For those of you who prefer physical copies of albums rather than digital, yU (1/3rd of the Diamond District) will be officially re-releasing his 2009 mixtape "Before Taxes" via Mello Music Group on March 13th, 2010. Fellow Diamond District member Oddisee has contributed two remixes to the retail version, but made several like this one below.
Life on a road is rite of passage for every artist, and each stop on the journey leaves an indelible mark on those who pass through. MC and producer extraordinaire Oddisee, one third of one of 2009's celebrated group Diamond District, is certainly no stranger to the travel game, having visited the shores of Australia, Europe, Asia, Africa and South America in the name of boom-bap. Be it the sleepy ambiance of a wayside town, or the frenetic energy of a major city, the experiences of Oddisee's worldly adventures are channeled into his new 24-track instrumental album Traveling Man, out now digitally and available as a limited edition vinyl pressing on February 23rd.
In an effort to re-imagine a trip into Gotham City, Oddisee has recruited fellow Diamond District rhyme-slinger yU as passenger for a remix to "NYC." The Big Apple has never sounded so good, as yU laces an electric 16 bar verse over a vibrant track that captures a slice of the timeless spirit of the city. Infectious drums and soaring strings serve as a sonic travel guide through the boroughs as yU echoes the resilience of NYC, rapping that there's "a lot more to do, but off to a good start." Safe travels, everyone.
As a musician, life is often lived on the road. Each city leaves its imprint on the artist as they develop their craft. For Oddisee, the producer and MC brainchild behind 2009's critically acclaimed Diamond District, the life and travels of the artist is no mystery. Touring, recording, and keeping up with friends and family took Oddisee beyond his hometown of Washington DC to Australia, Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. Rather than keep these experiences to himself, Oddisee is instead releasing a new 24-track instrumental album, sharing his worldly experiences – through music, directly with his fans; a 24 city sonic tour of the world. With this new release, Oddisee is the Traveling Man.
Being released digitally just yesterday and as a limited edition vinyl pressing on February 23rd, Traveling Man is an instrumental album truly influenced by the producer's surroundings. Each track was produced while Oddisee stayed in the city it was titled after. With these first three, take a visit to the festive "San Fran" as you travel with the woman who so smoothly sings, "Do everything you wanted to do, you're on your own, that's how it goes". Or take a ride to "Chicago" where you can let your swagger loose on the windy streets as a soft voice is conjured up to serenade you over the beat's guitar plucks, horns, and dense instrumentation. Not confined to U.S. borders, Oddisee next takes you overseas, as the hypnotic "Khartoum" in Sudan beckons you to visit its streets. No need for a passport because Oddisee sees the world, so that you can hear it. Listen up. [via AudibleTreats]
Odd Winter is the third installment in Oddisee's season themed series. Just as Odd Summer & Odd Autumn did, Odd Winter will be the theme music to it's season. Not slowing down after his string of releases in 2009, he's also preparing to release his new instrumental album Traveling Man on Mello Music. Traveling Man will be available for purchase as a digital release January 26th and vinyl & limited edition slimlines (only at UGHH) February 23rd.
01. Ci'iy Life feat. Tranqill
02. Frostbit
03. Winds From The North
04. Black Broadway feat. X.O
05. Brain Wash Remix (Instrumental)
06. Riiight feat. Stik Figa
07. Carry On (Instrumental)
08. The Warm Up feat. Homeboy Sandman
09. Queue With No Coat
10. 60901 (Instrumental)
11. All Because She's Gone (Instrumental)
12. It's Over feat. Tranqill
13. Blizzard Of 09
To celebrate the vinyl-only release of their album precursor EP, Heaven Or Hell, the always-eclectic duo Georgia Anne Muldrow & Declaime are proud to release a new single from the forthcoming SomeOthaShip. "Get Up" is the track and it features contributions from Prince Po, yU, and German DMC Supremacy champion DJ Clear. Over the track's brooding, resonating piano, horn stabs, and wobbling bass line, Declaime, with his unorthodox, winding rhyme patterns, is the track's clear standout.
The "Get Up (GoGo Remix)," produced by Oddisee, who also produced the original, was made to give the original song a sound more cohesive with the rest of SomeOthaShip. Replacing the dark pianos and horns of the original with blaxploitation guitar strums, distorted synthesizer bass, loose drums and percussion, and funk horns, the remix instantly takes on a new vibe – a cosmic blending of Oddisee's Washington D.C. GoGo with Georgia & Declaime's west coast funk. And while the original prepares the listener for war, the remix serves a different purpose, as Declaime raps, "Taking y'all humans back to school / Feeding y'all this fOnk until you're full." Eat up.
Georgia & Declaime's SomeOthaShip will be available via Mello Music Group at all digital retailers on February 16th and all physical retailers on February 23rd.
Continuing with their mission to bring back the sounds of old with a new twist, Diamond District's "I Mean Business" Remix combines a laid back bass groove, an addictive drum pattern, and is laced with the unmistakable lyrical prowess of group emcees Oddisee, X.O. and yU. The track is a further testament to their ability to capture the essence of the boom-bap sound, mixed with street savvy and politically conscious lyrics that depict life in and around our nation's capital.
