We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lemon King Oddy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lemon King, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I’ve always enjoyed humming and singing to myself. I kinda believe this was passed down through my father, which made me want to explore my passion and knowledge of music. The first instrument I learned was the piano, but I also dabbled with a few others. After learning by ear, I was eventually allowed to take private piano lessons at school. This fused with my love of poetry, has ushered me towards my present artistic adventures.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Lemon King Oddy, but most people call me Oddy. I’m from Memphis, TN pursuing my professional performance career. In my previous experiences, I’ve had the opportunity to perform at venues around the city such as Beale Street, Best in Black Awards, the New Daisy Theater, Crosstown, Minglewood Hall, Hi-Tone, and even the University of Memphis Spring Fling, along with out of town shows and events. I released my first project of music, Adventures In ODDyssey, in 2016. This opened the door to work with other creative artists, engineers, and producers in the city. At the time, I was going by the name of ODDyssey Tha ODDest G., As I continued my performance adventure, my name changed to what it is today, and I developed my brand, “STAY SOUR”. They say, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, but it’s not always that easy for everyone. So I encourage others to “STAY SOUR, ” stay mad, or stay motivated enough to believe in turning those lemons into lemonade, using whatever you can. This has allowed me to reach my audience in ways beyond the music and has become a welcome banner to what’s to like to be inside the Lemon Kingdom.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Well, to be honest, I’m living that part of the journey right now! It can be challenging trying to create a career for yourself while maintaining an everyday life. There is this constant battle to make sure you do equal justice to both your passion and the reality you live in. In many ways, it can be discouraging when you have to make decisions on which avenue you’ll have to pour more or less of your interest. As of this moment, a lot of things in my personal life have started to affect the other world of my creativity. In times like these, I become the biggest fan of my music. I find a song of mine that closely illustrates the moment or feeling, listen and remember the message behind “STAY SOUR”.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I think seeing the light bulb of realization going off in people’s heads is very rewarding to witness. Whether it’s through music or conversation, I like knowing that my perspective is shared, and could be used to help someone else arrive at their own realization of how to address whatever comes their way.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lemon.king.oddy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LemonKingOddy
- Twitter: https://www.sotwe.com/LemonKingOddy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqN7-VTE4LgqT_67U41sjnw
- Other: full realesed/unreleased tracks – https://soundcloud.com/oddysseythaoddestg/tracks
Image Credits
MindBoggleProductions(ProActive) :: @mindboggleentertainment Alvin Parker :: @l.z.ythecreative // @en.vzion Zandria (Sunny) Jones :: @justwts