El P was born in 1975 as the son of a jazz piano player and raised as Jaime Meline in, Brooklyn, New York City, USA, this beat creator is better known as El P.
In 1993 El P put out his first piece of vinyl under the name COMPANY FLOW. What followed was a sound, perspective and philosophy destined to change independent hip hop music forever...
2 years earlier, after constant clashing with authority figures, leading to 2 high school expulsions in the same 8 months, a then 16 year old El-P found himself at a crossroads. He could either renew his efforts to fit into the scholastic system that had ejected him, or choose the uncharted territory of a career in music (his true love since age 10). He chose the latter, and after getting his GED (General Equivalency Diploma), he enlisted in musical engineering school.
There he would learn the fundamental studio skills he knew he needed, and set himself on a path that he would never turn back from. At his 18th Birthday party he first met DJ Mr Len, whom he hired to spin for the night. They struck a harmonious musical chord and Mr Len Joined up to make it a group. Shortly after they released the first Company Flow 12", "Juvenile Technics" on the short live Libra records.
The relationship between Co Flow and Libra quickly diminished, but Libra employee and aspiring artist Bigg Jus became close with the group and soon after joined. For the next two years, El-P and Jus worked by day (Tower records mail order) and recorded by night, using the money from their jobs to fund the label they created: Official Recordings. Steeped in b-boy experience and similar loves for hip hop culture and wordplay, El, Jus and Len set out to create something new.
Throwing themselves fully into their new endeavor, they came up with the groundbreaking EP Funcrusher (released in 1995), of which they sold over 30,000 units on their own. Self-produced, self-promoted and self-controlled, they began getting regular support from hip hop radio luminaries like Bobbito and Stretch Armstrong on the east coast and Sway and Tech on the west. They quickly caught the attention of several labels, including a little known NY indie named Rawkus, who was willing to give them a distribution deal on the group's own terms. Adding a gang of new tracks to the existing EP resulted in the now classic and legendary album Funcrusher Plus, which won acclaim the world over and positioned El-P as a rising indie star.
The entry of Company Flow into the indie hip hop world started a movement and defined an attitude and approach toward the music that changed the climate within the scene forever. The release of this album signified a new era in hip hop, and soon after, the likes of Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Hi and Mighty, Pharoahe Monche, and others followed suit, leading to the emergence of Rawkus as a major player in the industry. Touring the world to support the album and the single/video (End to End Burners) allowed El-P to take his music directly to his fans, who responded with overwhelming love for him and his compatriots.
Numerous appearances on other artists records have added to his considerable and growing profile, including Del the Funkee Homosapien (Heiro Imperium), The Handsome Boy Modeling School (Tommy Boy), the Quannum Spectrum album, DJ Krush's Zen (Sony), Alec Empire (DHR), Techno Animal's Brotherhood of the Bomb (Matador), not to mention being sampled by group's like Primal Scream. The Beastie Boys, Zach de la Rocha, RZA, Chuck D, Radiohead, Gangstarr, Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, Bjork, Eminem, Roni Size, My Bloody Valentine, DJ Krush, have all been counted as fans, not to mention legions of fans worldwide who regard El-P as one of the few artists out there holding down the vanguard of independent hip hop.
In addition, having toured with the Beastie Boys as well as performing at the 2000 presidential rally for candidate Ralph Nader at Madison Square Garden (also feat. Eddie Vedder, Ani DiFranco, Ben Harper), have put his name, face and most importantly, his music out there in ways most independent or underground artists can only dream of.
After 2 years of pushing the album and touring, group member Bigg Jus decided to strike out on his own. El-P and Mr. Len followed up their debut with the brilliant (though poorly promoted) instrumental album Little Johnny From the Hospital (Rawkus). Flexing the production skills that had set so many ears on fire, El-P (and Mr. Len) continued the trend-setting, cutting-edge work that further bolstered their rep as innovators. Fast forward to 2000.
The relationship with Rawkus had run it's course, with the label striving hard to enter the mainstream and the group striving hard to remain true to themselves. The time off and frustration of battling the label over music and the approach to music led to the group announcing their departure from Rawkus. El-P and Mr. Len shortly after amicably decided it was time to go their individual ways as well. El-P took the opportunity to form a new label, Definitive Jux, that was soon to pick up where Company Flow left off, and would again redefine the spirit and purpose of independent hip hop music, receiving accolades worldwide and garnering impressive record sales from it's first release.
Debuting in late 2000, Definitive Jux (originally called Def Jux but our friend's at Def Jam, threatened by the Def Jux's sudden multi-platinum success, ordered a cease and desist last fall!) quickly made an impact on the world around it. Starting with the release of the EP Def Jux Presents: Company Flow and the Enters the Collosus EP from Boston's brightest star, Mr. Lif, El-P and his new label came strong out of the gates.
Following up in 2001 with two of the most celebrated independent hip hop albums of the last several years, Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein and Aesop Rock's Labor Days, Def Jux solidified itself as the new lodestar of indie hip hop. 2002 has seen the release of Aesop's Daylight mini-LP and the DJXP2, the 2nd volume in the series featuring the entire Definitive Jux artist roster.
Now, with the release of El-P's debut solo album, Fantastic Damage, in May of this year, hip hop is about to get a shot in the arm, head and heart. Delivering on all the promise this artist has shown over the past 7 years, it is destined to be one of the most talked about, listened to and championed independent hip hop records in recent memory. Staggeringly inventive, intelligent, emotional, funny and still hardcore, it is engaging in a way we've yet to see from him (yes ladies, you can even dance to it). Bound to find its way all over the globe and into the hearts and minds of fans (and soon to be fans) everywhere, Fantastic Damage signifies the next level in a progression towards the realization of one young man's dreams.
This year, El-P will be co-producing the solo album of ex-Rage Against the Machine front man Zack de la Rocha, co-producing an album with Dan the Automator (Gorillaz, Dr. Octagon, Handsome Boy), scoring the new movie "Bomb The System", producing a free jazz album with William Parker, Matthew Shipp, Daniel Carter and others, remixing the single from the new album of indie Brit Rock darlings, Cornershop, the new single for alt-hip hop star Beans of Anti Pop Consortium (Warp), a Charlie Parker remix (Verve) and amongst various other projects. El-P will be touring the world throughout 2003.
