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Elephant man

Thrasher Magazine, April, 2004 by Aki X

CHILLIN' BACKSTAGE at the UCLA Reggae Festival, waiting for the Elephant Man to come through and do his thing. I was dolo and nightfall was creeping. Suddenly two Expeditions pull up and a posse of yardies dressed in colorful soccer jerseys, platinum ice and doo-rags jump out. Leading them was a cat in a tight black suit jacket, white sneaks, black jeans and bleached yellow locks. It was the Elephant Man, heading straight to the stage with his DJ, drummer and bass player. He killed it. Jumping off an hour-long set that included "Pon De River, Pon De Bank," "Signal the Plane" and a banging dancehall anthem called "J-A-M-A-I-C-A," Elephant Man went through dance after dance with the crowd, dragging sexy ladies on stage to rock each song with him. And believe me soundbwoy, those ladies included mad-big bootied-black mamas, who EM and his posse grinded wheelbarrow steez around the stage to de' riddim. This cat moved a crowd of 20,000 people non-stop before ending his set 60-feet up in the air, dangling off a lighting rig singing a dancehall version of "We are the World, We are the Children." Fo shizzle my izzle.

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That show was bananas. I see why they call you the Energy God.

Yes, that was a great show. I be enjoying that show, believe me. It was off the heeezy.

Fo shizzle my izzle.

That's what they say on the West Coast of America, but it's soon to be my saying.

What are you doing in America right now?

I'm doing some shows, some interviews. I just did Hot 97 with Funkmaster Flex in NYC, and I'm finishing up the new album.

You and Flex kill it?

We tore it up, man.

What's up with the new record, Good to Go?

It's 23 tracks and features artists like Bone Krusha, Lil' Jon, Jimmy Kozy, and Wu-Tang.

Who's up on there from Wu-Tang Clan?

Killah Priest.

Dope.

And we got tunes on it like "Signal the Plane," "Pon De River, Pon De Bank," "Mexican Girl." Crazy, crazy tunes on it, man.

How did you start as a DJ in Jamaica?

Well, growing up in Seaview Gardens, we had a studio there. Then we left and went to King Jammy's studio. That's how we started, recording for King Jammy. From there we moved on to other labels. Stevie and Cleevie, Sly and Robbie--all of them labels.

Bounty Killer was there in the beginning?

Yeah yeah. We all grew up in Scaview, so Bounty Killer came through correct.

How did you get the name Elephant Man?

In Seaview Gardens, they say I have big ears, so they call me Dumbo. Then they call me Elephant.

What dances are popping in the clubs of Jamaica for you right now?

You got the Signal the Plane; the Pon De River, Pun De Bank; the Parachute; the Chaplin; a lot of dances, man. It's off the hook, off the chain.

Bogle invented all those dances?

Yeah, Bogle is the person who invents all those moves in the clubs in Jamaica. And then we make them into records.

Obviously, hip-hop has been a big influence on you and the dancehall culture in Jamaica.

We as dancehall artists love hip-hop music, and a lot of hip-hop artists love dancehall music. It's great--the two of them are doing their ring, and it's just going to grow bigger because a lot of hip-hop artists right now are collaborating with dancehall artists.

Do a lot of hip-hop artists come to Jamaica?

Yeah, and when hip-hop artists come to Jamaica, we show them love. It's all music and everyone is enjoying themselves. That's the key.

Hip-hop clubs here in America usually end in drama. Is it the same with dancehall clubs in Jamaica?

It's cool out there, man. Like I say, when the hip-hop artists come to Jamaica we show them love.

Hip-hop ain't got no love no more, man, you feel me? It's all haters now.

Yeah, 'cause hip-hop artists and their culture is different. We got something to talk about, like Africa, Ethiopia. They ain't got nothing to talk about. They only talk about guns and all that.

You got Jah?

Yeah, we got the Lord.

Shouts and love from the 876, J-A-M-A-I-C-A?

I just want to say much love to the fans all over. shizzle.

Elephant man

Thrasher Magazine, April, 2004 by Aki X

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