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You have a song on Iceberg called вЂњBuilt by Pictures,вЂќ where it feels like you're giving us all these snapshots of learning how to deal with finances and how to take on a vision. Just staying open to multiple aspects of influence has been a key ingredient to my methodology. I let the reactions of the crowds to the DJ thatвЂ™s opening for me influence me.

I let signage and graphic design in other cities influence me. I let soundbites from conversations on the street influence me. ItвЂ™s just having a keen eye and letting influence come to you in multiple forms - not only the form that you prefer. Oddisee: I wouldnвЂ™t necessarily say itвЂ™s changed. How has your methodology of capturing that picture changed over time - or has it? Your music is remarkable in the way it captures a realistic picture of your surroundings. That definitely played a role in my music. But in Prince GeorgeвЂ™s County, you had no reason to think that you couldnвЂ™t do anything, because everyone was black just like you - the lawyers, the doctors, bus drivers, cashiers, police officers, the criminals. Most black people in America donвЂ™t get necessarily as much access to seeing everything that they can be without it being inhibited by something else - some invisible wall, or some direct form of stagnation.

#Iceberg rapper full

in an area where there was a full spectrum of black identity, which is a rarity. What I experienced growing up makes its way into what I write about, into my music. Oddisee: ItвЂ™s a clichГ© at this point in rap, but IвЂ™m a product of my environment.

So itвЂ™s created a strange dichotomy of wealth and prosperity and hardship at the same time. ItвЂ™s one of the most affluent populations of African-Americans in the United States, and as a byproduct of that, being so close to D.C., there's also one of the largest gaps between rich and poor. Oddisee: More importantly, itвЂ™s known for being one of the most wealthy black areas in the United States. Is it still known as having a large wealth gap between its African-American residents? MTV News: Tell me about Prince GeorgeвЂ™s County, where you grew up. That difference is felt clearly in his music, which we discussed at length - along with a sprawl of other topics, including political and personal cynicism, musical misconceptions, and more. But the native of Maryland's Prince George's County is more interested in knowledge of self than hubris. In a wonderful case of art imitating life, Oddisee is bursting with stories, concerns, and lengthy lessons that, in the mouths of more pretentious artists, might come off as condescending. The Iceberg is full of snaking narratives and deft lyricism - two of his longtime hallmarks - all spread over a thoughtful combination of live-band sessions and break-beat samples. Instead, Oddisee leaves the theatrics to his music. 'I live a very stress-free lifestyle,' he says. After all those years, he can appreciate quieter moments. He's just released his 11th studio album in a nearly two-decade career. It's early on a Tuesday, and despite some gruff in his voice, Oddisee seems to be in high spirits, and for good reason. I reach Oddisee while he's on tour in the U.K., and I can hear the difference in our time zones when he answers the phone. 'The whole metaphor for the title is about the encouragement of critical thinking,' he says. Though the knowledge strain might not receive as much love these days as it used to, D.C.-area rap veteran Oddisee, 32, faithfully totes the banner for hip-hop's enlightened constituency with releases like his incisive new album, The Iceberg. Whether itвЂ™s Rakim's impeccable diction, the TribeвЂ™s linguistic soul circus, or the mythical personas that MF Doom inhabits and deconstructs, entire dimensions of thought and philosophy can float between beat and flow for all those willing to trip. Knowledge, the unofficial fifth element of the kulcha - in addition to the canonized quartet of MCing, DJing, tagging, and breaking - is arguably, as KRS-One would have it, the most important ingredient in any great hip-hop catalog. We often overlook how instructive hip-hop can be.