist. His musical ability shines consistently on both mixtapes without topics or beats sounding the same. Being a sample junkie myself, I especially enjoy the horns used on the tracks picture painting track "Camera" and funky instrumental "Chocolate City Dreamin." Other stand out beats to look for are "Sand to the Beach," "Money on the Clock," and "Endure (2 Fish Remix)." Lyrically, his descriptions of the diversity and gang issues in the DMV hit home for me on "Camera." Demonstrating his knowledge of the culture, Oddisee creatively travels through the history of hip-hop over the Nas influenced track, "Memory Lane."In addition to the many iPod worthy songs I've already mentioned, check out these as well "Soul Clap," "A Song for That," and "I'm Gone (Remix)."

Overall Oddisee is definitely an artist to look out for. His sample heavy production, which I feel is his strongest skill, is true to the culture of hip hop and has earned him the respect of many great lyrists in the game. Lyrically, I feel Oddisee leaves a little more to be desired, in terms of flow and delivery. Although, content wise he gets my seal of approval and will only improve with time. So now that we've reached the end of my review, what do you do next? Holla at iTunes to support my dude Oddisee. Then keep your ear to the street for his cross over hit that puts Maryland on the map.

PanamaBlack