Interviewee: Eli of Earth
Interviewer: Anthony Andujar Jr
Hello and welcome to the Artist Ant Interviews People Summer Series! Welcome to another edition to my latest talks with local and global creatives that are alive, hustling and thriving in their respective crafts! Happy New Years! Lets kick off 2020 right with a new interview!
Today I have a special guest that you may have been familiar with through sponsored or suggested ads on Instagram. I came across this multi talented musician through a song called “ Elimental” which featured a video that showcased clips from the classic 1960’s Marvel Super Heroes cartoon along with the old 60s Justice League and 70’s-80’s Super Friends shows. I was very amused by the video while simultaneously digging the track itself. He has much more talent than meets the eye, and that is something that needs to be highlighted! Ladies and Bots of the digital landscape, I introduce to you, Eli of Earth!
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| Eli of Earth. Photo courtesy of Eli of Earth. |
Q0. Who are your inspirations?
EE:-Storywriting: Walter Dean Myers, Dav Pilkey, Cullen Bunn, Geoff Johns
-Music: Stevie Wonder, Thelonious Monk, Tyler the Creator
-Dance: Tight Eyes, Michael Jackson, Retro, Storyboard P, Les Twins, Salah
-Comedy: Dave Chappelle, Nate Bargatze,
Q1. How did you get into art, most notably writing?
EE:-Writing has been with me ever since I learned how to do it. I used to write this superhero series called Super Dog and Now Wow when I was in kindergarten, and it wasn't till around middle school that I'd get into poetry, which eventually turned into songwriting toward the end of high school.
-For piano, I would just tinker around on the piano in the house, which was meant for my sister's cuz THEY were the ones getting lessons, but I ended up being the one to stick to it and I started myself in my junior year of high school.
-Dance started from Michael Jackson, I learned all his moves. My dad saw I was really getting into it, and he taught me how to pop and lock (which until that point, I had no clue he knew how to do lol)
Q2. When did you begin to pursue a career in music seriously?
EE:-I'd like to say in total about 6 years, school and work kept cutting in every time I truly wanted to pursue it 100%, and this past 2 or 3 years I've rearranged my priorities so that it doesn't happen again.
Q2.1. You're a massive comic book fan, most notably of The Green Lantern, John Stewart. How has your admiration of the character influence your songwriting, producing and music on a lyrical and instrumental level?
EE:-Well, through the Justice League Animated Series, he was the first black superhero I'd ever been exposed to, so I naturally gravitated towards him even before I got into music. But now, his 70s and 90s iterations are mostly what I pull inspiration from, he was almost an entirely different character back then. In the 70s he was fro'd out, unapologetically black, and he fought against local powers trying to subjugate his people.
That's a running theme through a lot of the story arcs that Eli of Earth encounters (The Raven most notably). In the 90s, he was in charge of Mosaic, which was an amalgam of alien regions from different planets, and he was tasked with facilitating cohabitation despite their clear differences, which is something I wanna do with my music whenever I can.
-Instrumentally there's not a whole lot that I directly pull from Stewart himself, but more so GL in general, I see my beats and compositions as constructs, the tools by which my will takes form. I always like issues where the constructs are very elaborate, with a lot of pieces working together all at once, like what Kyle Rayner makes. I apply this concept whenever I find the opportunity, and I'll stack all kinds of sounds on top of one another even if I don't have to sometimes lol
Q2.2. Last year you dropped the track "Elimental" which featured Flannel Lewis. What was the song-writing and production price like?
EE:-Since it was a collab, creating the song itself was technically free: Flannel made the beat, and I wrote the lyrics. The marketing aspect of this song is where the price tag truly lies. Using the music vid as the vehicle to get the song seen/heard, we've spent a little under a grand thus far, and climbing (cuz the grind don't stop).
Q2.3. In regards to the "Elimental" music video, which showcased snippets from the classic 60s Hannah Barbera DC cartoons and Marvel cartoons. What inspired that choice to use those snippets for the track? Was there other video ideas that you had for the track long before the official one?
EE:-It was initially not going to be cartoon at all, but since Flannel and I live in different states, we decided not to do that and think a bit outside the box.
-I wanted to make a video where it would immediately be understood that superheroes are an integral part of my brand. My dad would show me VHSs of those oldies when I was a kid, so that was the first thing I thought of when thinking of a video concept. After that, I just had to watch a ton of cartoons to find clips that were relevant to my lyrics.
Q2.4. You're not only a rapper, but you're also a pianist, and a comedian amongst other things. When making albums, do you approach them by playing different roles to distinguish the difference between your hip hop work and your piano work?
EE:-I consider piano playing to be one of Eli of Earth's super powers. If the song is instrumental, it's EoE creating constructs without 😅😉😚😛🙃
Q2.5 How did *Numerical (Nu Miracle) Records get started? What challenges did you face when launching your own label aside from launching your own work? What are the misconceptions that come with producing?
EE:-The biggest obstacle this far has been finding the right people to build it with. Dude I was running it with for two years all of a sudden thought I was tryna steal music from him and was doing a buncha outta pocket stuff to combat me on it.
Q2.6. How often do you collab with Flannel Lewis? What is it about your collaborations with him that inspires you?
EE:-Fairly often, at the very least we just bounce thoughts and ideas off each other. His passion is very inspiring, and his ability to see a track/ project through completion makes it a very stress-free collaborative effort.
Q2.7. Looking back at your earlier albums compared to present, what are notable changes that you've begun to notice on a lyrical and production level? What themes show up throughout your work that you enjoy dabbling in? And why?
EE:-Lyrically I think my stuff just makes more sense. Sometimes I listen to my old raps and it just sounds like gibberish, even if the flow was solid (which it also usually wasn't).
