Oddjobs

The 1990s saw hip-hop's influence extend well beyond the confines of the traditional large metropolitan areas (New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, et al.), initially spreading into the suburbs, where it infiltrated every socioeconomic strata and crossed every cultural boundary, then ultimately finding its way into smaller regional niches, such as, in the case of the progressive rap combo Oddjobs, Minneapolis and St. Paul. With the equally forward-looking artists of the Rhymesayers Entertainment enterprise, the group not only helped to put Minnesota on the hip-hop map but, inspired by previous mavericks like De La Soul, the Beastie Boys, Hieroglyphics, and Freestyle Fellowship, also helped to tie rap's coastal-based, old-school past with its visionary, post-modern, untethered future. The individuals who would eventually form the official Oddjobs lineup originally came together in 1996 as members of the 30-odd-strong Cases of Mistaken Identity (CMI) collective, a rotating cadre of rappers, DJs, b-boys, and graffiti writers drawn mostly from a pair of local high schools. By 1998 Minneapolis MCs Advizer (Adam Waytz) and Crescent Moon (Alexei Casselle) and St. Paul producers/DJs Anatomy (Stephen Lewis) and Deetalx (Devon Callahan), had gravitated toward one another and began performing together at all-ages venues as Oddjobs, occasionally backed live by local band Heiruspecs. Not long thereafter, the group released its first tape, Case Studies, with CMI and began to earn a measure of local exposure. The foursome's entrée into more widespread underground circles came the next year with its debut indie full-length CD, Conflict and Compromise. They attracted even more notice within the hip-hop community after Crescent Moon's strong showing at the battle competition of the...