El-Producto

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El-P live at Irving Plaza, February 10, 2007
El-P live at Irving Plaza, February 10, 2007
Background information
Birth name Jaime Meline
Also known as El-Producto, Lazerface
Born March 4, 1975 (1975-03-04) (age 33)
Origin Flag of the United States Brooklyn, New York City, United States
Genre(s) Hip Hop
Occupation(s) Producer, Rapper
Years active 1993 – Present
Label(s) Definitive Jux
Thirsty Ear
Associated acts Company Flow
Central Services
The Weathermen
Website Definitive Jux
Definitive Jux - Bio

El-P aka El-Producto (born Jaime Meline on March 4, 1975) is an American hip hop artist and entrepreneur from Brooklyn, New York City. A major driving force in alternative hip hop for over a decade,[1] he is the co-founder, owner and CEO of the Definitive Jux record label. El-P is also a member of the Weathermen.

Contents

[edit] Biography

The son of Jazz pianist Harry Keys (born Harry Meline), El-P (born Jaime Meline) became involved with the Hiphop culture of New York City at an early age. After being expelled from several schools for problems with authority, Meline decided to whole-heartedly pursue a career in music. At his 18th birthday party, he met Mr. Len, whom he had hired as a DJ for the night. The two quickly became friends and formed Company Flow in 1992. They released their first vinyl single, "Juvenile Techniques", in 1993. Bigg Jus later complemented the group and in 1996 the trio released their debut EP, Funcrusher. Subject to a major label bidding war after the success of the EP, Company Flow waited until they could get a contract on their own terms. They eventually signed to Rawkus Records, and released their debut full-length album, Funcrusher Plus (1997), which is now widely recognized as one of the most ground-breaking and influential alternative Hiphop albums of all time.

After an instrumental album called Little Johnny From the Hospitul: Breaks & Instrumentals Vol.1 (1999), also on Rawkus, disagreements between El-P and the label led to Company Flow's leaving Rawkus. El-P then decided to start his own record label, Definitive Jux (known informally as Def Jux, and extra-formally as Definitive Juxtapositions), and because of critically acclaimed albums like Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein (produced by El-P) and Aesop Rock's Labor Days, the label quickly rose to prominence.

Company Flow (now only El-P and Mr. Len) dissolved amicably in 2001 and the following year El-P released his debut solo album, Fantastic Damage, to wide critical acclaim. In 2004, El-P collaborated with The Blue Series Continuum for a Jazz-fusion album entitled High Water, which received very favorable reviews from both the Hiphop and Jazz worlds, as well as from more mainstream critics independent of both scenes. 2005 saw the release of Collecting the Kid, an odds an ends assortment including work from High Water and Bomb The System in addition to several songs of unknown provenance. El-P's second proper studio album, I'll Sleep When You're Dead, was released on March 20, 2007. It generally received very favorable reviews and became El-P's most commercially successful album to date, peaking at #78 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

El-P has been involved in at least two notable Hiphop feuds (or "beefs"): one with anticon. rapper Sole, in which El-P incorporated a taped telephone conversation that took place with an eager-to-reconcile Sole into his song/"dis track", which he titled Linda Tripp for the damning effect of his inclusion of the surreptitious recording. It is widely considered one of the most brutal dis tracks in the history of Hiphop. The second involved Boston rapper Esoteric of the group 7L & Esoteric. This feud included various Definitive Jux artists and members of the Demigodz. There have also been at least two known pseudo-beefs to date. There is on-wax evidence (in the Fantastic Damage song "Dead Disnee") of El's having had bad blood with Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons, presumably over the former's attempt to officially name his record company Def Jux, which the latter seems to have somehow discouraged if not outright prevented due to similarity with his own company's name. Evidence of his relationship with former label Rawkus having left a bad taste in his mouth can also be found in Deep Space 9mm.

