Earlier this month, I interviewed Elephant Man, Jamaica’s wildest entertainer. We discussed his new album, Let’s Get Physical on Diddy’s Bad Boy Records label, and Ele revealed a few juicy tidbits that haven’t made headlines yet. So, of course, I’m happy to share them with you! He mentioned that the next single off Let’s Get Physical will be his collaboration with Chris Brown. Man, the ladies are just mad about this barely-legal RnB star! I get so many emails and comments about Chris! The song he did with Elephant Man is called “Feel The Steam” and you can listen to it here:
The Energy God gets to know the “Gully Creepa” in his new video. Elephant Man told the Observer, “We just release the video and it bad. We have the dance lock and throw way di key.” The song is off Elephant Man’s loooooong awaited LP Let’s Get Physical and the video was directed by Julia Braham.
Philly-based beat meister Diplo and UK house/bass producer Switch have each assisted M.I.A. to create the sick riddims that she sings over, they’ve toured together, and now they’re finishing up a joint album. Diplo produced a lot of the music on Arul and Switch traveled all over the globe with M.I.A. to help her record the songs for Kala. Last year, Diplo went to Jamaica to record dancehall’s superstar deejays (rappers) for a new project with Switch. I can’t wait to hear these tunes, they’re going to be wiiiiiiiicked!! Diplo and Switch’s bumpin electro-influenced dancehall-hip hop hybrids with thick Jamaican patois rapping on top? Sounds perfect! ([More →])
Just in time for New Year’s resolutions, Elephant Man releases Part 2 of his Dancehall Gym workout series. I’ve been waiting for this, I’ve got all of Part 1 down pat, minus whipping myself with my own bling. E-man can keep that move! Check out Part 2, now with more sexy ladies! If this doesn’t get your heart racing, you’re not doing it right! ([More →])
This video is hilarious! It’s obvious that the Vice chick is clueless about dancehall or Jamaican culture. In fact, she sounds like she just moved to the city last week! But, if it weren’t for her, we might not have gotten Ele’s explanation about why he wears so much bling. Scope the video of Elephant Man in the Bad Boy studio, recording his album Let’s Get Physical and chatting with Vice TV… ([More →])
Need a jolt of energy? Want to shape up for this weekend’s festivities? The “Energy God” himself wants to Pump You Up! Elephant Man created a series of dancehall exercise videos that will heat up your day - so jump out of that chair and press play! ([More →])
Freddie McGregor is working on his next album, while his son Stephen has been busy in the studio producing a dark series of riddims, such as “Darker Shadow” and “Dark Again.” A handful of major record companies have been vying for Stephen’s signature lately and the producer chose to go with EMI. This will gain him a lot of attention internationally and will open a lot of doors for him to bring his music to his fans. He’s been working on albums for Vybz Kartel, Sean Paul and Elephant Man this year and I hope that he will create a tune or two for his father’s next album. Vibe Magazine recently named Stephen MacGregor a “producer to look out for.” ([More →])
If you have never been to a proper dancehall concert, where artists display their prowess via audience interaction, shout outs, dance moves and all kinds of antics that strengthen the bond between the artists and the dancehall community, here’s what you’ve been missing! Elephant Man - notorious as being the most brash and eclectic of all dancehall artists - brought pure FIRE to NYC’s On Da Reggae Tip concert this year! With an audience well versed in dancehall culture, from its dance moves and its “slackness” (sexual inuendo) to the importance of family and society, Elephant Man performed a coming-of-age ritual for RnB singer Chris Brown. ([More →])
Elephant Man may be a rude bwoy and now a Bad Boy too, but he sure knows the right ladies to work with. He recently recorded the NYC-dancehall song “Whine Up” with Kat DeLuna, he recently added his remix of Rhianna’s “Umbrella” to his music$pace page, and worked with Rhianna on his own upcoming album Let’s Get Physical. The album will be released on Sean Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment label on November 2nd but, of course, you don’t have to wait that long to listen to it. ([More →])
BIG BIG News! Fans of dancehall and reggae have often discussed the elements of homophobia, racism, sexism, and other nasties in Jamaican music. The music industry goes through cycles of acceptance and rejection of these messages in music. ([More →])
Also, the new video for Kat DeLuna and Elephant Man’s “Whine Up” is up on her murdoch$pace page now. I’m sure I could have embedded the youTele here, but the quality of the video is actually much better at murdoch$ this time….
