On “If U Down,” the first single from the Diamond District member’s sophomore album The Earn, yU combats empty rhetoric with harsh truth about himself, his surroundings and his art form. Less a song than a call to action, yU spits like a man at the end of his rope. Read the rest of this entry »

yU’s best known for his work on the microphone, whether he’s on the solo tip or doing his thing as one-third of Diamond District. But over the years, he’s crafted some gems behind the boards as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Has-Lo’s somber, composed, controlled. No matter the track, no matter his subject matter, the man lets bar-after-bar slip out without stress or hesitation, like he’s just sharing a few thoughts with the listener. “Never Was Yours” first met the world as “Everything Is,” a reflective, smooth track off In Case I Don’t Make It Read the rest of this entry »

Has-Lo’s already dropped In Case I Don’t Make It this year, and a “re-envisioning” of that album called Conversation B is set to drop November 15th. But, just in case that wasn’t enough for the ravenous listening public, the man dug through his hard drive to come up with Illegally Yours, a five-track EP made up of some odds-and-ends from throughout his career. Read the rest of this entry »

“Mattered Much,” off Oddisee’s recent Rock Creek Park release, was originally buried deep on a hard drive, a track brought into this world without a destination. It’s ridiculous, considering how much time and care went into it. Read the rest of this entry »

More polished than ever, and shining accordingly, Uptown XO and his Diamond District family, Oddissee and yU, return with the video for the confident firecracker “Tol’ You So.” Read the rest of this entry »

Following a pretty kickass verse on “Tol’ U So,” Oddisee’s back behind the boards for his new instrumental album, Rock Creek Park, and its first single, “Still Doing It.” Read the rest of this entry »

All praises due to Mello Music Group. Time and time again, they lace hard drives across the country with quality music, giving shine to a variety of underexposed artists. Today, as part of the “Free Friday” series they’ve been running all summer, they let Oddisee’s “101” out to the masses. That’s a pretty good deal, considering talented emcees like Little Brother, Phonte, Jean Grae, MED and J-Live appear on the guest list, and Oddisee, Flying Lotus and M-Phazes show up behind the boards.

If you’re on the fence, check “Song For That.” Right now, it’s hitting the spot for me. The string sample in the track is smooth and soulful, the drums knock, and Oddisee comes strong with a little food for thought. Just what I needed to play as the work week winds to an end.

Download — Oddisee – 101

Mello Music Group, who I affectionately refer to as “the other MMG,” continues their free music Fridays by delivering funkateers Georgia Anne Muldrow & Declaime’s SomeOthaShip album for free download all week. Read the rest of this entry »

Staying with the Mello Music theme, another extension of Diamond District, Oddisee, just released Odd Seasons, the compiled version of the heavily acclaimed series of separate seasonal EPs that released over the course of a year. All four seasons have been mixed, mastered, refined and polished for retail. Read the rest of this entry »

A while back, yU, one-third of Diamond District, released his solo effort, Before Taxes to critical acclaim. At that time, Gotty described the man’s music like this: “When I listen, I don’t hear ‘what’s next’ when he rhymes. Instead, there’s traces of “what was” and that is well-crafted rhymes, founded on some semblance of intellect.” Sounds about right to me. Read the rest of this entry »

Mello Music Group stays winning. Last week, they let Oddisee’s Mental Liberation go out to the masses for free, and now they’re following up with the instrumentals from Diamond District’s excellent In The Ruff. These beats stood out from the crowd back in 2009 and still glow to this day. Read the rest of this entry »

I can see Has-Lo now, staring straight forward, head up, quietly and determinedly delivering “Untitled #1 (Hold On)” to a sympathetic ear. I can feel the hush in the room, the calm that settles over moments of straight truth-telling in life. Read the rest of this entry »

Today has been one I’d be fine with forgetting altogether. Thankfully, Apollo Brown just drowned out my desperate thoughts with “Time Passed Autumn,” the MI man’s burgundy blend of guitar howls and front-heavy-drums that could easily double as transition music for an updated remake of The Fugitive. Read the rest of this entry »

Isn’t it funny how signs of growth and progression change from milestones such as turning 18 or 21 into more subtle shifts in the way we think and react? That frame of reference usually settles in at some point and unfortunately that day isn’t circled in red on the calender. But when that day hits, you’ll more than likely notice it.

Sometime during his world travels that revelation hit Oddisee & in turn he hit the studio. Using The Manhattan’s “Am I Losing You,” as a starting point he concocted a smooth array of synths & hi-hats to convey his feelings. Joined by Toine of DTMD, the duo further drive the point home with their verses. “Different Now,” serves as the final single from Mello Music Group’s Helpless Dreamer compilation & one of Oddisee’s four contributions to the project which released last year. It also serves as a offering to help tide fans over until he drops People Hear What They See later on this year.

Mello Music Group’s Helpless Dreamer is available now.