About I.O.D
I.O.D was born and raised in the project housing complex of Brownsville, New York, one of the most impoverished and dangerous neighborhoods in North America I.O.D began making music at 8, and remain invovled in the arts throughout his adolescence into to his adulthood. His lyrics reflect the struggles of a young creative striving to navigate the chaotic yet vibrant community surrounding him.
Written and recorded over the course of two-and-a-half years, TheTheThe Brownsvillain EP serves as a proper introduction to the mind of I.O.D. It’s an unadulterated glimpse into his life, his community, and the experiences that have shaped his worldview as he tries to stay out of trouble and pursue a career in music. It is a story told through his own lens and explore the broader notions of fear, intimidation, pride, survival and balance at play in today’s social climate.
Today’s social climate and the rollout of I.O.D’s project go hand-in-hand. The first part of his story revealed itself around the Halloween of 2014 when his song, Ebola, got picked up by Pigeons and Planes and the people began to hear his message of paranoia and anguish. This past Summer, I.O.D released his single “‘Round Here” in the weeks surrounding both the unlawful and brutal arrest of one of his best friend TheLevarShow in Brooklyn as well as their galvanized dual-performance on the Northside Festival Mainstage performance in spite of those events. I.O.D’s story has continued to unfold this Fall with the grime-influenced bop of I.O.D’s new single and post-Brexit stealth banger “Who Cares!?” Now, as the zealous consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday lure global masses away from the sobering realization that divisive fear has solidified an all-powerful seat on American soil, I.O.D has stepped forward to unveil his story in its entirety and speak up in the face of media-fuelled anger that has villainized communities like Brownsville and individuals like him.
“What is a villain, really?” asks I.O.D at the outset of TheTheThe Brownsvillain. That question strikes especially close to home for him, as being a labeled a “villain” invariably comes with the territory of being a resident “Brownsvillain.” The idea of a Brownsvillain is bigger than just a 11212 postal code for I.O.D—it’s a badge of pride, shared by anyone who has been “born into being an enemy by conditions they can’t control.” As the project’s cover art, courtesy of Alberto Vargas, might suggest, sometimes that badge of pride, or an outsider’s recognition of it as such, is exactly what we all need to rise above.
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