Taha Othman Ahmad, known professionally as Odetari, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He started producing and releasing music at 13. His music became popular on TikTok in 2023 and his songs "Good Loyal Thots", "Narcissistic Personality Disorder", "Look Don't Touch", "I Love You Hoe", and "GMFU" all reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and were each certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[2]

Odetari
Birth nameTaha Othman Ahmad
Born1999 or 2000 (age 24–25)[1]
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
InstrumentVocals
Years active2016–present
LabelsArtist Partner Group
Websiteodetari.com

Life and career

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Taha Othman was born in Houston, Texas and is of Palestinian descent.[3] His father owns a valet parking service, where Othman worked for three years before being laid off by his father during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] He started producing and releasing SoundCloud rap music at age 13 with a Native Instruments Machine given to him by his parents, and later produced trap beats starting in 2016.[4] Before starting music, he worked at a Starbucks, but left due to his addiction to Xanax at the time.[1]

Othman's stage name, Odetari, is a fusion of his family name, Odeh, with the name of video game developer Atari.[3] Odetari self-released his debut single, "Good Loyal Thots", in March 2023.[4] While working as a substitute teacher at a Houston high school in 2023, Odetari's music became popular on TikTok due to his videos of audio deepfakes of video game characters, which used his songs in the background. After getting fired from the high school, he began releasing songs on SoundCloud more frequently and using them in his TikTok videos.[3] His song "Narcissistic Personality Disorder" became his first to chart when it debuted at number 11 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart in April 2023; it also became his top-10 debut on the chart the following month.[5]

Odetari gave his first live performance in June 2023 in New York City.[3] In July 2023, he released his debut EP 3×3, a collaboration with New Zealand record producer 9lives, and signed a multi-album record deal with Artist Partner Group.[6] Soon after signing him, the label created a second Spotify account for sped-up and slowed down remixes for his songs, as well as instrumental music under the name Odecore.[7] He had topped the Dance/Electronic Songwriters chart for 17 weeks by September 2023. He released his debut solo EP, XIII Sorrows, on September 13, 2023.[8] The EP was later released as an LP on Artist Partner Group's official website.[9] A Trippie Redd remix of his collaborative single "I Love You Hoe" with 9lives was released in October 2023.[10] Throughout 2023, 11 of his songs charted on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[6]

Odetari's EP, Door to Dusk, was released in December 2023 with a release party held on Roblox. As of February 2024, he has over two million followers on TikTok.[11]

Musical style

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Odetari's music has been described as EDM[1] and sigilkore, a microgenre combining plugg and hyperpop.[6][12] Odetari has referred to his music as "Odecore".[13] He has described it as "final boss music". Ethan Shanfeld of Variety wrote that his combine "pitched-up rap hooks, glitchy trap flare and menacing club beats" and are "tailored to a young, overstimulated audience" due to their shorter length.[3] Katie Bain wrote for Billboard that his music was "hectic and woozy and strange, altogether giving a feeling like being at a rave happening inside the internet" and that he and singer 6arelyhuman both represented "the DIY vibe of the early rave era and the ultra-modern world of TikTok stardom".[4] He has called chopped and screwed music and Travis Scott inspirations for his music.[6]

Discography

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Extended plays

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List of extended plays, with release date and label shown
Title Details
3×3
(with 9lives)
  • Released: July 12, 2023
  • Label: Artist Partner Group
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
XIII Sorrows
  • Released: September 13, 2023
  • Label: Artist Partner Group
  • Format: LP, Digital download, streaming
Door to Dusk
  • Released: December 6, 2023
  • Label: Artist Partner Group
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Keep Up // Frostbite
  • Released: July 17, 2024
  • Label: Artist Partner Group
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

Singles

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As lead artist

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List of singles as lead artist, with title, year released, album, and chart positions shown
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US
[14]
US
Dance

