ODDISEE LIVE REVIEW
Article By: Larisa Sanders
Photo By: Dustin @jdeveurux & @spliffbreaks
This past Sunday, Fortune Sound Club got a taste of soulful hip-hop from the DMV, the acronym used for Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia where the famed Oddisee and the Good Company band proudly hail from, along with Pennsylvania and the UK. Good Company opened the show with their funky, jazzy, jam-style beats. They slayed their individual instruments as if they were all soloing in a cohesive blend, which garnered the crowd’s reverence within seconds. While masterfully switching up time signatures and styles, they showcased their massive talent and versatility and set the night off right.
Without further ado, Oddisee joined the crew and jumped in on his beastly first verse from “Ready to Rock” off of his acclaimed People Hear What They See album. The audience’s heads bobbed while they mouthed the words with glazed eyes, making their admiration of his immaculate flow evident. There were some dedicated fans in the house, even one man yelling, “I can’t sleep without you!” Some were curious that maybe that was a bonus track they hadn’t copped yet, and he screamed it out a few more times until the confused Oddisee awkwardly responded, “Uh, ya…What he said. Let’s keep it going!”
Oddisee then got into what most were there to hear, his new, positively-received album The Good Fight. With the crowd’s mad approval apparent after hearing just a bar or two, he laid into the first track on the album – “That’s Love” – rapping on the beautiful little things people do to show they love someone. The audience shared in the love as they helped him sing the chorus.
Oddisee started his tour in Switzerland, stopped in Korea, and will be ending soon in New Zealand – he landed in Vancouver on his 57th show. Paying homage to one of America’s national treasures, Heinz 57 Ketchup, Oddisee jestingly dubbed this stop “The Sauce.” After so many shows, he mentioned he needed to entertain himself, so he called to Unown on the MPC to continue on with the track “Want Something Done,” but at half speed. Then he called for an 808 kick, and feeling where Oddisee was going with it, Unown added in the signature trap 808 hats. Then as if Future and his squad had rushed the stage, Oddisee spat an on-the-spot trap remix with an animated rawness that the crowd reflected by wilding out.
With stabs of Pharacyde’s “Runnin’” and “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar, Oddisee kept the vibe going all the way to his closing track “I Meant it When I Said It.” Oddisee and his band said their good-byes but the crowd cheered so profusely that they didn’t even attempt to leave the stage. Oddisee stated, “You know, usually we go backstage and wait till our egos get big” but instead they jumped right into the encore. The crew escalated the already palpable energy with the universal hype track “Simon Says” by Pharoahe Monch. By the time the beat dropped, the room exploded into an uncontrollable frenzy. With the crew hanging off the stage and the crowd’s collective jumps equalling a two on the Richter scale, the room exuded a refreshing excitement for hip-hop at its finest, brought to us straight from the DMV.