Beat tapes provide blueprints for songs, but the best can stand on their own. Oddisee showed his mettle on the mic last year with the wonderful The Good Fight, and now the New York rapper/producer is switching back to his instrumental roots with The Odd Tape.
“Brea” is a lush, head-nodding orchestration and Oddisee is the starry-eyed conductor. Each refrain explodes like a fireworks display, with horn and piano melodies dancing around one another. You can imagine a voice on top, but you don’t need one. The song is already lyrical.
“Brea” appears on The Odd Tape, out now via Mello Music Group.
–Art Levy