The Oddisee produced record "That Day" is the first official single off of Muhsinah's latest installment in her Oscillation series. The Oscillations: Triangle album is set to be released on the 1st of December and will feature production from the likes of Flying Lotus, Oddisee, Exile, and Mike Slott, as well as Muhsinah herself.
As a bonus, I've included a Muhsinah/Jake One collaboration that was released in the summer of 2008 following the Red Bull Music Academy in Toronto that year, and was previously unheard by myself until today.
After a critically acclaimed original release, Long Beach native Sareem Poems is releasing an unusually comprehensive Deluxe Edition of his album Black & Read All Over. The Deluxe Edition will include all fourteen of the original songs along with instrumentals for each track. The album's most unique feature, however, might be its remixes. Sareem chose to remix the album's centerpiece track, "Lower the Boom" not once or twice, but half a dozen times. Each remixed version of "Lower the Boom" was given a different name, and each features a different producer and new guest verses.
"Rude Awakening" is the first of the "Boom" remixes, and features typically fantastic contributions from DMV super-producer and Diamond District emcee Oddisee, as well as lyrical contributions from up-and-coming rapper DMV rapper Kenn Starr. Released by Mello Music Group, the remixes simply had produced too much good feedback for the label to keep them unreleased. Michael Tolle of Mello Music Group simply had no choice- "the promotional remixes started coming back from Oddisee, Fabio Musta, and Nick Tha 1Da and garnered so much attention, had so many people asking 'what album is that on?' that we felt we had to re-release the project with them included. We really wanted to make it worth people's while since the project had already dropped, so we figured we'd give people the whole package." The whole package is about to be delivered. Watch out for digital release of Black & Read All Over: Deluxe Edition, coming December 1 on Mello Music Group.
Here is the follow up to the Odd Summer EP, aptly titled Odd Autumn. The album is mostly made up of instrumentals, but features vocal appearances from Tranquill and Nikki Jean as well. Make sure to download the Diamond Exchange mixtape a few posts down if you're a fan of Oddisee's production.
01. The Supplier feat. Tranqill
02. Almost A Year Since
03. Everything Changed Nothing (Instrumental)
04. Every Day People (Instrumental)
05. Pulp Fiction
06. Saw Myself Today
07. The Second Date
08. Grey’s Anatomy
09. Tell The Truth (Instrumental)
10. Theatre
11. Autumn Run
12. Tell The Truth feat. Nikki Jean (Bonus)
Gearing up for their October 27th release of In The Ruff, DMV's Diamond District is leaking a twelve-track mixtape compiled by DJ Buddy. Featuring four songs from the upcoming album along with a mix of each of the group member's solo work, these tracks all come together to comprise the Diamond Exchange Mixtape with all of the tracks laced together seamlessly with cuts and transitions courtesy of DJ Buddy, who states, "I mulled it over with my mom and we decided Diamond District is the definitive hip-hop group of today." Returning the compliment, group producer/emcee, Oddisee, speaks highly of DJ Buddy and his involvement in putting the mixtape together, saying, "DJ buddy is great and in all honesty this mixtape is all him. He's an actual fan and supporter of our music and movement. The mixtape was actually DJ Buddy's idea and he presented the idea to us. We're fans of a lot of his remixes, so it was in honor to be included in his series." Each of the tracks throws the spotlight onto one of the group's members, letting them each showcase their talent, including the track "In the Jungle," which features a purely instrumental performance by Oddisee. Although a pre-album mixtape, don't let it throw you that a handful of these songs are not on the album – not one of them lacks in the high quality production or deft lyrics that the group has become known for.
In anticipation of the official release of their forthcoming debut effort, In The Ruff, the trio of Oddisee, X.O., and yU, collectively making up the group Diamond District, take some time out from their day to break down the boundaries that define the area where the group was born and raised – the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia). From a bird's eye view, Oddisee points over the bridge to where he grew up in Maryland and X.O. and yU show us where our nation's capital lies on the northwest corner. Diamond District is essentially standing at the crossroads of the DMV, and even more important than their geographic location is the mind state and way of life that comes from living at that intersection. As the video progresses, each member brings us a little deeper into their worlds. X.O. explains how the movement began in DC and slowly spilled over into Maryland and Virginia; YU brings us into his friend's apartment where he delivers a flow packed with cleverness and slick delivery; Oddisee brings us into his modest home studio where he shows us that you don't need a lavish setup to create head-nodding beats that we are accustomed to hearing from the boom-bap beat-smith. And with each segment you leave with more insight than you came with, as the trio drops knowledge, both individually and collectively. Diamond District's In The Ruff will be available October 27th via Mello Music Group.
Oddisee delivers yet another dope project, this time with the Odd Summer EP, which is mainly all instrumentals and features three exclusive joints In Your Eyes, Sligo Creek, & That Day (Instrumental).
The photo in the artwork was taken by Oddisee, of Omdurman (Khartoum, Sudan), where he spent every summer growing up, swimming and fishing in the Nile.
