After an extended break from our beloved show, we’ve regrouped to bring you more of what we’ve all been missing. This evening’s wreck will be caught courtesy of longtime friend to the show, producer/emcee extraordinaire Oddisee. It’s February and the temperature has dropped to Nordic levels, but with DJ’s Jasmine Solano & Melo-X bookending the set, special host Peter Rosenberg on the intro, and a full house of eager attendees, it’s quite cozy in The Loft tonight. Come inside and get toasty…
When Live At The Loft was in its conceptual stages over two years ago, it was Oddisee whom we initially hoped to help set off our inaugural festivities. Needless to say, this show is long overdue, but amazing things come to those who wait. In the show’s interim, the Washington DC raised emcee of Sudanese lineage has built on his reputation as hip-hop’s traveling man, distributing his sounds throughout the US and Europe. Tonight he’s backed by a full live band (Mammoth), including soul-singer Olivier Daysoul on guitar and vocals, Jon Laine on Drums, Dennis Turner on Bass, Ralph Real on Keys and Unown on the Akai MPC. Oddisee’s sound is a masterful layering of samples and live instruments, with influences borrowed from each corner of the globe where he’s stepped foot. It’s all beats, rhymes, and reality…hip-hop minus the mimicry and gimmickry. In that order…
