Amir Mohamed el Khalifa^[2] (born on February 24, 1985),^[3] better known by his stage nameOddisee, is a rapper and record producer fromWashington, D.C.^[4] He is one third of the hip hop trio Diamond District.^[5] He was also part of the Low Budget Crew.^[6] He is based inBrooklyn,New York.^[7]

Oddisee
Oddisee performing live
Background information
Birth name	Amir Mohamed el Khalifa
Born	(1985-02-24)February 24, 1985 (age 40) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Origin	Largo, Maryland, U.S.[1]
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper record producer
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Halftooth Records Mello Music Group Oddisee Music All City Records Outer Note Label
Website	oddisee.bandcamp.com

Oddisee was born to an African-American mother and aSudanese father,^[8] atHoward University Hospital inWashington, D.C.^[9] He was raised by his stepmother (who was also Sudanese) and father.^[8] He grew up inSilver Spring, Maryland,^[8] as well asPrince George's County, Maryland.^[10] He moved back to Washington, D.C. after high school.^[10]

In 2010, Oddisee releasedTraveling Man onMello Music Group.^[11] HisOdd Spring mixtape was listed on theWashington Post's Best Local Hip-Hop mixtapes of 2010.^[12] In 2011, Oddisee releasedRock Creek Park, which was ranked as a Mixtape of the Week byStereogum.^[13]Odd Seasons, a collection of EPs released throughout the previous 12 months, was also released that year.^[14]

In 2012, he released a studio album,People Hear What They See.^[15]The Beauty in All, his first instrumental release sinceRock Creek Park, was released in 2013.^[16] In that year, he also releasedTangible Dream.^[17] In 2015, he releasedThe Good Fight.^[18] In 2016, he released an EP,Alwasta, and a mixtape,The Odd Tape.^[19] In 2017, he released a studio album,The Iceberg,^[20] as well as a live album,Beneath the Surface.^[21]

Oddisee was originally influenced by Black American jazz traditions and the Golden Age of hip-hop from his older American cousins. Oddisee was primarily influenced by Black American musical traditions. Growing up next door to Parliament Funkadelic's bass player Gary Shider in P.G. County, Maryland left a deep musical impact on the young Oddisee. He is also influenced by gospel music and the vocal harmonizing traditions of his Black American heritage. In an interview withNPR, he explained why he was influenced by early East Coast emcees such asEric B. & Rakim,De La Soul, andA Tribe Called Quest. He stated that these rappers don't talk about drugs or murder, and he could relate more to their lyrics.^[10]

• 101 (2008)
• Mental Liberation (2009)
• New Money (2009)(with Trek Life)
• In the Ruff (2009)(with YU and Uptown XO, as Diamond District)
• Traveling Man (2010)
• People Hear What They See (2012)
• The Beauty in All (2013)
• Tangible Dream (2013)
• March on Washington (2014)(with YU and Uptown XO, as Diamond District)
• The Good Fight (2015)
• The Iceberg (2017)
• To What End (2023)

• Beneath the Surface (2017)

• Odd Seasons (2011)

• Instrumental Mixtape Volume One (2005)
• The Remixture Vol. 1 (2006)
• Foot in the Door (2006)
• Instrumental Mixtape Vol. 2 (2006)
• Odd Summer (2009)
• Odd Autumn (2009)
• Odd Winter (2010)
• Odd Spring (2010)
• Rock Creek Park (2011)
• The Odd Tape (2016)

• Good Tree (2008)
• Hear My Dear (2008)
• Odd Renditions Vol. 001 (2012)
• Alwasta (2016)
• Odd Cure (2020)
• And Yet Still (2024)

• "Show You" / "Part of the World" (2006)(with Heralds of Change)
• "Once Again" (2006)
• "101" (2008)
• "Slow It Down" (2012)
• "Ain't That Peculiar (Remix)" (2013)
• "Lost Cause" (2014)(with YU and Uptown XO, as Diamond District)
• "That's Love" (2015)

