Like many artists playing the game of hip-hop, Atlanta’s Mojo Swagger wears a number of hats: father, songwriter, MC, promoter. Keeping everything in balance while constantly moving forward is always a challenge, but he’s spent some time preparing. Over the past few years he has focused on structuring not just his rhymes but also his whole life. Mojo Swagger now writes as he watches his three-year-old son during the week and records on the weekend. Any time leftover is usually spent working another piece of the puzzle into his grandmaster plan.
Mojo Swagger was born Elijah Lee in Westville, NJ. “It was a real small town, suburban town,” he says. “We called it Bourbon Streets.” He spent the early years of his life doing the things kids do in small towns: riding bikes, having waterfights, goofing off. It was a fairly normal childhood. Except his parents were addicted to crack. As his parents were battling drug addictions, his grandmother raised him.
Growing up, Lee listened to a steady diet of classic hip-hop like Big Daddy Kane and Biz Markie. But it wasn’t until a neighbor of his, Jammond McMiller, started rhyming his own stuff over radio hits that it struck him: I can do this! Since then, Lee has devoted himself to working with music.
When he was 16, his grandmother was too old to take care of him, so he moved to Atlanta to live with his aunt and uncle, who “were even more dysfunctional than my parents!” Undeterred, Lee forged ahead, sharpening pencils and lyrics. Chance encounters guided his musical career. Illa, the first producer he partnered with, was a co-worker at UPS. A year or so later, collaborations with DJ Mafioso were underway.
His approach to music is now systematic and methodical. He sets concrete goals for himself and uses lists to keep on track. Every day, he says, he adds 20 people as friends on MySpace. Mojo Swagger is constantly looking to the future, but he’s careful to take it all step by step. The different projects on the horizon — mixtape, album, video (it’s almost a mantra) — are broken down into more detailed battle plans.
As studio work on his album wraps up and finishing touches are applied to It’s a Good Look, his next mixtape, the video shoot has taken priority. Scouting locations, connecting with clothing sponsors and lining up an assortment of models are among the tasks he’s been juggling so that everything runs smoothly when it’s time to roll camera. He already has some footage of his recent performance opening up for KRS One slated for a DVD.
So far, that show has been his performance highlight, but Mojo Swagger has international designs. After doing some touring around the Southeast, he plans to shoot up the East Coast and, if things work right, skip on across the pond to Europe.
“It’s just about coming with the skill and the talent and showing the people that real is real. That’s how I take it with the performing now. It’s just go out there, show ‘em the talent, show ‘em the skill and fuck where I’m at. If it’s Mississippi, Alabama, California, New York, London or Tokyo — it don’t matter.”
One of the spots where he polished his performance is the producer’s swap meet at Apache Café. The event was started by Big Tah and Hotep about a year and a half ago and serves as a showcase for hip-hop talent. “I love the dynamic producer’s swap meet ... because when I perform I’m usually one of the only performers there; I do an excellent job and there’s a room full of producers,” he explains. “That’s a dream for an artist, you know what I mean. Soon as I get off stage, it’s like ‘Hey ... what’s up.’” Swagger used to do promotions for the event, but after things took off and a regular clientele started showing up each month, there wasn’t really a need for his services. “I kinda got shot in the foot,” he recalls with a chuckle.
Being a hip-hop artist with a northern slant in a sea of southern crunk can be tough. “It’s definitely harder, but now I just make sure that the quality of the work is high.” As long as he’s making people groove, Mojo Swagger is content to stroll confidently into the future. He’s planning to release his album At the End of the Day early next year. And as soon as that day has dawned, he’s guaranteed to be planning the next big thing.
www.myspace.com/mojoswagger |
