OddballCharlie occupies a precarious niche as an artist straddling the dual disciplines of rap and sultry R&B. It has helped that she has remained largely anonymous, allowing us project our own impressions of what an artist who embodies this hybrid should look like and her catalog is full of genre experimentation and forward thinking story telling. Her last single “GST” was her first entirely sung single and seemed to mark at transition into proper R&B but perhaps “Lingo” suggests we assumed too quickly.

An urgent piano riff introduces her new single “Lingo”, creating an ominous menace that perfectly complements the snarky persona she takes on for the song. Spoken adlibs and a digitally altered hum provide the much needed detail on the song. The composition is less experimental than we’ve come to expect of OddballCharlie but the stripped down approach works quite well. It’s kind of refreshing to hear a female rapper speak plainly about her life and the lessons she’s learned, and OddballCharlie is in full on retrospection as she talks about making a way through personal struggle, brags about how far she’s come and dares us to underestimate her. “This is comeback season” she sings, returning to R&B for the song’s hook and holding that down quite nicely too.

Listen to “Lingo” here.

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Crown Wavy The Creator our nonconformist it-Girl