Oddisee

Oddisee is the working name of Amir Mohamed el Khalifa, a rapper and producer from the Washington, DC area, born to a Sudanese father and an African-American mother. He came up through the DMV scene and the Mello Music Group roster, and produces the bulk of his own material.

His production favours live instrumentation, soul and jazz samples and unhurried tempos, while his writing tends toward observational commentary on class, faith, race and the economics of being a working musician. He has released a steady run of albums and instrumental collections, and performs frequently with his backing band Good Compny, which fills out the arrangements onstage.