The Interview: Elephant Man

Took a minute to chat with VP/Atlantic recording artist Elephant Man. You may know him from the video and song “Pon De River,” or maybe just took notice of him on Lil Jon’s “Get Low” remix. His roots are deeper than that though.. read up.

What is the reggae scene like in Jamaica right now?
The reggae scene.. it’s crazy down there, we got a lot of new artists coming up, Kid Rich, Ninja Kid. Yeah, they’re doing their thing right now. You know in Jamaica we got a lot shows in December coming up. We got a lot of stuff doing man, it’s crazy. Recording everyday, we just did a show in Saint Eli. Then we leave Jamaica again, like Sunday. We just on the work, it don’t stop.

As far as the music, reggae itself, dancehall, do you see more of a hip-hop influence in the music now?
No, it’s straight dancehall man. We might turn the beats a little so you all up here can dance to and groove to it, but it’s straight dancehall.

I was looking at some old interviews that you did, one was in the Germaican Observer, and you said that hip-hop comes from reggae. Can you explain that?
It’s like coming from the old school. Remember from Super Cat, Josey Wales and all of them. If you notice Biggie Smalls and Puff Daddy they had a combination with Super Cat. Like you have, “Dolly me say, Dolly my baby.” It’s coming from back in those days, the only difference is that you all speak proper English, we talk raw Jamaican patois. It’s similar the same thing. It was slower then, now the rap game get speed up and Nelly and all of them change the flow with their voices, but back in the days when you get like U-Roy and Early B and all of them and the hip-hop community back in the days like Rakim and all of them it’s like the same thing. It’s like reggae but you have.. *boom bap boom boom boom bap* “Now once upon a time not long ago.. ” And we in Jamaica say, “Sweet, sweet Jamaica, nah lef yah. .. nah lef yah…” So it’s like basically the same thing.

Well that goes into my next question..
I wouldn’t say… When I say come from it, it’s not like hip-hop was birthed from reggae. What I was trying to get across was back in the days it was the same thing, but it was just two different pronunciations.Yeah.

Right now reggae is kinda hot, it’s picking up big here in America. What do you see as being behind that embrace?
I feel it’s the artists who play their part and the work that they put in, because Shabba Ranks, Super Cat, Shaggy and then Sean Paul everybody come doing their work and the next artist come in and picking it up, picking it up and keep on going with it. It’s like a relay, like your running a relay. Back to back, you take it, you run. So it’s from the root and the work that the first foundation artists put in. It’s not just what one artist come and do. No. It’s from the foundation coming up. The work that they set, the groundwork that they set and fighting with the dancehall.. but the fan base kinda changed now, you got a lot of kids. The kids like all type of music and they take on to the dancehall, cause I told you it’s similar to what’s going on.
If 50 Cent come and say.. “Many men, wish death upon me” and if Elephant Man say..“Bad man. A bad man,” they gonna take on to that too because it’s like we’re talking the same words but the only thing we pronounce it differently and two different cultures, that’s it.

This my opinion.. that the underground nature of reggae, like the way it’s mostly in Jamaica and other places outside of the mainstream, that’s what keeps the music pure. Some people think that bringing the music out of that to America kinda waters it down. What do you think about that?
I wouldn’t say that because in Jamaica we still have the hardcore dancehall, up here we still have the hardcore dancehall, but when we try to take it on a wider stream we’re trying to let everybody know about the music. We try make the white folks, the Spanish, the Syrians, the Puerto Ricans, the Dominicans, we trying to reach out because everybody no every music, so why everybody must not know dancehall. So you know we taking it out on a wider stream to let people know it and let people can listen and know that this is a nice music and it can be very enjoyable. You gotta get to know it and when you get to know it it’s gonna be crazy cause we talking some crazy stuff and a lot of party stuff and a lot of enjoyable stuff.

Your single “Pon De River” touches on one of the big aspects of reggae.. dancing The dancehall is a lot about the dances. With Pon De River, the dance itself, is that something you made up?
Well, the dance is coming from Jamaica, you know, the dancehall people. That dance is made up in Jamaica. Yeah, by John.. you see me? And Fire Links name it. I went to the Fire Links dance and I saw it, everybody was doing the dance.

Do you know why they call it Pon De River?
Well, it’s like in Jamaica you got river and you got bank. So it’s like your jumping into the river and your jumping on to the bank. And the way the dance goes is like.. your going into the river..*demonstrates*.. and when your coming out to the bank.. into the river.. pon de bank.. into the river .. pon de bank.

