“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 »

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 »

Uptown XO links with Diamond District brethren yU, Oddisee and fellow DMV-repper Fat Trel for “Tol’ U So,” a track set to be included on XO’s next project Monumental 2.

Diamond District Feat. Fat Trel – “Tol’ U So” (Prod. By AB The Pro)

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

One of my favorite episodes of Everybody Hates Chris was when he made the wrestling team. Long story short, he did so because he believed having a letterman jacket would allow him to experience a different world socially. The same can be said, somewhat, about the DMV’s own Phil Adé. 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 »

Slowly, but in a blessedly peaceful way, Sudan is preparing to split into two separate nations after nearly 99% of voters in the southern part of the country voted for independence in late January. With memories of a brutal civil war fresh in the minds of the citizens, it’s a time of tremendous upheaval for the country. Oddisee, who is half-Sudanese, decided to grace “Tao Te Ching” from Apollo Brown’s Clouds with his reflections as the process moves forward.

Retitled “The Times,” the song is a strong piece of work by Apollo. His message is heartfelt and powerful, his talent in full effect, and the swelling horns – which as Beware aptly stated “command more respect than General Patton” – add stirring, inspirational air to the proceedings. When they’re pumping through the headphones, it’s hard not to get chills when the hook starts up: “And my, my look at the times we’re living in, As blind eyes begin to see the vivid end, As time dies, a new era fit to begin, Let’s celebrate the end, and get to starting over.” Wise words.

Apollo Brown’s Clouds is available now in stores and on iTunes.

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.

The holiday season is in full swing which means it’s time for long shopping trips, putting up the Christmas tree & gatherings among friends and family. The one constant throughout these and any other holiday traditions one may hold is holiday music. Growing up, we heard holiday themed music 24-7 from the day after Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. Sweeping in to save your ears from redundant tunes, the Low Budget Crew have remixed & flipped some of our favorite songs. Read the rest of this entry »

The cafeteria is open but the only thing being served is condiments. How do you even manage? If you’re TiRon, it’s as easy as squeezing the bottle to lace your food. He gave you plenty of time to Ketchup while he hoped in the kitchen to whip up a lil’ MSTRD to compliment his verbal skills. Read the rest of this entry »

Diamond District’s Oddisee is the kind of guy to see things through. After giving listeners Odd Summer, Autumn & Winter, he’s now delivered the final installment, Odd Spring. Thematically, he delivers once again with music that’s in tune with the season, using uptempo beats full of synths & effects. My early fav looks to be “Juba May,” solely for the percussion play, but its heels are being nipped by “Warmer Day.”

Late to the party? Don’t fret. While all of the installments can be found here (click here), there’s plans for all four Seasons to be released as a box set.

The Blooming
Birds & Bees Feat. Diamond District
Juba May
Warmer In The Day
Anticipation Feat. Kingpen Slim & Oddisee
In The Now Feat. Olivier Daysoul
The Riches Instr
This Beat Is For Finale
I’m From PG Feat. Oddisee
Two Way Street Feat. Muneshine

Download — Oddisee – Odd Spring

While you’re here, don’t forget to enter to win fellow Diamond District member yU’s “Before Taxes” Nike Dunk giveaway.

It’s time to pay the piper y’all.

Oddisee’s blessed us with three freEp’s in his Odd Season series (Summer, Autumn & Winter) and he’s back again with yet another batch of instrumentals.  Inspired by his travels while touring, he presents Traveling Man, 24 tracks paying homage to cities both near and far. Read the rest of this entry »

“This series has forced me to look at the seasons and time in a different way, they’re like theme music.”

After an Odd Summer and Autumn, the natural progression is an Odd Winter. Odd Winter is the third installment in producer Oddise’s season-themed series of instrumental music and it should prove to be on par with the rest. Listen and love. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Friday, snitches! That means I’m sharing, but straight cuttin’ and pastin’ the pertinent info (and the extra mustard intended to entice you to download a musical composition) because I don’t want to be working anymore than you do. Read the rest of this entry »

Between the failing automotive industry and record low seasons from their professional football team, the city of Detroit has more reasons than usual to feel hopeless during a recession. Sharing the same sense of disparity comes a rapper not afraid bank his aspirations on the power of alliteration: Finale. Planted firmly in the Motown music scene, his debut A Pipe Dream And A Promise features prominent beatsmiths such as Black Milk, Oddisee and of course his mentor J Dilla to deliver the soundtrack to his life as a wishful thinker thus far. Read the rest of this entry »