One of the most accomplished hip-hop artists to emerge from the D.C. region, Maryland native Oddisee has just released AlWasta, a new EP of original work.
The EP kicks off with “Asked About You,” which finds the producer and lyricist sing-rapping à la Drake. “Lifting Shadows” sounds like an outtake from March On Washington, Oddisee’s stark and straight-talking 2014 album with D.C. trio Diamond District. Other hazy tracks hark back to 2011’s Rock Creek Park, sounding dislodged from a dusty crate of ’70s soul singles — or a nag champa-clouded session with D’Angelo.
AlWasta follows the Brooklyn resident’s 2015 LP, The Good Fight, and it precedes two Oddisee releases expected out this year: an instrumental album slated for May and a proper full-length this fall.
The EP’s promotional materials say Oddisee derived the name AlWasta from an Arabic word that “describes a member of the community who acts as a connector using their wealth of social currency.”
When writing the EP’s lyrics, Oddisee aspired to “[understand] the value of social currency and how to use it (for better or worse),” a release says.
AlWasta premiered on Stereogum today. Stream it below.