An Inspired Chat with Big Brody Ode

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Big Brody Ode. Check out our conversation below.

Good morning Big Brody Ode, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What battle are you avoiding?
I released an “album” last year aptly titled “i need an EXTENDED vacation”. It was the deluxe to my EP from the year prior titled “i need a vacation”. I feel as though releasing music has been taxing on my mind, spirit and my pockets and I just needed a break. Not to mention, I had already slowed down since the pandemic. I think there’s a big part of me that’s scared to go back to the stress of doing everything myself in order to make a great rollout for a project. Not dealing with that has shown me how stressed I actually was. I find myself avoiding jumping back into the fire.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Big Brody Ode. I’m a rapper and also work in the music industry with a background in Music Journalism, Content Creation, Asset Management and Anti-Piracy. As an artist, though I don’t get too specific into my jobs, I don’t shy away from the fact that that is how I pay the bills. I believe it’s important for the youth and particularly young black boys to see a black man providing for himself, having nice things, contributing to the culture that has raised us without compromising his morals. I’m an eldest sibling and a very lead-by-example person so that comes across in my music. It’s the confidence of Jay Z without the trips to Trenton IYKYK.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
That’s hard to say because at what point was the world not telling me, as a black boy, who I should be? I feel like I’ve only realized in the last 5 years or so that I can truly be whoever I want to be. Beforehand, I was, like most of us, so indoctrinated that I didn’t even realize the boxes and limitations that I had accepted for myself. Breaking free from those chains mentally has allowed me to be much more comfortable in my own skin and build much better genuine relationships. You really have to wake up every day and decide for yourself who you are and who you’re going to be.

I assume the questions wasn’t intended to be that deep though LOL.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Around 2022/2023 I really considered not making music anymore. I was like “maybe I’ll just manage Mouse Sucks”. Working in music can truly rob you of your love for music. Not to mention the way music consumption, content creation, artist expectations and actual results have changed since the blog/Soundcloud eras. It really is a game of throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks most of the time, but people who have had any success before are aware of that and might try to sell you the idea that there’s a formula. The truth is that once the formula has worked, it’s highly unlikely you’d be able to replicate it to the same results.

I don’t want to think about formulas and algorithms. I just want to make spaghetti. If you like spaghetti then come holla at me. It’s being made over here and those who’ve had it say it’s pretty damn good.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I’ve been back in my hometown of Toronto a lot. I moved away when I was 10 years old but now I’m back. Toronto has the best DJs in the world. Toronto has some of the most talented artists on the planet. Toronto’s people too often have a “grass is greener” mindset. I need to contribute to changing that. I don’t have any goal of being the next Drake. I’m working to be more akin to the E-40 of my city. A foundational rapper. A rapper the city can take pride in and point to with pride.

I want everyone in this city to carry themselves with pride. I try my best to be at everything showing love and support. Our creatives need to know someone sees it and gets it. If I’m there then someone else is gonna wanna be there because I really know what’s gwanin’. Toronto creatives have been great so long without recognition that I think they’ve started to believe someone in the States copying them is better than them. Nobody’s better than us. We don’t need nobody else. We don’t need an invite to no party. We are the party and we already got it going on.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
I’ve got a discography. Drum Fu and I often say that we’re making music for when aliens come to the earth in 3000 years so they can hear some real shit. I’m making a discography that’s worthy of being dissected and studied. There’s pieces that are missing on streaming because I’ve been doing this some time but I’m working on adding them. I’m about to re-release my first full mixtape with Drum Fu completely remastered for its 10 year anniversary. It was called Perfect Hair Forever. I made it when my family was homeless and hopping around from family members couches to friends floors in Brooklyn and Long Island. I was in college at the time and we finally got an apartment during my last semester right before I graduated. I look back on that project and can’t believe the level of craftsmanship, the level of artistry, the level of innovation and lyricism. I can’t believe how determined I was to make my voice heard, speak on things and make it funky while I was going through so much.

I’m having Perfect Hair Forever remastered for streaming because I fully believe it’s my greatest body of work and my discography on streaming is truly incomplete without it.

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