01. The Beginning feat. Hezekiah & Muhsinah 02. Memory Lane (Remix) 03. Represent feat. Kenn Starr & Akir 04. Life's Pie feat. Don Will, Fresh Daily & Finale 05. Sand To The Beach feat. Ave.To 06. Random Verse feat. Kev Brown 07. Chain Letter feat. Zion I & Kay 08. Book Of Days feat. SoulStice 09. iHate Rap 10. Can I Catch A Break feat. Unknown & Mudd 11. I'm Gone (Remix) 12. Searchin' feat. Yu 13. Bonus Beat
Oddisee 101 is the official release of the acclaimed online mix. Updated to include new tracks, new features from Rapper Big Pooh of Little Brother, M.E.D., Georgia Anne Muldrow, Tranqill, and Trek Life., new guest production from Roddy Rod, remixes, plus the OG classics featuring Phonte, Flying Lotus, Jean Grae, and J-Live.
01. iRap 02. Claim To Fame 03. Do Our Own Thing feat. Substantial & Iomos Marad 04. The Supplier feat. Tranqill 05. Once Upon A Mic 06. A Song For That 07. The Perch feat. Phonte, Tor & Flying Lotus 08. Delusional feat. Little Brother 09. Money On The Clock feat. Roddy Rod 10. 10 Endure (2 Fish Remix) feat. MED, Georgia Anne Muldrow & Rapper Big Pooh 11. Chocolate City Dreaming 12. 95 North feat. Lo-G, Akir & Enigma 13. Ride'n feat. XO 14. Soul Clap feat. Aziz, Jean Grae, Phonte & Josh Collins 15. Play It Safe 16. All Because She's Gone feat. Phonte 17. Camera
Well, Trek Life has again arrived on another shoreline. Oddisee's remixes of Trek Life's 2006 album, Price I've Paid has been released in Japan through Subcontact. The album includes 13 remixes and 2 unheard bonus cuts all produced by Oddisee.
01. Intro 02. Black Music feat. J Bizness 03. Hard Work 04. Hold Me Down feat. Champ MC 05. Long Time Coming 06. So Good 07. I'm Gone 08. Mind Right 09. All Times 10. Price I've Paid 11. Big Picture 12. We Still Here 13. Get High 14. Last Joint 15. Enjoy Yourself
On the heels of the breakout album, Dark Water, SoulStice of Wade Waters is back with his second solo offering. Representing Chicago, SoulStice is quickly becoming recognized as part of the city’s elite. Dead Letter Perfect is a 15-song look into the lifestyle of the new hip hop generation through the eyes of one its most unique practitioners. SoulStice offers Dead Letter Perfect up to fans as the "perfect hip hop album," featuring sincere, top notch lyricism over soulful production provided by Oddisee, K-Salaam, M-phazes, Analogic and more.
01. Southside Ride (prod. by Oddisee) 02. High As You Wanna (prod. by Analogic) 03. Be Perfect (prod. by K-Salaam & Beatnick) 04. Book of Days (prod. by Oddisee) 05. World’s On Fire feat. Haysoos (prod. by Oddisee) 06. Not Perfect feat. Olivier Daysoul (prod. by M-Phazes) 07. Be Strong (prod. by SBe Audiologist) 08. Dreamer (prod. by SBe Audiologist) 09. Like This (prod. by Oddisee) 10. The Time feat. Stef (prod. by SBe Audiologist) 11. Get It Right feat. Oddisee & Olivier Daysoul (prod. by Oddisee) 12. Still Love (prod. by M-Phazes) 13. No Chance feat. Wordsworth (prod. by Analogic) 14. Recognize (prod. by Bring it Back) 15. The Quickening (prod. by Oddisee)
*a-FILI-ated* I had the pleasure of talking to SouStice over the phone and helping get this album distributed in the UK. Cut a long story short, dude is mad cool, constantly on the grind to put out that quality hip hop so if any real hip hop heads who may have slept on this one, here's your chance to check out one of best hip hop releases last year!!!! Chicago is really killin it right now, check out anything by Rashid Hadee.
01. Hip Hop's Cool Again 02. Let The Music feat. LMNO 03. The Jungle feat. Hassaan Mackey & Bilal Salaam 04. Get Up feat. Declaime, Prince Po, Yu & DJ Clear 05. Q & A feat. Kenn Starr 06. Rhymes Get Written feat. Silent Knight & XO 07. What's Crazy feat. J-Live & Stik Figa 08. Cold For That feat. Trek Life 09. Endure Remix feat. Georgia Anne Muldrow, MED & Rapper Pooh 10. Don't Sleep Remix feat. Invincible & Finale 11. Drugs Outside Remix feat. Black Milk, Rapper Pooh & DJ Romes 12. When Everything Changed
00. Intro 01. Streets Won’t Let Me Chill 02. Who I Be 03. Back To Basics 04. I Mean Business 05. Get In Line 06. In The Ruff 07. The Shining (Prod. Dunc) 08. The District 09. Make It Clear 10. Off The Late Night (Prod. Slim Kat 78) 11. Let Me Explain 12. First Time
