574 among state’s best hip hop acts

WASILLA — Local rappers Valley Boy Choze and Galax-C of 574 Entertainment have been putting the Valley on the map as far as Alaskan hip-hop goes, and are working on putting Alaska on the map of music hotbeds nationwide.

The Odom brothers signaled their arrival as Alaska’s top rappers when their new single ‘Switch Lanes’ hit #1 on Tubby’s AKHOT20. 574 holds four out of the top 20 spots, with Galax-C’s New Wave coming in at #3. Ride by Galax-C featuring Choze scored the #18 spot and Choze’s ‘Who I Really Am pt. 2’ at 19 in late February.

“If I don’t make it big, hey man too bad. But I’m going to keep working hard to get to that goal because that is my ultimate end goal. This is something I love doing. I see myself doing this ... I might be 60 trying to do something,” said Galax-C. “I make music because this is the music I want to hear. I like making music that I want to ride around in my car and I’m like yeah, man. This is what I like hearing.

574 is working on a collaborative album with Lee Jones of Fairbanks. Valley product Chris Ray runs Bearly Blunt Collective which is sponsoring the project with Grass Station 49 out of Fairbanks. Both Galax-C and Choze have solo projects in the works, but say that they are waiting for the right time to release their albums. Wasilla High graduate Chris Capo will also be featured on the album.

“I’m not from Anchorage; I’m from the Valley, you’ve got to know that,” said Galax-C. “You see how Mario Chalmers did it with basketball. You had to take a look like, OK, there’s some ballers coming out of Alaska. I want it to be that way for music. People have got to know that there’s talent up here.”

Younger brother Christian released his debut mixtape ‘Takeoff Season’ in November of 2015. JJ Odom immediately got into the music scene after graduation. He credits longtime Palmer music teacher Stan Harris for allowing Choze and his friends to use the studio equipment at the school to hone their craft. Choze helped start Unite The North records with D the Lyricist, MC Mr. C and others.

“I learned a lot of my lyrical talents as far as how to structure a song and hooks and stuff from D,” said Choze.

Christian was in middle school as JJ was starting his rap career. He didn’t go by Galax-C at the time, but made guest appearances rapping on the group’s MySpace page. UTN became 574 in 2010, and the brothers were recognized with an invitation to the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas in 2016. 574 made their debut music video ‘Crazy’ on New Year’s Eve 2015 with Crimeski productions. The group was so pleased with the cinematography that they decided to return for their second music video in early 2017, ‘Zoom.’

“That was crazy because we’ve always talked about the visual as what pushes us to that next level and as soon as that came out I think it not only blew our minds but I think it blew a lot of people’s minds,” said Choze.

Choze began his career handing out mixtapes at the Alaska State Fair, putting on shows at the Train Depot with UTN and sharing his music by word of mouth. The group has since become feverishly active on social media promoting each new project. Their singles can now be found on iTunes and Spotify with their entire library accessible through Soundcloud.

“You can just reach so many people throughout the world. I mean it’s just ridiculous what social media can do for people,” said Choze.

574 pays homage to their upbringing at every opportunity. Even their name is a shout out to the first three digits of a social security number of someone born in Alaska. While Choze has been a stalwart of the Southcentral music scene for over a decade, Galax-C left honed his studio craft working with Tim Kelly A.K.A. OG Big Body in Anchorage, learning the tricks of the trade. While they have put in the hard work to earn their spot as Alaska’s best, they are critically aware of the help they had to receive.

The Odoms grew up playing basketball and not only do they still hoop, but their love of sports seeps into lyrics for their songs.

“The influence they have — you’ve got to voice that somehow. Man I want to put you in my bar because of how solid I think you are as a player,” said Galax-C.

JJ played as a slashing wing for the Palmer Moose, able to play above the rim at well over 6-feet tall, while Christian was a three-year varsity starter for Palmer High as a point guard. He drove the length of the court in four seconds and drained a one-handed corner 3 to beat rival Wasilla as a senior. Their love of basketball and music fit seamlessly together. Galax-C remixed ‘Flicka Da Wrist’ and wrote a song for Takeoff Season entitled ‘Out The Stadium.’ On ‘Now and Laters, Choze proclaims “I’m trying to have a reel of highlights / a hall of famer in the making / yes i’m just like Mike.”

574 say that, first and foremost, they make music that they want to listen to. Galax-C says that the process of songwriting may change every single time he writes a new song.

“There will be times I’ll just sit in my car for about an hour and just listen to beats,” said Galax-C.

The brothers frequently text one another with song suggestions, and say they see no line between brother and coworker.

“I’m always willing to listen to him and knowing that he’s done it for so long that’s what makes it easier to be like, yeah, I hear what you saying,” said Galax-C.

Their main sounding board is their father, Jeff Odom. Christian says if his father listens to his songs and responds when he hears something he likes.

Perhaps the biggest 574 supporter is their mother, Polly-Beth Odom.

“I didn’t have a job at the time and my mom was working. Right before we went down to SXSW we had everything paid for but I’m trying to take down about 100 CD’s. She literally went into her last dollars to help me out to get that printed out. So she’s always been a support, she’s bought us microphones… So that’s who I give it to, I can’t even take nobody else, my mom she helped out a whole lot,” said Galax-C.

No matter their reach statewide and beyond, 574 says they’ll always represent the Valley.

“People see that we’re putting on for the Valley and Alaska itself and when people show love like that, that’s what keeps me going,” said Choze.