The Break Presents – DD Osama

DD Osama has the carbonated energy that New York City's drill scene needs to stay poppin'. Tracks like “Dead Opps” and “40s N 9s” flex his ruthless subject matter, gritty rap voice and ear for staticky beats that could soundtrack a felony commencement. But where there's a ying, there's a yang. Take for example the Coi Leray-assisted “Upnow," which shows off a more lighthearted, romantic side of the 16-year-old talent. All of those mentions have added to his visibility as an artist, evidenced in his millions of monthly listeners on Spotify, YouTube spins and followers on Instagram. With this amount of motion, he's been validly dubed as a teenage sensation.

DD Osama’s origin point as a rapper doesn’t go back far at all with his ascension mostly taking place between the windows of January and December 2022. His introduction to music arrived with both a curse and a blessing. Though DD’s brother Notti had unfortunately passed away in early July, the music video for their inaugural record “Dead Opps” arrived towards the end of the month, went viral and skyrocketed DD into fame. The Harlem-bred rhymer admits that he contemplated quitting music after taking that loss, but decided to honor Notti by advancing to the heights that they once imagined.

During last year, DD signed a deal with Alamo Records and went on to drop tracks like “40s N 9s” with Sugarhill Ddot, which is a doomsday anecdote jammed with black Air Force 1 energy over a sample of Ne-Yo’s 2005 hit “So Sick.” He continued to turn his pain into art with follow-up standouts like “Eternal” and the two-part hitter “Throw” with Lil Mabu. DD also commemorated the legacy of his bro Notti with dedications like “Without You” and “Letter 2 Notti.”

Fast forward with 2023, DD took another level up in his artistry, collaborating with Coi Leray on a Jersey Club and drill combo record dubbed “Upnow” in February. He went on to release his debut mixtape Here 2 Stay in early May, which he deems as a refined product of everything that he put out so far. Ahead of it though, DD Osama pulled up to The Break: Live to discuss his new project, breakthrough records, collaborations with Lil Zay Osama and Coi Leray, plus more. Check out the full interview below.

Follow DD Osama on SoundCloud and Instagram.

Standouts:

"40s N 9s"

"Throw" with Lil Mabu

"Dead Opps" with Notti Osama

"Upnow" featuring Coi Leray

"Be Alright"

Here 2 Stay