I first discovered O.D.D.I.T.Y one chilly November evening at a Books & Brews in Muncie, and I remember being immediately impressed by both his fun energy and his positive message, even as the hip-hop artist was just getting his career underway. In the four years since then, the Indianapolis native has released as many albums, a joint EP with brother and fellow emcee Rhetoryk, and several singles. His latest full-length effort, Impaired Vision, which released this past March, feels in many ways like the pinnacle of his career up to this point.

Impaired Vision boasts countless guest features throughout: from noted Indy-based singers Keiana Whatley, Allison Victoria, and B. Harms, to Hoosier hip-hop heavyweights DisTinct, Blxck Kxng, and Rhetoryk, the list of assists is a “who’s who” of talent around the Circle City. And where some guest spots are used as filler or for clout-chasing, O.D.D.I.T.Y does a fantastic job of choosing the perfect person to complement what he’s trying to do with each particular song and feature. Take, for instance, smooth R&B singer B. Harms, whose knack for pitch knocks it out of the park and rivals early-era Drake on the melodic album highlight and deceptively-dubbed “Intermission,” or battle rapper DisTinct, whose lightning-quick bars ebb and flow effortlessly on the bouncy, fast-paced “Percolate.” Indeed, every feature from Impaired Vision is not only incredibly intentional, but it’s also executed well.

Lyrically, O.D.D.I.T.Y tackles everything from (at times toxic) notions of what is expected of men, particularly black men, on opener “Mr. Tough Guy,” to the dangers of doing things to keep up an appearance on album highlight “Mindset,” to the vicious cycle of addiction on the fitfully-titled lead single. He even touches on the more-macroscopically damning subject of police brutality on “Can I Live?” Often offering up thought-provoking lines in his music, O.D.D.I.T.Y is no stranger to this sort of thing, having done it many times before, as early as with his debut ME. However, it feels more pointed on Impaired Vision, more emphatic, almost like listeners weren’t getting the picture before, and he’s fed up with that. The result is his most direct effort yet, even though some people still will “Never Get It.”

Musically, there is an emphasis on watery, echo-y effects on many of the songs’ beats, like on the 1-2-3 punch to open the record, from “Mr. Tough Guy” through “Big Bro.” This appears early and often on Impaired Vision, shining through on the chorus of “Embrace You.” That said, O.D.D.I.T.Y doesn’t limit himself exclusively to this. In fact, many of the album’s best moments come at the points where he changes things up, like with the classic, Golden age-esque beat on lead single “The Cycle,” or the emotive, melodic vibe to tunes like “Intermission,” “Nothing Left,” and album closer “The Moment.” There’s enough of a variety here that it keeps listeners on their toes throughout the duration of the LP.

On his latest, O.D.D.I.T.Y encapsulates everything that is great about his music and career up to this point, with a perfectly fine-tuned collection of quality cuts. The guest spots are on point, the lyrics are pointed and thought-provoking, and the backing beats have been carefully curated. All things considered, Impaired Vision is an album that embodies and epitomizes Indianapolis in 2021, which is slightly ironic, considering the artist behind it is now based in South Florida. But I guess sometimes there doesn’t need to be an explanation for everything.

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