#48



Oddisee
The Iceberg

This is the kind of hip hop that really appeals to me. Brooklyn based artist Oddisee pretty much encompasses that east coast inner city five boroughs sound extremely well on this record. I've always been interested in New York City hip hop over alternatives. I always listened to Biggie over Tupac and Mos Def and Tribe were really the main introductions into what hip hop can be if you know where to look. I'm fickle when it comes to hip hop. Lot of people say that. I'm not into Weezy, Kanye, Fitty, or even Jay-Z. Not into trap or grime. I tried so hard to like Death Grips. So hard. Can't do it. I need jazzy or funky beats to go along with good flow. I don't even pay attention to the lyrics that much. They're important, sure, as we'll see down the line with my list, but it isn't a deal breaker.

The Iceberg has these qualities I look for. The flows aren't the absolute greatest but they fit the laid back and chill beats that shine on tracks like Like Really and Want to Be which has an almost disco like feel to it. The album has just a good track to track flow to it. Blends well. The lyrics, when I pick up on them, are scattered going from politics to relationships. Nothing really awe inspiring like say an Aesop Rock album would produce. It also holds up well throughout the last third of the album which for me is always something good hip hop albums struggle with. The final track, Rights and Wrongs, might actually be my favorite track on the whole record. Nice dub beat in the background. Groovy.

Oddisee pretty much comes out with an album a year and while I haven't been a HUGE fan of his previous efforts, this one just happened to have a bunch of correct ingredients for it to become memorable for me. It's a good album to start with if you've never heard his music and you can work your way back.