El-P has contributed productions and guest raps to albums by DJ Krush, Aesop Rock, Murs, Cage, Mr. Lif, Prefuse 73, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Mike Ladd, The High and Mighty, Jedi Mind Tricks, Aceyalone, Atmosphere, and Techno Animal. He collaborated with Alec Empire on the first Handsome Boy Modeling School album and with Cage and Chino Moreno on the second. He was selected, along with DJ Shadow, to work on Rage Against the Machine frontman Zach de la Rocha's solo album (which never materialized). He has provided remixes for the likes of Beans (of Anti-Pop Consortium, Beck, Blackalicious, Head Automatica, Hot Hot Heat, Syd Matters, Nine Inch Nails, Push Button Objects, Rob Sonic, and Yasushilde, among others. El-P also provided the soundtrack for the graffiti film Bomb the System. A collection of his remixes entitled 1-800-LAZERFACE is available online, though its status as a licensed product is unclear.

[2][3]

In February 2008, El-P confirmed on his myspace that he was working on new material. In his words, the final product will be 'a little less than an album, a little more than an EP" and expected in 2008.

[edit] Style

El-P performs at the South by Southwest Music Festival in 2007.
El-P performs at the South by Southwest Music Festival in 2007.

As a rapper, El-P's style can be characterized by his dense, aggressive, and verbose attacks, which include notable use of metaphor, science fiction and fantasy themes and references, and associative word play. El-P is a great fan of science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, and many of Dick's themes, such as paranoia and questions about the nature of reality, feature in El-P's work. Regardless of this sophistication, he does not eschew traditional Hiphop subject matter, a description which would fit equally well with several of his colleagues. References to George Orwell, Arthur C. Clarke, and Star Trek spin-off Deep Space 9 sit comfortably alongside frequent lyrical allusions to the likes of LL Cool J and BDP. Critic Steve Huey describes him as "one of the most technically gifted MCs of his time, spitting out near-impossible phrases and rhythmic variations that simply leave the listener's head spinning." [4]

As a producer, Meline is notable for his innovative mix of bleak futurism and low fidelity sounds. His dense, claustrophobic sounds are strongly influenced by Public Enemy's production team, The Bomb Squad, as well as Art of Noise and Nine Inch Nails.

2004's High Water was a radical departure, pitting El-P's beats and production against a Jazz band under the direction of pianist Matthew Shipp, a fan of El-P's music. In an interview with Shipp, Meline stated:

“ First and foremost, I wanted to do it because it scared the shit out of me ... And when I get offered the chance to be involved with something that scares me, I usually do it, because I'm trying to learn, I'm trying to understand music as much as I can, to become a better musician in general and work in different capacities. ”

El-P has done some work as a DJ. In November 2004, he spun alongside Peanut Butter Wolf at a small Chicago club named Sonotheque. Also, in the summer of 2005, at the Intonation Festival hosted by Pitchfork Media El-P did a short DJ set alongside Yo La Tengo member James McNew, both denizens of the same apartment complex in Brooklyn.

[edit] Discography

Main article: El-P discography
For Company Flow releases, see Company Flow discography.

[edit] Solo studio albums

[edit] Instrumental/Remix albums

[edit] Mixtapes

  • Weareallgoingtoburninhell (Definitive Jux - 2003), A limited release only sold at shows and was said to have been recorded by the New York native shortly after September 11.
  • Weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamixx2 (Definitive Jux - 2008), A limited release only sold at the No Chiefs Allowed tour with Dizzie Rascal.

[edit] References

  1. ^ allmusic ((( El-P > Biography ))). All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
  2. ^ El-P Biography at DefinitiveJux.net (old) (2002). Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
  3. ^ El-P Biography at DefinitiveJux.net (current) (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
  4. ^ allmusic ((( Fantastic Damage > Overview )))

[edit] External links


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Persondata
NAME El-Producto
ALTERNATIVE NAMES El-P; Meline, Jaime
SHORT DESCRIPTION Record producer, rapper
DATE OF BIRTH March 4, 1975
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn, New York City, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH