Real name: Amir Mohamed El Khalifa

Amir Mohamed, son of Sudanese and American parents, was born and raised in the suburbs of the United States capitol city of Washington DC. Growing up amid the sounds of New York hip-hop, his father playing the oud, go-go, and gospel, Amir took his first steps as an MC-producer in the analog basement studio of his neighbor, Garry Shider (Parliament Funkadelic). Convincing his entrepreneurial father that he too had business acumen, Amir laid the check from his first commercial release on the kitchen table before his 21st birthday. Under his alias Oddisee, he formed his group Diamond District with fellow Washingtonians X.O. and yU.