About Oddisee
Amir Mohamed el Khalifa , better known by his stage name Oddisee, is a rapper and record producer from Washington, D.C. He is one third of the rap trio Diamond District. He was also part of the Low Budget Crew. He is based in Brooklyn, New York.
Oddisee was born to an African-American mother and a Sudanese father, at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. He was raised by his stepmother and father. He grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, as well as Prince George's County, Maryland. He moved to Washington, D.C. after high school.
In 2010, Oddisee released Traveling Man on Mello Music Group. His Odd Spring mixtape was listed on the Washington Post's Best Local Hip-Hop mixtapes of 2010. In 2011, Oddisee released Rock Creek Park, which was ranked as a Mixtape of the Week by Stereogum. Odd Seasons, a collection of EPs released throughout the previous 12 months, was also released that year.
In 2012, he released a studio album, People Hear What They See. The Beauty in All, his first instrumental release since Rock Creek Park, was released in 2013. In that year, he also released Tangible Dream. In 2015, he released The Good Fight. In 2016, he released an EP, Alwasta, and a mixtape, The Odd Tape. In 2017, he released a studio album, The Iceberg, as well as a live album, Beneath the Surface.
Oddisee was originally influenced by Black American Jazz traditions and the Golden Age of Hip-Hop sounds from his older American cousins. Oddisee was primarily influenced by Black American musical traditions. Growing up next door to Parliament Funkadelic's bass player Gary Shider in P.G. County, Maryland left a deep musical impact on the young Oddisee. He is also influenced by Gospel music and the vocal harmonizing traditions of his Black American heritage. In an interview with NPR, he explained why he was influenced by early East Coast emcees such as Eric B. & Rakim, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest. He stated that these rappers don't talk about drugs or murder, and he could relate more to their lyrics.
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