Born Amir Elkhalifa in Washington D.C. to a Sudanese father and African American mother, and raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland, Oddisee bore witness to stark inequity early in life and became as political as the city he was raised in.
Elkhalifa tackles the human condition with unwavering conviction and candor, merging elements of jazz, funk, and go-go into his hip-hop rooted production. Instead of pursuing record deals and executives, Elkhalifa has taken the less-traveled path. Streamlining elements of the industry early on, from single-handedly recording, producing, and mixing his music to steering his marketing strategy and tour runs.
A string of contemporary releases—Rock Creek Park (2011), The Beauty in All (2013), The Good Fight (2015), Alwasta (2016), and The Iceberg (2017)—headlining performances and tours with his 5-piece band, Good Compny, and streams in the hundred-millions have propelled him to international recognition and acclaim.
Long celebrated as a deep-thinking emcee that delivers a masterclass in lyricism over his own production often influenced with the Go-Go music of his DMV roots, Oddisee explores human ambition, posing the question: “how far are you willing to go, and why?” on his 2023 return full length album „To What End“.
Oddisee’s work has been celebrated by NPR, TIME Magazine, Rolling Stone, New York Times, Washington Post, Complex, Hypebeast, KCRW, and many, many more across the globe.
Pitchfork deemed 2017’s trenchant The Iceberg “a focused beam oflive-band and hip-hop soul that rattles loudly in our present political moment,” while Stereogum described 2020’s Odd Cure as “gorgeous” and with NPR booking Oddisee for TWO Tiny Desk performances.
