Ears Wide Open: OverDoz

Andrew Veeder on December 19th, 2013

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Los Angeles-based hip-hop group OverDoz has been around for a few years now, putting out the mixtapes “Nova” in 2010, and “Live For, Die For” in 2011 which featured guest spots from Casey Veggies, Dom Kennedy, and Kendrick Lamar, as well as putting in an appearance on A$AP Rocky’s “Long.Live.A$AP” track “Pain.” Now the collective has closed out 2013 with a 1-2 punch, releasing their new mixtape “Boom” last month and signing to Polo Grounds Music and RCA Records two weeks ago. OverDoz is made up of four members who all grew up together, three of whom were born and raised in South Central – resident comedian Cream, unorthodox Joon, double-duty rapper-singer Kent, and laid-back P – and form a unique combination on the hip-hop scene. On their Facebook page, they list Tha Dogg Pound, Outkast, Parliament Funkadelic and The Pharcyde as “artists we also like” – a recipe for which one part of each would mix closely to their sound. “Boom” has a West Coast G-funk sound without the gangster element, some future funk infused with muffled grime and syrupy soul, and largely produced by Iman Omari and the THC duo. “These N*ggas” bounces like a synth alarm sounding with a propulsive rolling beat, then winds to a close with a stripped down, piano-driven r&b outro like it’s off “The Love Below.” “F$WSAD” turns out to be an acronym for “f*ck, smoke weed, and sleep all day,” a wish Cream, Kent, P and guest Problem share, but first things first as the hooks continue, “I gotta get this money / baby lemme get this money.” And over the woozy groove of “Lauren London,” Kent sings the hook, “I been trying to stay sober, mama, lord knows I love you / Daddy, I been tryna stack my money / But you know me, I gotta get and give em that new new,” while P raps, “Rap actors causing drama, we need a resolution / Don’t speak on moves you making, show me by what you doin’,” and Joon flows, “They say they don’t understand me, that’s exactly what I’m hopin’ / So you’ll listen years later, when all the signs are potent.”

||| Stream: “These N*ggas” feat. Nipsey Hussle, “F$WSAD” feat. Problem, and “Lauren London”