-Productionwise, I think my beats have become a lot less noticeably hip-hop at first listen. A lot of what I'm making now basically only becomes hip-hop once I rap on it if that makes any sense.
Q2.8. What genres do you plan on experimenting with down the road? And why those particular genres? What stands out to you that would inspire you to experiment ?
EE:-It's actually a life goal of mine to make entire albums in at least five different genres. Jazz seems to be the closest one in reach as of right now, but RnB and pop are in my crosshairs.
Q2.9. What projects do you have down the pipeline that readers and your listeners should keep an eye out for? What can they expect for the next project and what do you hope to do differently this time around?
EE:-"The Origin Issue" is going to be my first full length rap album, and the release date for that keeps changing because I keep changing lol but whoever lends an ear can expect to hear a lot of narrative rap, which isn't particularly new, but i believe is a rarity nowadays as far as full projects are concerned. Each track has its own story, and each of those stories plays into one big one, so each track is essentially an "issue" in this "arc," they'll even have their own individual cover arts. I'm also working on an EP with King Kaiyo and a few other collab tracks here and there.
Q6. If there were any deceased creators , actors, singers, writers, etc that you would want to speak to, who would it be, and why?
EE:-I'd definitely wanna talk to Marvin Gaye. He knew exactly how to translate his world view into his music, and he
Q7. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
EE:-I'd go to the very bottom of the ocean, it's like God's playground down there, or his sketchbook or something lol
Q8. What is one thing that you fear?
EE:-Dying before I do anything meaningful.
Q 9. If you had a superpower what would it be and why?
EE:-I would definitely take hard light construction. Making anything you can imagine is literally the sickest shit ever, I've had like 5 dreams about having that ability
Q11. What is one word of advice that you would impart to your younger self?
EE:-To not GAF even harder than I already wasn't. I've come to find that so very few things truly matter in life, so I'd tell homeboy to Just chill out on everything, and maybe save his money lol
Q12. What are three books that you always remember or return to, and why? How did they shape you?
EE:-The Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen. At the time that I read it, it was the longest book I've ever read, some 300 pages, but I couldn't put it down. I finished it in a couple days and my 5th grade mind was blown. I learned a lot about literary nuance and subversion of expectation from that book, it was a great read.
-Monster by Walter Dean Meyers. Probably one of the more creatively written books I've read, cuz it's part 1st person narrative, but there is also a 3rd person movie script in the midst of it, AND journal entries. It just showed me how you can incorporate multiple styles of writing for one common goal if utilized sensibly. The story itself is also a great insight into what our people have to go through when they're falsely incarcerated.
-The Entire Captain Underpants Saga by Dav Pilkey. These books were my everything when I was growing up. They were silly, they were relatable, they had flip-o-rama, just outstanding childhood reads, and I used his book-making format for many of the stories I wrote as a kid because of it. I also just found out recently that Dav and I share many similar interests even though we're generations apart, and those similar interests were subtly added into his books, which is probably why I connected to them so much.
Q13. If you could continue or remake a movie, or franchise, what would be your film of choice ?
EE:-I'd reboot Good Times. That show was flawless, and with everything going on today, it'd still be just as relevant as it was 40 years ago.
Q14. If you were to make a film, novel, or comic book based on an album, what album or artist would you pick?
EE:-It'd be interesting to make a movie out of Stevie Wonder's Talking Book. Tyler Perry would prolly direct dat hoe lol it's a very visual album with a clear, linear plot, I think that'd be a hit.
Q15. Who In this life, has motivated you to stay true to what makes you who are?
EE:-My parents have done an amazing job with that. They're supportive of whatever I think is the right direction for me (if it's positive of course).
Q16. Where do you hope to see yourself in five years?
EE:*Puts on blue ring*
-I hope to see Nu Miracle internationally recognized as, as well as my full time job.
-Personally I wanna be touring and using all my talents simultaneously.
Q17. What are three albums or songs currently, that you listen to on repeat? And why?
EE:-Talking Book is a go-to always and forever, just a well made album all around. To explain it all, I'd be a talking book myself lol.
-Hot by Young Thug. Say what you want about the guy, but he bodies the storytelling and emotion of the song. It's what I strive for whenever I make tracks.
-All of my music. Mostly to figure out how to get better, but I also make music that I personally can dance to.
Q18. What color speaks to you the most and why?
EE:-From the emotional spectrum? I'd say yellow, because whether you feel it, instill it, or whatever the case may be, it's a part of everyone. You can either bend to it, or use it, and my life goal is only ever use it as fuel to propel me to higher echelons.
Q19: What is your greatest weakness?
EE:- I can't NOT trust people. I've been through shit that would naturally make you think "I should prolly just assume that everyone sucks," but I just can't, and it usually leads to people tryna get the jump on me lol but it's like, not in my code or something, cuz unless I get an instant read on someone, I just assume their intentions are good.
Q20. What is your greatest strength?
EE:-My attitude. I've come across many disheartening things in the short time I've been around, but due to how I was raised, and the way I've internalized and validated those values as well as aspects about me personally, I've got a pretty unshakable, optimistic attitude. Were it not for that, I'da quit so many things so many times.
Q22. What is a mantra that you tell yourself?
EE:-The closest I've come to a mantra so far is "I don't wanna get old, but I don't wanna die Young." These aren't necessarily words to live or die by, but more so a saying that reminds me to ponder time and mortality. It's more of an existential complaint if anything lol.
Q23. What is success to you?
EE: Doing what I love with the people I love. Everything else is extra.
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You can follow the rest of Eli of Earth's work on these platforms:
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/eliofearth
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eliofearth/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eliofearth/
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