[FEATURE] MY FAVOURITE MIXTAPE: ODEAL
VIPER caught up with South-East London artist Odeal to hear all about his favourite mixtape…
My favourite mixtape is ‘Chixtape 4’ by Tory Lanez. It was released around the time I started releasing music on major DSP’s. Seeing the effort put in, from the production to the engineering, was inspiring. The conceptual aspect of it also had an influence on my first ever EP, ‘New Time’, which consisted of Afrobeats and RnB sounds.
After hearing the mixtape, I was interested in knowing who produced the records. Coop Chardonay and Play Picasso were the producers that I discovered after listening.
When I heard the mixtape for the first time, I was at home and it was early January, around the time I knew I was going to start dropping music. I was at home most the time on YouTube listening to beats and writing to them.
It came at a time when I was about to fully start my music journey and open up to a wider audience. I knew that dreaming big was the goal after hearing that mixtape. Quality and beat selection meant a lot to me after that.
Although I was in awe of the whole thing, the nostalgia made me realise why I loved old school RnB even more and how timeless it was. It also showed me how possible it is to play with RnB till this day. The graining, colouring and typography gave me that raw nostalgic feeling.
I didn’t have a physical copy as it was a digital download release, I never had any physicals. As a 20-year-old, everything became more digital as I grew up. However, my parents were more into real old school physicals which I listened to, but I didn’t have any physicals I picked up personally.
I would describe the mixtape in these three words: Raw, captivating, evocative. My personal favourite song is ‘Proud family’. If I could put a price on this mixtape, I would pay £25.
Check out ‘More Life’ by Odeal…
