Outstraight x Verb T - Dual Odyssey (Album)
Outstraight Records return with their most significant project to date, a heavyweight, collaborative album with Verb T (The Four Owls / High Focus) which sees the Irish hip-hop label & collective combine forces for a 12 track opus.
Outstraight has an eclectic roster of MCs based out of Dublin, Ireland - with a lineup of artists equipped with distinctive styles and unique perspectives on the genre, this album is a bona fide deep dive into the label and their extensive crew of MCs, producers and DJs.
Dual Odyssey opens with a straightforward hip-hop intro titled Creative Freedom, reminiscent of a 90s boom-bap soundscape and paired with intricate rhyme schemes from both Verb T & an energetic opening salvo from the Outstraight artists present (including Beano, Conkan & Don Kobz). As the project progresses, it veers from radio friendly and introspective singles such as Who? (featuring Panda Drey) to a smoker friendly ode in Spliffin’ (featuring Graham) alongside posse cuts such as Kursed and the title track itself, Dual Odyssey.
How did this project come to fruition? The album itself has quite a special story behind it. Initially born from an impromptu studio session in Dublin last October, which saw the current lead single, Topsy Turvy as the sole focus - has since morphed into numerous studio sessions, many late nights, several trips across the Irish Sea and resulted in a 12 track album that came together in a manner that was as natural as it was holistic.
Further standouts from the album can be found in tracks such as Accelerate (featuring Don Kobz) and Visions (featuring Panda Drey & Beano) - for those acclimated to the underground hip-hop scene, these excerpts will resonate strongly, both from a lyrical point of view and a production / sonical perspective. Taking note of the production, No Venom, as the lead producer, engineer & recording artist has been central to crafting a project that encapsulates the full spectrum of underground hip-hop, and can even be heard with a rare guest feature on Mad Moths (accompanied by Verb T & Graham) as we hear his first forays into the MC arena.
Upon completing Dual Odyssey it is supremely evident that this project is a showcase and a landmark of many years of dedication to the Irish MCs craft, an accomplished offering guided by the masterful hand of the legend that is Verb T. While Verb T also lends some of his finest work to the project, with seemingly effortless presence, cerebral rhyme schemes and a delivery to match - he has shown time and time again that he is a cornerstone of UK hip-hop, often ushering new artists to the fore in a manner that is as inclusive as it is a stamp of approval.
Dual Odyssey is out now, and for the hip-hop heads, this is an album that will serve as a milestone within Irish hip-hop, and a significant marker of the current musical dexterity, and possibility of what's to come from Outstraight both as a collective, and as a label entity.