Oddisee Pulls No Punches With Beats & Rhymes @ Ritual
By Shawn K.
You never know what to expect from a hip hop show. Add to that the unpredictability of such shows in the City of Ottawa and I had some reservations about seeing Washington, D.C.’s Oddisee on a Thursday night at Ritual. Black Milk had around ten of us going up on a Tuesday there last fall, while I was almost hit in the face with an empty bottle of Patron after the chaos that was Freddie Gibbs just 4 days later.
Such reservations proved to be unwarranted. Despite the long list of openers, a starting set time of 12:30 and a venue not nearly at capacity, seeing Oddisee live reminded me of what I love most about hip hop. The power of an MC and a DJ controlling a stage with a hunger that is so often absent from the genre’s heavy-hitters (J. Cole notwithstanding). The jazz/soul samples and self-produced nature reminiscent of artists like Little Brother and Murs in the early 2000s. The literal backpackers in my vicinity. When he started performing “Ready To Rock,” standout track from his 2012 release People Hear What They See, I was hooked.
“I guess I gotta do it all myself”, a line from his recent track “Want Something Done”, is honest, he writes and produces much of his music independently. But unlike a lot of producer-rappers, dude can spit. During his set, mostly consisting of gems from his recent release The Good Fight, he displayed great vocal control and knew how to work the crowd. After the show, he signed albums for fans and came across as humble and thankful. It was clear at the end of the night that he had won over everyone in the room. “That’s Love” was a particular highlight, with the crowd joining in for the chorus of “That’s Love, That’s Love.” As I looked around at the smiling faces, I thought “That’s hip hop.” Â Â