Events

Beatevolution pres. Oddisee & Apollo Brown
Funk / Rap / Mash Ups / Disco / Elektro

Live:
Oddisee (Mello Music Group/ Washington), Apollo Brown (Detroit)

DJs:
The Beatevolutioners aka iGadget, Grizzly Adams, Millionaer & LeBob

VvK unter www.koka36.de

04.04.//21:00h
Cassiopeia, Berlin
Revaler Str. 99
10245 Berlin

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Oddisee:
Since producing and performing the hit track "Musik Lounge" for DJ Jazzy Jeff's "Magnificent" LP, Amir "Oddisee" Mohamed has pushed his involvement in the music industry into fifth gear. Taking advantage of working at A Touch of Jazz studios, Oddisee has incorporated the neo soul vibe of Philly into his eclectic and well decorated resume. Coming from a diverse background, the half Sudanese half African American was blessed with musical talent from both sides of his family. Oddisee was influenced by the accomplished singers, guitarists, and poets on his Sudanese side, and on his American side, by the gospel singers, blue grass guitar players, and older cousins who gave him his first taste of hip-hop. Ironically, though, it was his Sudanese father that gave Oddisee the vinyl that fueled his passion for producing hip-hop music.

Since turning his focus towards hip-hop in 1999, Oddisee has worked with the likes of Gary Shider of Parliament and Funkadelic, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Talib Kweli, J-Live, Asheru, Little Brother, Freeway, Raekwon, Apollo Brown, Saigon and many other respected recording artists. Now signed with Mello Music Group, Oddisee is everywhere with a unique sound that's impossible to ignore. With his incredibly distinctive and mesmerizing style, Oddisee covers just about every sect of hip-hop music, creating a sound that is appealing to all music lovers. Born in Washington D.C. and raised in Maryland, Oddisee and his "Low Budget" crew, including such hip hop artists and producers as Cy Young, Kevin Brown, and Kenn Starr, have already managed to leave their mark within the hip-hop community of the D.C. metropolitan area.

In 2008 Oddisee signed with Mello Music Group and released a string of critically acclaimed projects that he either produced or rhymed on: 101, Mental Liberation, Everything Changed Nothing, Odd Seasons, and Traveling Man. He also created the break out DMV group Diamond District, which released "In the Ruff" in 2009, along with X.O. and yU. Oddisee has recently seen his music featured on ESPN during the NBA Finals, and in commercials for companies such as Quiksilver and Burton Snowboards, among others. He is currently working on his debut solo album "People Hear What They See" for release in the fall of 2011 on Mello Music Group.

Today, Oddisee splits his time between his Brooklyn, New York apartment, his DC stomping grounds, and his London base, while continuing to tour, develop new artists, consult for MMG, and create new music. Oddisee is ready to introduce his remarkable sounds to the world and influence the entire music community. This producer/emcee extraordinaire is poised to be your favorite beat maker and lyricist in one. Watch out world!

Make a song for that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN2phx6CI1k

Such is life:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXmboVoAOjs

Different Now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX-ECeV9rF0

Apolo Brown:
Apollo Brown, best known as the go-to producer in the Motor City hip hop circuit, is different than most producers. For example, instead of slow jamming to sounds of The Isley Brothers' hit "Summer Breeze", the Seals and Crofts version comes to mind. Born into a bi-racial family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his early influences skewed more toward the music of Journey and The Carpenters than the urban genres his peers often cite as inspiration. This is not to say that once hip-hop came into play, Apollo wasn’t all in. Just as easily as he can praise the virtues of yacht rock, the 30-year-old beatsmith can name personal heroes—Gang Starr, Main Source, Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep, Nas, and Black Moon—from the early 90s period in which, for him, beats and rhymes became life.

Apollo began making his own music in 1996 using now-archaic Voyetra audio software, then upgraded to Cool Edit 2000 in becoming a self-described bedroom beat-maker for roughly the next eight years. After graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in business administration, he moved to the west side of Detroit and immersed himself in the local hip-hop community, forming the Black Day in July production crew with high school classmate and Wu-Tang affiliate Bronze Nazareth. When the pair branched off into individual work, Apollo relocated to the east side of the Motor City and continued to build before becoming disenchanted with music and stepping away from production for two years.

It was the mid-2000s, and the upstart producer saw no future for his work—work he had dedicated his life to—in an industry where radio was setting a formulaic pattern for mainstream music. But he eventually began to miss the creativity in his craft and began producing once again, releasing the instrumental albums Skilled Trade (2007) and Make Do (2009). Apollo was soon in high demand, collaborating with Detroiters Finale, Magestik Legend, Danny Brown, Paradime, and Kam Moye aka Supastition. He went on in 2009 to win the Detroit Red Bull Big Tune Championships and competed in the national finals. Apollo then signed as a producer with the Mello Music Group in December of 2009, having left Michigan in late 2007 to take a position as a property inspector in Cleveland, Ohio. A week after signing, he was laid off from his job.

“Beautiful,” was Apollo’s reaction, as he viewed the layoff as a blessing and prepared for what he terms his “one-year plan.” Starting things off was the The Reset, a series of reworked tracks in true remix tradition, with new music and arrangements for verses by Rapper Big Pooh of Little Brother, Black Milk, MED, Grap Luva, labelmates Kenn Starr, Oddisee and Diamond District, along with a host of others. 2010 collaborations included the Brown Study album as half of a collective with Boog Brown, and the long-awaited Gas Mask LP as one-third of The Left with DJ Soko and Emcee Journalist 103. An LP which garnered respect from hip hop legends such as DJ Premier, who named the album to his Top Albums of 2010 list.

In 2011, Apollo started a highly anticipated year off with the Instrumental Album "Clouds", which is already being named to top 10 lists for the year. Work is coming from all angles and a new album called Daily Bread, with New York emcee Hassaan Mackey is next up. Stay tuned for the lineup of projects coming this year. You WILL NOT be disappointed.

Apollo’s credo is simple: “Everything I make, I try to make it my favorite album of all time.” He is building on the foundation laid down by Nas’ Illmatic and Black Moon’s Enta Da Stage in hopes of taking it one step further, and most important, is past the trepidation felt in the past. Radio is good, but Apollo’s music is for the children of the underground. 2010 was the year in which he stuck his claim to make Apollo Brown a household name. 2011 will be the year he takes it further.

Cloudy Days:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9_Y-1ww4HA

Warm Rain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFSFTZzFcC0&feature=related