Oddisee

Oddisee
Oddisee
Birth name Amir Mohamed
Origin Prince George's County, Maryland
Genres Hip Hop
Occupations Rapper, Producer
Labels Mello Music Group (2007-present)

Amir Mohamed, better known as Oddisee is a hip hop producer and MC from Prince George's County, Maryland.[1]

Contents

Biography

Oddisee was born in Washington, D.C. to an African-American mother and a Sudanese father. He grew up in Maryland influenced by hip-hop and soul as well as the myriad of musicians on both sides of his family. Just as he was about to start attending the Art Institute of Philadelphia to pursue visual art, a friend of Oddisee, introduced him to hip hop production. Seduced by the music, he decided to focus on beat making, with his track, Musik Lounge, making the cut on DJ Jazzy Jeff's Magnificent in 2002.

Oddisee soon joined the Low Budget Crew, the legendary collective of MCs, producers and DJs from the DMV area. After building up a reputation for his consistent and unique production as well as his mic skills, Oddisee, released Foot in the Door in 2006; a 34 track release that featured many established rappers, including Supastition, Asheru, J-Live, Kenn Starr, Freddie Foxxx.

In 2007, Oddisee signed with Mello Music Group, a label which was virtually unknown at the time. He went on to release the 'Good Tree EP' and '101' in 2008, the first releases on MMG. As time went on, Oddisee's fan base started to increase, with many praising his consistency and work-rate. In late 2008, Oddisee formed the group, Diamond District with fellow DC residents yU, and Uptown XO. In 2009, they released 'In The Ruff which was almost entirely produced by Oddisee, with all three artists on the mic. The album was hailed as a classic by a countless number of hip hop blogs and it even made the Grammy album of the year pre-nomination list.

Oddisee emerged from '09 with a reputation as one of the most versatile hip hop producers and a large fanbase. Over the next two years, he released a number of projects, including 'Travelling Man', 'Odd Seasons' and 'Rock Creek Park'. His proper solo debut, 'People Hear What They See', is scheduled for release in late 2011. Diamond District's sophomore album, 'March on Washington' is also scheduled to be released at a similar time.

Personal life

Oddisee is a proud DC resident,[citation needed] and includes a number of references to the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area in his lyrics. This is most prominent on the track 'I'm from P.G.', where he raps: "I'm from P.G., I rep DMV...." He is also a passionate photographer and traveler, and is known for 'traveling the globe six months a year'.[citation needed] Aside from producing and MCing, he is also the East Coast Director of Operations at Mello Music Group where he works with a number of Detroit and D.C. artists.[citation needed]

Discography

Albums

  • Foot in the Door (2006) Halftooth Records
  • 101 (2008) on MelloMusic Group
  • Mental Liberation (2009)
  • New Money (with Trek Life (2009)
  • In the Ruff (with Diamond District) (2009)
  • Travelling Man (2010)
  • Odd Seasons (2011)
  • Rock Creek Park (2011)
  • People Hear What They See (2011/12)

References

Reviews of In The Ruff. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Oddisee's blog. [6]

  1. ^ “Oddisee”.Discogs.com Discogs.
  2. ^ Hip Hop DX: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/album-reviews/id.1293/title.diamond-district-in-the-ruff
  3. ^ Potholes In My Blog: http://potholesinmyblog.com/album-review-diamond-district-in-the-ruff-2009/
  4. ^ Sputnik Music: http://sputnikmusic.com/review/38701/Diamond-District-In-The-Ruff/
  5. ^ Alldmvhiphop.com: http://alldmvhiphop.com/main/search/search?q=oddisee
  6. ^ http://oddiseemusic.blogspot.com/


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