Hi,
My name is El, I'm a Liberian born, Minneapolis based Hip-Hop artist that goes by the name of EL.i.BE. I was recently introduced to Steemit through a friend of mine named @Kommienezuspadt (Lars, I finally posted lol). He txt me and was like "El, I gotta talk to you about something that improve your music" and naturally I was like "Hell Yeah" anything that helps me become a better artist, songwriter ect. I’m always interested in. So I meet up with him and he goes to this site and explains the ins and outs of Steemit. Of course, I was a little skeptical at the fact that there's actually a way to get paid for just posting things that you already do everyday? No way! But the more he explained it the more it made sense so here I am.
About Me:
I came to America back in '90 a couple years before Liberia the civil war broke out. Growing-up my parents never really talked about life back home they seemed more focused on creating a new life in America and supporting family members that had been displaced. As time went on they would tell me about the horrors of the war and tell me stories about how things used to be back home. These stories and encounters have inspired me to learn as many skills and talents as I possibly can to return back to Liberia and contribute to the improvement of my country. I’ve always had a passion for music when I was younger I played the piano for 5 years and the cello for 7. One of my close friends introduced me to hip-hop by playing Krazyie Bone’s “Thug Mentality ‘99” project. I thought it was pretty cool so I started looking into other artists.
Hip-Hop:
Early on in my childhood my parents were against Hip-Hop. They saw it as "devil music" and something that they wanted no part in and didn’t want it around the house. So I had to hide my CDs and would only listen to them with the neighborhood kids or on the bus on the way to school. The artists that really inspired me to pick up the pen were Busta Rhymes, Dungeon Family & Outkast. I feel like their style of music spoke to me above most of the 90’s Hip-Hop that was out at the time. The first group I ever started was called D-Mine we specialized in “party rap” you could compare us to “LMFAO” or “The Cool Kids” some of the notable shows were able to perform at was our Highschool Pepfest, The B96 Pre-Soundset Show & open up for PROF in North Dakota. Like most groups we had a good run but after a while we wouldn’t see eye-to-eye on the music so we went our separate ways. Before I ended up as solo artist I was a part of two other groups, The Escape Artists & Cherry Sky.
Grant & Liberation:
In 2016 I was awarded the Minnesota Artist Initiative Grant. This grant gives artists the funds needed to invest in their craft and elevate their talents to the next level. In my plans for the funds I wanted to create a full-length album called “Liberation and a 4-city Minnesota tour called “The Liberation Tour” with a live band to accompany me on each stop. The “Liberation Tour” stopped in Mankato, St. Cloud, Minneapolis and Duluth while being on the road I received a lot of love and respect from venue owners, fans and other musicians that were on the bill. When making the album “Liberation” I wanted to people a glimpse into growing up as a refugee in Minnesota. Showing folks the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in-between. For Example, the first song on the album, “Come On” ft Bryan Doe & Graydon Francis highlights the injustices that people of color face on an everyday basis. I wanted to create a to encourage everyone, not just people of color to hold your head up high and keep pushing through. I ended up shooting a video for it with my friends from M&A Productions. We filmed the entire thing in 4 hours and keep in mind it was 40 degrees out while we did it lol. I hope you enjoy the music and the video as much as we did making it.
I’m looking forward to posting more on Steemit!