Chris Cornelius (aka Odie) was born on October 18, 1986. As a North Carolina native, he was one of many who grew up in a household raised only by single mothers. With his mother both working full time and attending nursing school, it was only a matter of time before things began to look up for the two. "No one ever gave us anything", explained Chris. "My father wasn't around. We couldn't really depend on family for financial help. Mom and I accepted the fact that we only had each other as motivation to persevere in life. She graduated nursing school to become an RN and I continued to stay in school. So where ever it is we end up, no one can say that we didn't deserve it. It was God's plan for us to witness what it was that we did experience to become successful".The year of 1996 (age 10) was when Chris began to take serious interest in music, specifically rap/hip-hop. Watching numerous artists on BET and MTV played significant roles of inspiration that Chris needed to further pursue writing. But there was one artist in particular that caught the attention of Odie to help seal his confidence. "After the tragic loss of Pac and BIG, and before Jay-Z took over game completely, there was Diddy. He was never my favorite rapper but I always thought that if he could make such an impact to a mainstream audience... anybody could. Dude made it look so easy". As time went on, Odie started to explore his options. In 1999, he hooked up with long time friends Jerome Windmon (J-Rome), Brandon Chandler (Baby-B) and Reggie King (Pheonix) to form the group named after their hometown of Fayetteville entitled "The Fayettevillenz". Four years after the group had joined together, The Fayettevillenz decided to call it quits to further pursue solo success. The summer of 2003 was the turning point of Odie's pursuit.November of 2003, O's mom decided to accept an out-of-state nursing job that lead them both to Phoenix, Arizona. "Honestly, when I first thought about relocating to Arizona, all that came to mind was thoughts of how the underground hip-hop scene would be out there and how I could fit in". It wasn't long after that Odie met Phil Castillo on a bus ride home from school. "First thing I told him was that I was rapper and was looking for the quickest way possible to gain the most exposure. He put me on to myspace, I signed up as a music artist and the rest was history". Within a few months, Odie completed a mixtape, gaining the local buzz he had pushed for. "P (Phil) asked me what should be the name of the group it is that we formed. The first name that came to mind was Go Figure". It was then that Go-Figga Entertainment was spawned. In the middle of 2005, Odie and Phil ran into another local artist that made a name for himself in the valley of the sun, Martel Henderson (better known as Tally P). The three built such an incredible chemistry that they began to receive recognition from numerous promoters around the area. By the end of 2005, Go-Figga added another heavy hitter to the team who hailed from Philadelphia, David Scott (Stern).Odie, Tally and Stern started 2006 on a good note by booking a CD release party with Adda2ud Promotions for both Odie and Tally's mixtapes (Odie's Vol. 1 and Tally P's Masterpiece Theater Vol. 2). Since then, the Go-Figga Entertainers has opened up shows for headliners such as Rick Ross, Devin the Dude, Ron Artest and MC Magic. The three artists have also collaborated with some of Arizona's hottest acts including Blitzkrieg Ent., Young Hot Rod (of G-Unit), Young Nov, Sol Camp, just to name a few. Local DJs have shown support by spinning tracks at other local venues, club events, and even on Power 98.3. "I look back on all the accomplishments that we've achieved in such short time frame and can't help but to look forward to the future". In June of 2007, Odie was referred to Tim Jackson and Dante Smith of Chocolate Tree Music Group by fellow hip-hop affiliates Brandon Lewis (B-Lew) and Dustin Fleger (DFleg). Shortly after his 21st birthday, Odie decided to walk away from the Go-Figga foundation that he helped build along side of Tally and P-Hil due to "in house issues" to join Chocolate Tree's newly built roster permanently.Odie got his name from an acronym which stands for "Obviously Da Illest Ever". "As a rapper/artist, you must carry that swagger that you are the greatest one doing it. If you don't believe in yourself or your skills, how are you gonna convince the world?". With that said, Odie performs and records each session as if it's his last. Chris Cornelius is a product of 11 years in the making. With time and effort, history is waiting to be made.