So just head over to Kat DeLuna Land for a sexy summertime vid…
Elephant Man has been making headlines lately with news of his upcoming album, Let’s Get Physical. I recently reported about the first single from that album being “Five-O” which features Wyclef Jean of Fugees fame. What I didn’t know then, but have learned today, is that Elephant Man recently recorded a song with the 2 illustrious ladies - Kat DeLuna and Ivy Queen, both originally hailing from the Dominican Republic. Kat DeLuna’s “Whine Up” debuted this week at #91 on the Billboard charts, but I have a feeling it is going to soar a lot closer to the top soon. The song is full of energy, makes you want to jump up and dance. It’s very electronic, very pop dancehall, the kind you will hear blasting from car windows in the heat of the summer. I’m a big fan of the reggaeton singer Ivy Queen. She has a sweet and smoldering voice that works so well with modern dancehall’s electrified sound. She is also talented at ruff and ragga sounds such that Lady Saw has made popular.
Ivy Queen is the voice of the Spanish version of “Whine Up,” while Kat DeLuna is the voice of the English version.
“Whine Up” is the first single off of Kat DeLuna’s debut album 9 Lives which will be released on Epic Records this August.
Here is the Spanish Version (audio only, video has not been filmed yet):
Somebody has leaked the album cover for Elephant Man’s upcoming Let’s Get Physical:
You can listen to the first single “Five-O” featuring Wyclef Jean (FUGEES) streaming on his music$pace or watch the video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/PNKhYvD4Rec]
Let’s Get Physical is due out on June 26th, and while there is not yet an official release of the tracklisting, his music$pace notes these songs are included:
Tracklist
“Five 0″ featuring Wyclef
“Jump” (some involvement from Swizz Beatz)
“Throw Your Hands Up” featuring Rihanna
“The Way We Roll (Remix)” featuring Shaggy
“You Can Make It”
“Father Elephant”
“Gayl Bruck”
“Let’s Get Physical”
“Willie Bounce”
“Ova Di Wall”
“Gangster Rock”
Elephant Man is about to release his new album Let’s Get Physical on Sean Combs‘ Bad Boy Entertainment label. The first single on the album is called “FiveO” and features Wyclef Jean of Fugees fame. The album is set to drop on June 26th 2007. It is the first album for dancehall’s “Energy God” since 2003’s Good 2 Go. Elephant Man is best known as dancehall’s freakier bad boy, often sporting flaming yellow and orange locks, and putting on a high energy performance full of playful antics. He is also one of dancehall’s most bling artists, and should fit in nicely with Combs’ hip hop scene. It’s certainly not E.Man’s first collaborations with US hip hop artists. He has previously worked with Busta Rhymes, R. Kelly, Will Smith, Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz, Janet Jackson, Da Brat, and Mariah Carey.
Elephant man has been the target of certain gay-rights groups, who wanted the singer arrested for lyrics that condone violence towards homosexuals, stating that it violated hate crimes statutes. There was a time in Jamaica where these types of lyrics reached popularity and quite a few artists enraged the gay community with hateful lyrics, including Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, and Elephant Man. It is possible that the consequences of having their performances banned and tours canceled has changed the perspective of these artists, at least as far as song writing is concerned. Elephant man is quoted on his artist page on VP Records as saying, “I wish for more unity among the artists. Everyone is arguing, and that’s the problem. I want to change that through song and action, as do the other artists.”
You can listen to some of his music, including the new single “FiveO”, as well as tracks off older albums, by clicking on these links :
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