Elemental Emcee

By William Cane
Photo by Noah Culver

I used to sell drugs in High School while in a rock-type band,” admits Georgia’s Elemental Emcee, whose influences range from Sonic Youth to Big L. “The rap music just seemed to fit with all the work I was doing.”

With more peers into rock than anything else, however, he had few people to share in his fascination with rap.“I was this closet rap fan, sitting in my room with a triple beam, listening to Easy E, Cypress Hill, Beastie Boys, [and] the first Funk Master Flex mixtape,” he says. By age seventeen, Elemental Emcee had transitioned from fan to artist, developing and nurturing his own style and musical identity. Through years of battles, demos, freestyles and general dues-paying, this identity became as substantial as fire, water, earth or air.

Having just dropped a single with legends KRS-ONE and DJ Klever (“Make It Happen,” available on Elemental’s MySpace page), Elemental Emcee has fully transitioned from private fan to public figure. American Sound Torture, a multimedia performance group, has even recruited him to host some of their live productions. With his first solo album, Hell On Your Mental, on the horizon (due late summer), Elemental is still building momentum.

Making even a modest living as a performing musician is a struggle for most, but Elemental believes that finding the ground between self-expression and giving the people what they want is the key to self-sustainability.

“I don’t believe in [being a] starving artist,” he quips, “or that being a musician means you’re broke. Especially now with digital distribution and how much easier it is to get exposure and shows, that broke shit is for crackheads.”
Elemental chooses to handle all aspects of his career in-house, where he can retain creative and financial control.

“Dropbombz is my label I own along with my friends Ricky Raw and Cypher Linguistics,” he says, adding that the three of them work “together, separate and in tandem.”

Regarding the state of the music business, he says, “I hope the entire thing goes into bankruptcy and the people are able to deal with the artists or their own personal team, instead of these over-charging, watered-down-product-delivering labels. Long live digital distribution.”

“My ultimate goal,” he says, “is to make good music. No point in fortune, fame, [or] respect if you don’t make great tunes. I feel like the rest will fall into place if people feel the songs.”

Elemental’s down-to-earth approach both credits and challenges his listeners, and he considers the most rewarding part about being a lyricist “when you are able to capture a thought or a story into a song.”

“When you’re able to really connect with your subject matter and audience,” he continues, “it really makes it worth it.”

Having overcome many challenges firsthand, Elemental Emcee’s advice to newcomers is simple: “Write great songs. Then start over and make them better. Keep it real but don’t forget to entertain people.”

www.dropbombz.com

www.elementalemcee.com