And what about the other one, Signal the Plane?
Signal the plane is the next dance where you put your two hands in the air and do it like this.. like this…that’s why we call it signal the plane. And then you do the parachute. Bring your hands down like this with your hands, like the guy pulling the parachute. Then they do the Chaplin *demonstrates*.. Yeah, it’s crazy. Everyday we build dances in Jamaica.

Where did you grow up in Jamaica?
Seaview!

Was music all around you?
Yeah, man cause at that time in Seaview Gardens Shabba Ranks lived next door to me and we had a sound named Stereo Tune. Me and my friend Cracked Skull, Jungle Rat and all of them, we were DJs, like underground. We would flip the records over to the side B and we DJ on the version (the instrumental).

I have this old record, it was recorded live in the dancehall, and the DJ introduces an 11-year-old kid who turns out is Beanie Man. When did you start first doing your thing.. at what age?
About 15.

You remember what the record was?
The first record I did was a Butterfly tune it was on the Shalom label. The record went like this.. listen (Real Audio)

Who influenced your style?
I would say my style is my style. I didn’t try to imitate nobody. I just no that I got to do what I got to do. But when we were coming up we love Shabba Ranks, we love Ninja Man, we love Super Cat, Papa San, Professor Nuts, and then Buju come in and change the game, we all love Buju.

You were a part of the Scare Dem Crew was that always the case?
Well, when we were just coming up and me and Bounty Killa and all of us hook up, we formed Scare Dem Crew. And then I leave Scare Dem Crew in 91’.. hear me.. 99’

Is that where your style developed, within the group?
Yeah, my style started developing in the group and then I leave Scare Dem Crew in 99’ and then I said, okay, I gotta take on this thing by myself. I gotta do this, because I get the chance now to show the world what I can do now. When I left people started to see the real talent.

How many albums have you recorded
When I left Scare Dem Crew I did my first album Comin 4 You,&nbsp then I did the second one.. I signed a three album deal with Greensleeves.. I did Comin’ 4 You,&nbsp the second one Log On, the third one Higher Level.

So with this album here, what is it all about?
This album here Good 2 Go&nbsp trust me, it’s very, very good to go. The aim with this album is gonna be crazy. This is one of my best works ever, it has everything the fans want, it has the party tracks, it has.. it has everything. Trust me.

How did you hook up with Lil Jon and them?
Lil Jon called me and said he wanted me to do the “Get Low"remix. So you know we hooked up and we nailed it and I told him that I want them back on my album. Yeah, and then they came through and we did a song called “Jook Gal.”

What things can people expect to hear, as far as content, from your album?
You can expect a lot of tracks that’s gonna make you smile and say, ‘Yo, this kid has a lot of talent.’ For instance “Mexican Girl,” that track I’m talking Spanish and explaining it back in raw English. And you’ve got “F*ck You Sign.” You got the tune with me and Jimmy Cozier “So Fine,” love to see the ladies moving their waistline. You got “Cock Up Your Bumper,” that’s crazy. You got “Signal De Plane,” “Bad Man,” “Jamaica,” “Fan Dem Off.” Yo, you got crazy tracks up there… Jamaica lift up your nine.. crazy tracks.

What’s the next single?
The next single is gonna be “Signal De Plane.”

Someone told me that you recorded a song - not on this album - but you recorded a song about 9-11?
Yeah, it’s called “The Bombing.” You know, when I did that song man, when the bombing happened, I was in Miami at that time. I was in Miami coming home from a Birthday party. Cause it happened on my Birthday, September 11. I was born on the 11th of September, yeah. And it happened the morning of that. I was going back home to Jamaica. So I went home and said I’m gonna make a tune about this letting them know that we send our condolences to whatever happened to the people, the fireman, the police officers and the innocent people that got caught up in it. Everybody was sending tributes and making tracks and doing their stuff. So I was like, yo, we got to do something too. so I show my appreciation by making a track and letting them know that we’re sorry for everything that happened, that we share their grief.

I know you’ve heard this a thousand times but.. How did you get the name Elephant Man?
The ladies gave me that name. *a lil laugh*

- I heard that he got the name as a kid, because of the size of his ears…. But who am I to argue? Not like I’m gonna do an inspection. -

Anything else you want to say to the people?
What I got to say is Good 2 Go album in stores, go and get it.. Shizzle.. Good 2 Go&nbsp every time and remember, love God. He’s the one who makes it happen; he’s the man who controls the world and yuh done now. Much love to the fans who buy the album. Much love to those who don’t. Love you all. Stay good and be good.

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WHUDAT.com @ December 2003