Odeal Gives Credit to Common for His Writing Blueprint

Every artist stands on somebody's shoulders. For Odeal, that somebody is Common — and he's not shy about saying so.

The genre-blending artist recently opened up about how Common's approach to songwriting cracked the code for him early on. Common's whole thing — the way he balances introspection with street credibility, how he layers meaning without sounding preachy — that became a template. Not to copy, but to learn from.

That kind of mentorship (even from a distance) matters in hip-hop. You don't have to grow up in the same city or run with the same crew to absorb what matters. Odeal took what he heard and built something of his own on top of it, which is exactly how the culture is supposed to work.

Sounds like he's got more to say about it too. Worth checking what he laid out in the full piece.

Read the full story at XXL → https://www.xxlmag.com/odeal-interview/