[15]
CAN
[16]
NZ
Hot

[17]
UK
[18]
UK
Dance

[19]
WW
[20]
"Good Loyal Thots" 2023 8 29 XIII Sorrows
"Twilight Lament" Non-album singles
"I <3 Latinas"
"You're Too Slow" 29 Door to Dusk
"Hexxed Her Love <3 XOXO" Non-album single
"Narcissistic Personality Disorder" 10 XIII Sorrows
"A New Heart" Non-album singles
"Double Trouble" 49
"Muddy Cup"
"Scorpio"
(with Marluxiam)
"Borderline Personality Disorder"
"Red Eyes Black Dragon Chain"
"Throat Goat"
"Look Don't Touch"
(with Cade Clair)
9 XIII Sorrows
"Reassure Me"
(with 9lives)
3×3
"Wet Dreams"
(with Nimstarr)
46 Non-album singles
"Functioning Alcoholic"
"I Love You Hoe"
(with 9lives)
[A] 3 18 3×3 and Door to Dusk
"GMFU"
(with 6arelyhuman)
5 23 XIII Sorrows and Myspace Addiction
"Baby I'm Home"
(with Kanii and 9lives)
38 Door to Dusk
"Green Goblin"
(Spotify singles)
Non-album single
"Dxe Dxe Dxe"
(with Homixide Gang)
Door to Dusk
"Purple Heart"
(with Don Toliver)
"Dice and Roll" 2024 13 Non-album singles
"Break a Neck"
(with Ayesha Erotica)
33
"Desire"
"Keep Up" 91 5 65 23 50 9 26 Keep Up // Frostbite
"Frostbite"
(with 10zen)
"Run!"
(with Lay Bankz)
Valorant Sounds Vol. 1
"OMG XD" Non-album singles
"Brains Out"
(with Artemas)
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.
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List of singles as featured artist, with title, year released, and album shown
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
Dance

[22]
"Level Up!"
(6arelyhuman featuring Odetari)
2024 Internet Famous
"Multimillionaire"
(9lives and Trippie Redd featuring Odetari)
43 Non-album singles
"Tell Me Lies"
(Asteria featuring Odetari)

Notes

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  1. ^ "I Love You Hoe" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 19 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Lindsey, Craig (February 17, 2024). "Houston's Odetari is soundtracking every party these days". Chron. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "American certifications – Odetari". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Shanfeld, Ethan (September 13, 2023). "Meet Odetari, the Palestinian EDM Star Who Went From Substitute Teacher to Chart Topper". Variety. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Bain, Katie (July 19, 2023). "Odetari Is One of the Biggest Dance Artists of the Year — So, Who Is He?". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  5. ^ Zellner, Xander (April 26, 2023). "10 First-Timers on Billboard's Charts This Week: Abraham Alexander, Poppy Baskcomb, Diamond Pynk & More". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d Bain, Katie (January 8, 2024). "Are Odetari & 6arelyhuman the Future of Dance Music?". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  7. ^ Leight, Elias (May 14, 2024). "Sped-Up, Slowed-Down & Nowhere to Be Found: Why Artists Are Moving TikTok-Friendly Remixes Off Their Spotify Pages". Billboard. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  8. ^ Braxton, Mateo (September 15, 2023). "Odetari shares debut EP 'XIII SORROWS' featuring JELEEL!, 6arelyhuman, Cade Clair". Our Generation Music. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  9. ^ "XIII SORROWS (LP - XIII ETCHING)". Artist Partner Group. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  10. ^ McInnes, Laura (October 4, 2023). "Aotearoa's 9lives and Odetari tap Trippie Redd for 'I Love You Hoe' remix". Sniffers. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  11. ^ Lindsey, Craig (February 17, 2024). "Houston's Odetari is soundtracking every party these days". Chron. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  12. ^ Kelly, Dylan (July 13, 2024). "Lancey Foux Links With 9lives for New Track "ABU DHABI"". Hypebeast. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  13. ^ Jawaid, Arshan (September 27, 2023). "Odetari Interview: Substitute Teacher to 300M Streams, XXXTentacion & Trippie Redd DM's, Odecore". Kids Take Over. Retrieved December 17, 2023 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ "Billboard Hot 100: Week of October 12, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  15. ^ Peaks on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart:
  16. ^ "Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. October 5, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  17. ^ Peaks on the RMNZ Hot Singles chart:
  18. ^ "Odetari: Songs and Albums". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  19. ^ Peak positions for the dance singles in the UK:
  20. ^ "Billboard Global 200". Billboard. October 12, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  21. ^ "Bubbling Under Hot 100: Week of September 9, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  22. ^ "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs". Billboard. February 3, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.