The Koreatown Oddity

Rapper, producer, filmmaker, writer, and humorist born Dominique Purdy aka The Koreatown Oddity (KtownOdd, Ktown or KTO) seems to have a foot in multiple worlds, but it is all of those worlds combined that make him complete. In his early days, Ktown distributed his music hand-to-hand on cassette, the same way he would wolfishly consume his mom's hip-hop tapes as a kid. He grew up in the culture around the likes of Grandmaster Caz, Ice-T and Rhyme Syndicate with his mom, Doria Purdy, who was a direct influence and inspiration for him through her involvement in hip-hop culture as she made and sold jewellery for these artists. Ktown has always hustled to bring his visions to life. He signed to Stones Throw in 2015 after writing and starring in the dark comedy movie Driving While Black, based on his own experiences with the police. ISTHISFORREAL? – a sketch show meets mockumentary album – is the latest chapter from Ktown, whose extensive catalog includes a Chinese New Year instrumental series, collaborations with Mndsgn (as Vivians) and the late great Ras G (as 5 chuckles), as well as two other solo albums on Stones Throw, including the cult album Little Dominiques Nosebleed which tells the origin story of Ktown's spiritual awakening after two car accidents that occurred in his childhood when growing up in Koreatown.