"I Don't Put Opinions in Music, I Only Pose Questions", Claims Conscious Rapper Oddisee

"I Don't Put Opinions in Music, I Only Pose Questions," Says Socially-Conscious Rapper Oddisee

The Beijingers | Nov 18, 2018 5:00 pm | Add a comment | 2216 reads

The glorification of violence in mainstream hip-hop culture is so prevalent, that it's often mistaken as an essential, necessary element of the genre. Washington DC-born underground rapper and producer Oddisee (real name Amir Mohamed el Khalifa) disagrees, and instead makes music that promotes awareness and questioning the status quo. Having witnessed plenty of violence and poverty while growing up, Oddisee says it is not something that is worthy of praise.

The rapper writes his own music, both the lyrics and the beats, and treats it much more like a job than a creative adventure. "Time is money" laughs Oddisee during our chat prior to his show in Hong Kong, so we dive right in.

What did you listen to growing up? Do you think that your taste in music changed a lot or did you jump into one genre and stay with it?
Growing up I listened to everything that my parents played along with everything that the radio was playing, the children at school, my friends. I grew up listening to everything from funk to soul and hip-hop. To this day I still listen to all those genres. I don't just exclusively listen to hip-hop.

Do you think that leads to your own music to being more eclectic?
I guess, I think my music is the sum of what I am and I am the sum of my upbringing.

What inspires you? Besides listening to music in general, what triggers your creative moments?
Necessity. This is what I am good at and this is how I make a living. I have to go to work like everybody else, I have to sit at my desk and create something or I can't live. I think that tickles me enough, I need to live. I treat my work very much like a job.

Do you look to society for ideas or more to your own thoughts and relationships?
I usually take the approach of a journalist. I usually don't put my opinion into music, I just pose the questions. I will listen to what my friends are talking about in their day to day lives, what's on the news, what issues are concerning people and society. I'll pose questions about why those things are the way they are. And I will put that in my music because I know this is something that people can relate to.

When did you start producing and making music? How did your friends and family react, were they supportive?
You know the answer to that [laughs]. Obviously, they told me to get a normal job. I think I started in my last years of high school and it took a few years before I actually got paid for it and before I started thinking that I could do this for a living. I graduated high school and decided not to go to the Philadelphia School of Art and stayed home making music.

You come from a visual arts background, illustrations to be more specific. Do music and illustration tie together in your life?
These are different forms of arts, different mediums. Music sort of took over and I haven't really illustrated anything in years, but I think I am still very much a visual person. I like photography a lot, that kind of filled the void that I had for visual art. I definitely pick up the camera a lot more now than I ever had in my life.

This is one of the last things I have as a hobby. To this day, I refuse to allow photography to turn into something that I make a living from. I need that outlet of pure creativity.

You have a few collaborations with other artists but not that many compared to others. is it because you prefer to work alone in general?
I don't have a lot of collaborations for several reasons. As a composer and a rapper, I don't need to collaborate as often as other people do. If I was just a rapper I would need to collaborate to get beats. If I was just a producer I would need to collaborate to get vocals on my work.

The other aspect is time. I spend about six months of the year touring. It leaves me a total of about three months to write, record, mix and produce an album. Then promoting it for about three months before I go back out on the road. Collaborations consume a lot of time, where if I wanted to work with someone I needed to check their schedule and get back to them etc.

What is your fan base in China like?
I think it's growing. Just the fact that there is an interest to bring me. I wouldn't go unless I was requested. I think it's a big misconception, that artists just spin a globe and decide where they want to go play.