American MC and Producer Oddisee rapped to a packed Mammoth Mane Stage last Thursday night (26 November).
Launching from his newly released music video 'Ali The Great' from Astro Travellers commanded as usual with his baritone raspy flow to start the night off
Guest Sydney MC Sampa The Great controlled the mic with ease. She moved through her catalogue with an abundance of energy capturing the crowd with her soulfulness.
Astro Travellers' bassist Sam Macguire aka DJ Sam Stosurr interluded with some tasty selections to welcome the nights special guest.
Oddisee started his set to a full dance floor. He entered with a causal robustness that could easily see him fit in the early '90s golden era of hip hop. That hard boom bap, powerfully clear lyrics and intensity in his delivery immediately let everyone know that this was clearly no mainstream rapper.He charged through his 'The Good Fight' album and older tracks with long bars and minimal breath while maintaining a crispy tone and energy throughout. There were no lulls. This was a classic artist who captivated all eyes, ears and minds during the night.
Photos from Oddisee at the Woolly Mammoth.
His producer background perfectionism and awareness had him stopping to tune a few sound concerns during the set but his communication, though authoritative, was never aggressive. As he realised that majority of the crowd were obviously new listeners he would teach and ease them into the parts they could sing back which let the night flow in a positive and collaborative style. Even his commentary moments were never too preachy like the tendency of many MC’s, he just flowed with a constant effortless cool.
When the beat to 'That’s Love' came on though, nobody needed any prompting. After a long cheer everyone was grooving along and calling out 'That’s Love!'. He even threw some relevance in, calling out "this is how easy it is to do trap!" mid-song and got everyone hands raised.
The show was a refreshing example of a relatively un-hyped and original talent playing to a full house who undoubtedly left the show as impressed and inspired new fans.
