The band released three studio albums and several EPs including 2003's critically praised Drums; it broke up in 2004 and the members re-formed as Kill the Vultures and Power Struggle.

[1] Oddjobs was a quintet consisting of three rappers—Advizer (Adam Waytz), Crescent Moon (Alexei Casselle), and Nomi (Mario Demira)—and two producer/DJs—Anatomy (Stephen Lewis) and Deetalx (Devon Callahan).

The group was part of a regional hip-hop subculture based in the Twin Cities which developed in the mid-1990s and included Atmosphere and the Rhymesayers collective, Eyedea & Abilities, Doomtree, Heiruspecs, and Brother Ali.

[2][3] Stanton Swihart of AllMusic credits the band with helping to instill a postmodern viewpoint into rap, inspired by artists such as De La Soul and the Beastie Boys.

[6] Soren Baker of the Chicago Tribune said, "Oddjobs' music is moody and cerebral, with spare, jazzy beats and rhymes that focus more on verbal dexterity and wittiness than materialism or violence.

"[7] Oddjobs toured or performed with DJ Shadow,[7] De La Soul, Blackalicious, El-P, Atmosphere,[1] Buck 65,[8] Eyedea and Abilities, and Cannibal Ox,[5] among others.

Oddjobs was itself a splinter group of a larger 30-member collective called Cases Of Mistaken Identity, or CMI, which included graffiti artists and break dancers.

Stanton Swihart of AllMusic called it "hands-down one of the most exciting creations to hit the hip-hop world in 2000, a veritable playground of innovative beats and equally exceptional lyrical dispatches from the progressive side of the prairie.

[1][17] Recording Absorbing Playtime had been rewarding despite the long-distance problems, which the band decided to resolve by having the remaining Minnesota-based members also move to New York.

The first, "Blue Collar Holler," was described by Crescent Moon as "our sort of calling-card party track, the ear candy that will get you to taste the rest of the album.

"[9] Reggie Royston of the St. Paul Pioneer Press called it "the group's anthem, marrying '70s organ funk with a clowning, jump-up rap intensity reminiscent of early '90s crews like the Pharcyde.

[30] Swihart of Allmusic called Drums one of the most impressive rap albums of 2002, saying, "With its vistas of somber psychedelia, it is a gorgeous extension of DJ Shadow's astral explorations".

at the Bryant Lake Bowl, the previous album, saying that "while that album captures the earnestness of Twin Cities underground rap, Drums is what happens when you take that sound and drop it in New York: carefree, coastless rap backed by a dense cake of cosmopolitan beats... Like experimental hip-hop purveyors cLOUDDEAD, Drums strikes at something new with its sound collages, mixing Beastie Boys funk with psychedelic grooves.

"[10] Peter S. Scholtes of City Pages praised the album as "so loose and weird that you half expect the rappers to pass the mic out the window to a jogger or a talking police horse."

[37][35] Lewis and Casselle moved back to Minnesota, forming the new group Kill the Vultures, which briefly included Nomi and Advizer as well, pursuing an interest in less mainstream, riskier material influenced by film noir and jazz.

Nomi had originally split his time between both Kill the Vultures and Power Struggle, but the latter band increasingly became his focus, giving him an outlet for his interest in Filipino culture and progressive social and political activism.