ODD18: The Lyrical and Inspiring Journey to His First EP Album

“Spending time together with your brothers, and friends, not just hanging out but checking up on each other, supporting one another in their respectful hustle and just being there with open ears or arms is very important,” said ODD18 as he recalls the tragedy that taught him that lesson. Losing a cousin brother to suicide in his younger days, the rapper is looking to address men’s mental health and break stereotypes that are holding back men from their freedom of expression in his new upcoming E.P. album in December.

ODD18 also known as Heinzdee Koromako, is a talented rapper, songwriter, performer, poet, and music artist from the beautiful island of Tikopia and the vibrant Northern region of Malaita, To’obaita in Solomon Island. Heinzdee grew up in Tanuli, Central Honiara and then Ngossi West Honiara. This young man is putting on his advocate cap for his first album.

The performer is digging into his past experiences and culture to create this album. A refreshing and needed concept for today’s music. Local artists using their gifts and platforms to address certain issues in their community and the country. Especially, in a country where male masculinity is paramount traditionally, young men are following victims of depression and not being able to share their problems due to the stereotype that men are strong and shouldn’t show weakness by talking about their issues.  

So in one of his new singles, called “Thasi’gu” which is in the To’obaitan language means younger brother or sister. Heinzdee is dedicating this song to his younger brother, in the song he does the opposite of the traditional stereotypes and pours his heart out reminding his younger brother of how he loves and cares for him, also sharing life advice to his brother that will make him a better person. Promoting a healthy new view into how men should talk more about their problems and help each other mentally by giving compliments and support.

“This is a song that has a significant emotional value to me,” emphasized Heinzdee.

Growing up, he was exposed to many music genres that are inspiring his style of music today. From listening to island reggae music a lot, “I was a true island boy,” Heinzdee said jokingly, to gospel songs, metal, hip-hop, and rap. 

“That is why my music has always been a blend of hip-hop and reggae.” the rapper said. Over his years of making music, ODD18 has interacted with different music genres but rap has had a place in his heart because of the power of this particular art that has challenged him in his writing. “Writing a rap song is more complicated than writing a regular pop song because in rap you need to have a wider range of vocabulary and also they must rhyme, while a regular song all you need is a great couple of catchy words and you are set to go.” the songwriter explained. The art of rap itself inspires him a lot in his journey.

Among those inspirations are his loyal followers, some have grown with him in his music journey and others have been inspired by his music along the way. “Most of my listeners are the youths and teenagers.” said the performer. As an artist, he has become better at listening to his audience’s feedback and adapting to the changes in the industry. “I know that there are no boundaries in music, and from getting feedback from friends or followers, I keep challenging myself by giving every feedback a shot like singing, and infusing and blending more styles,” ODD18 added.

To understand the uniqueness and self-awareness of  ODD18, you don’t have to look far to see how gifted he is and has grown in his writing skills. Heinzdee’s experience can be easily found in his artist name “ODD18.” A name that represents uniqueness, individualism, and infinity. “ODD18” is a very smart play of words and symbols. 

The poet broke down the name with ease, “ODD means to be unique, being different. One (1) represents individualism, and eight (8) symbolizes infinity.” To put it in a simple form he said “UNIQUE ME FOREVER.” This demonstrates how smarter he has become in the music industry because, in this tough and competitive industry, there are days when you will be all alone and there is no one to support you but you. So being able to be mentally prepared for such situations and knowing your value as unique is important.

However, to get to the level he is on right now is not easy. The rapper recalled the moment he met rap and everything changed. It all started when young ODD18 and his family moved to Ngossi, East of Honiara. He didn’t think a lot about how his life would change forever, as a boy he was more worried about losing his friends and fitting in a new area instead. Before he moved to Ngossi, Heinzdee was already aware of his gift. Writing songs, from gospel songs to slow songs. That huge change of location was not easy but it was the beginning of ODD18. 

Ngossi was like a rap academy, the love and passion for rap culture in his new community sparked a light in young Heinzdee. Trying to fit in with the boys, he began learning the true art of rap with his new community brothers. This expanded his creativity and taught him a whole different side of writing that he never knew. The complexity of writing rap songs challenged and interested him so much that he became a part of the art, making him a household name in the rap culture around Ngossi and Honiara. 

Ngossi molded this young boy into a better man, rapper, poet, songwriter, and performer, but most importantly gave him the space to express himself freely and grow mature in the industry.

“Ngossi and music have played significant roles in my journey,” ODD18 said. Accessibility to music today is not the same as before, so people take music for granted these days because they can access it easily. Back in those days, your favorite song sometimes came on the radio once a day or twice if you were lucky. As some people say, music can be an escape from reality.

“I, myself listened to songs on the radio as a young boy to run away from my day-to-day issues as a boy, youth, and man.” exclaimed the singer. Then he speaks about how listening and writing are different when it comes to mental health. What Heinzdee found was incredible, he told us, “Listening to music to shut distractions of the world out was effective but only for a short period when you are actually in the moment, however, writing was completely satisfying because as soon as you put everything on paper you felt lighter like your burdens have been lifted.”

Heinzdee said, “So writing became an outlet for all the negatives in my life that I was bottling up mentally, a tool I used to express myself and get rid of thoughts that were poison to my mind.” That has inspired him to bring out an album that will inspire but also become a supportive mechanism to the fight against mental health, a lot of young men in and around Honiara, across the nation always bottle up their emotions and are scared of talking about them.

As someone who has also been through that situation and has lost a friend to it, Heinzdee aka ODD18 is prepared to use his G-d-given talent to fight for a better future for young men in this country. A country where they will feel free to express their emotions and actions.

 “Now, I don’t want to name a date for the release but be assured that it’ll be released before Christmas,” ODD18 said. He is planning to release eight singles and a special ninth one dedicated to his daughter, but if he can’t get the ninth one. He will surely find space in the other singles shout out his daughter. 

“There’s also a Christmas single in the upcoming E.P.” ODD18 added. As the songwriter prepares to go and work on his upcoming EP, he wrapped up the interview with a piece of advice for any old or new upcoming music artists. 

“Competing with other music artists to the top is good but the biggest competition should be yourself, competing against yourself to perfect your art, to make yourself a better person and artist, because at the end of the day, people will remember your music and who you are, not the fake person on the stage.”

Check out his social :

https://www.facebook.com/odd18music

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