Oddisee

Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland, Oddisee, whose real name is Amir Mohamed el Khalifa, has been building a career at the intersection of independent rap and hip‑hop production since the early 2000s. The son of a Sudanese father and an African‑American mother, Oddisee shapes music informed by soul, jazz and funk, with precise, often warm instrumentals and lyrics attentive to social issues as well as everyday scenes. After a series of EPs, mixtapes and instrumental projects, Oddisee established himself on the East Coast independent hip‑hop scene and as part of the trio Diamond District with yU and X.O., which released Beneath the Surface in 2009 and March on Washington in 2014. As a solo artist, Oddisee has released notably People Hear What They See (2012), the instrumental album The Beauty in All (2013), The Good Fight (2015), The Iceberg (2017) and To What End (2023), often on Mello Music Group. On record and in concert, Oddisee delivers laid‑back, melodic hip‑hop, where rapping, organic arrangements and a sense of rhythm advance without affectation.