• Three Way Intersection (2008)

• DJ Jazzy Jeff - "Musik Lounge" fromThe Magnificent (2002)
• The Foreign Exchange - "The Answer" fromConnected (2004)
• Kev Brown - "Beats N'Rhymes" fromI Do What I Do (2005)
• Kenn Starr - "Nothing But Time" fromStarr Status (2006)
• SoulStice - "Get It Right" fromDead Letter Perfect (2007)
• Marco Polo - "Low Budget Allstars" fromPort Authority (2007)
• J-Live - "The Upgrade" fromThen What Happened? (2008)
• K-Murdock - "Queasy" from "Memories of M.A.W.S.L.O.T." (2008)
• Little Brother (group) - "Delusional" fromAnd Justus For All (2008)
• SoulStice & Sbe - "Unfold" fromBeyond Borders (2009)
• Apollo Brown - "Lower the Boom" and "Propa" fromThe Reset (2010)
• JR & PH7 - "Hustle and Flow" fromThe Update (2010)
• B-Doub - "All in a Days Work" fromFood for Thought (2010)
• Apollo Brown - "The Times" fromClouds (2011)
• DTMD - "Been Tryin'" fromMakin' Dollas (2011)
• Trek Life - "Might Sound Crazy" fromWouldn't Change Nothing (2011)
• Eric Lau - "What I'd Rather" (2012)
• Trek Life - "We Good" fromHometown Foreigner (2013)
• Eric Lau - "Rise Up" fromOne of Many (2013)
• 20syl - "Ongoing Thing" fromMotifs (2014)
• Soulpete - "Rhymes on Random" fromSoul Raw (2014)
• Apollo Brown - "What You Were Lookin' For" fromGrandeur (2015)
• No Wyld - "Nomads" fromNomads (2016)
• L'Orange - "Look Around" fromThe Ordinary Man (2017)
• Ramey Dawoud - "The Strife" (2020)
• Elaquent - "Guidelines" fromForever Is a Pretty Long Time (2020)

• J-Live - "Aaw Yeah" fromThe Hear After (2005)
• Sareem Poems - "Tell It" and "She So" fromBlack and Read All Over (2009)
• Verbal Kent - "In the Beginning" fromSave Your Friends (2010)
• Trek Life - "Ready to Live", "Still Never Rains", "As the World Turns", "Everything Changed Nothing", “Wow", "Due West", "So Supreme", "I'd Rather Be", "So LA", "Jump Out There", and "Might Sound Crazy" fromEverything Changed Nothing (2010)
• Georgia Anne Muldrow &Declaime - "Get Up Gogo" fromHeaven or Hell (2010)
• Trek Life - "Get in Touch" and "Wouldn't Change Nothing" fromWouldn't Change Nothing (2011)
• Has-Lo - "Last Day of School" fromConversation B (2011)
• Homeboy Sandman - "Whatchu Want from Me?" fromFirst of a Living Breed (2012)
• Substantial - "Check My Resume", "Make Believe", "Shit on My Lawn", "Umoja", and "Movin Alright" fromHome Is Where the Art Is (2012)
• Rainy Milo - "The Other Way" fromLimey (2012)
• Joey Badass - "Sorry Bonita" fromSummer Knights (2013)
• Far Exp - "Checklist" fromThe Expansion (2014)
• Ardamus - "If Only I Gave Ah" fromI Can'Replace Me, Pt. 1: Improve (2014)
• King Mez - "New Vinyl" (2014)
• Finale -Odds & Ends (2015)
• Ardamus - "When The Truth Comes Out, Pt. 2" and "Luxury Tax"I Can'Replace Me, Pt. 2: Develop (2014)
• Lecrae - co-writer of "CC4" onChurch Clothes 4

• Official website
• Oddisee onSoundCloud 
• Oddisee discography atDiscogs