Odetari Artistfacts

January 1, 2000
Odetari (real name Taha Othman Ahmad) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and is of Palestinian descent.
Odetari started producing music at 13, heavily influenced by the SoundCloud rap scene. He began his music career in 2021 under the name VEXEN before adopting his current stage name, which fuses his family name, Odeh, with the name of video game developer Atari.
His music blends anime, video game influences, and electronic beats, creating a unique genre he calls "ODECORE." Odetari described his music to Kida Take Over as "final boss music" and cites chopped and screwed music and Travis Scott as inspirations.
Odetari worked at his father's valet parking service for three years. The job ended when his father laid him off during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He was employed as a substitute teacher at a Houston high school in 2023 before his music career took off. Odetari was fired after students were caught using dab pens in class under his supervision.
His music gained popularity on TikTok in 2023 through videos featuring audio deepfakes of video game characters, leading to several #1s on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Songwriters chart.

"I used to sit in class and the students would do TikTok dances to songs that were trending," Ahmad told Billboard. "Now occasionally I see kids at that same school dancing to my songs. It's pretty fire."
He released his debut EP, XIII Sorrows, on September 13, 2023.
Odetari's hobbies are centered around video games, with favorites like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy serving as inspiration for his music.
Odetari's favorite food is shawarma, a popular Middle Eastern dish consisting of seasoned and marinated meat that is stacked on a vertical spit and slow roasted.

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