ELIJAH BLAKE - Plantains to Platinum

Hey, guys, welcome to another episode of Eating While Broke. I'm your host, Coley Witt, and today we have singer songwriter. Grammy winning singer songwriter Elijah Blake is in the building. How are you.

I'm feeling good. Yeah, you're feeling.

Comfortable in the kitchen to burn it down? Yeah, I'm scared. I was excited about it. I was excited about the plantains, but I'm a little nervous. All right, why don't you go ahead and tell me what you're gonna have us eating today?

I am making. I'm making Haitian plantains today. Haitian just because in my preference, in my opinion, that's the best plantain. It's close between the Dominican plantains and has, but I think the Haitian plantains are the best.

I want to see the difference because I know being have jamake it. I don't want you to start asking me questions about being Jamaican. But they usually just fry the plantains, so there's a difference.

You guys, see what the Haitian plantains is. There's a little more that goes into There's like a juice marinaire that's made that you dip it and fry dip it than fried. So the flavor that it has in.

Size, Okay, yeah, go ahead, oil the pot.

So the ingredients ingredients you feel me? So we got Lemons, we got Donalds, we got grape seed oil because I just think this is a healthy alternative.

I've been trying to Oh that's why I thought that was special.

No, I went I did an alkaline diet. I've been into like what doctor Sabe has been preaching and stuff like that. So grape seed oil is actually like a super good alternative vegetable oil.

And olive oil is better than olive oil too.

I think it is. Yeah, it's really clean for you. If you've ever been to a Spanish market, chick, you feel me? This where all the flavor is. I put this in my.

Eggs and everything your eggs.

Yeah, no, I'm telling you it's for another time. Take a little bit and put it in your season for the batter for the eggs, for.

The batter for the eggs. What do you mean better for the eggs?

Dominican perto Rican friends?

No? Is that why you thought I was Puerto Rican?

Yeah?

Or just because I look like a fake Puerto Rican not a fake from New York.

They're like your Puerto Rican. Yeah I heard it. Yeah, but yeah, that's my grandmother used to just put a little bit.

Oh they whip it for like you when they're making scrambled eggs, things in it.

But this is one of the secret ingredients.

I'm gonna check it out. I'm gonna take it out solely based on how well you cook these plantains today. So go for it. Get in the kitchen. What are we doing with oil in the pot?

Oil the pot. Get this thing going real quick.

While you're oiling the pot. I'm gonna just go ahead and get into it.

Okay, let's do this.

Is long before being a Grammy winning songwriter and singer, long before the writing for Justin Bieber, Keisha Cole Usher writing hits obviously, right long before it all, long before it. So take me back to what was going on during this era of your life.

So I came to you. I wasn't born in you. People don't know that. So I came to the United States when I was like five or six years old, and I didn't really It took me a while. Even to this day, I don't I'm not excited about burgers and a lot of American cuisine. I'm just now coming around to it. But this is all I knew. My mother, my grandmother, my family all made Listen, it just was an easy.

And you're coming from Dominican Republican, yeah.

And it just was an easy grabbing and go. So for me, I'm trying to pay attention. Am I doing it right? You don't get to call Jennifer okay, okay, okay, okay.

Jennifer is doing it wrong. That's why she knew.

To wash it too. Yeah, Jenna's Dominican.

Oh, she's dominic Yeah, so she understands.

She understands. But yeah, this is one of my favorite things. And it just reminds me of home. Honestly, I always eat things that remind me of home. Because then when I got signed, I moved to Atlanta in ninth grade. And again, you.

Guys signed in the ninth grade.

Damn from my space. Wow, I was putting up original music yep from my space, and I was putting up original music on YouTube as well. So yeah, I would really say actually YouTube, because I was my Space had went down, and then Priscilla Renee myself, Dondrea. I don't know if you remember Dondrea. She was like killing it on YouTube around that time when money Long before Money Long was money Long, and we knew her as Priscilla Renee.

I love how you said this what it was before you knew you could write song?

Yeah, I didn't know. I just wanted to.

I didn't know I had that head and saling this came out.

I just was I just got tired of being broke one day and I couldn't understand why songwriters have the most money. Like the songwriters was pulling up in the cars. The producers had better cars than the artist.

So I'm just like and that the producers had better cards than that.

Yeah, Sean Garrett pulled up and I saw what Johntay Austin was driving, and I saw what like Brian Michael Cox had and I was like, okay, And meanwhile, I'm so hungry, I'm shaking in the studio.

There was a point in time work. I was just having a regular conversation. I hadn't eaten in a couple of days. I didn't want to call my mom and tell her, like, I'm not eating because as a Caribe woman, she would be like, why are they not feeding you? And it's not necessarily that they weren't feeding me. I just think that.

She would have been definitely concerned. She probably would have flown out there.

She would have said, come back and go to college, or finish high school and go to college, because she wasn't really In Caribbean households, you either become a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or you're a failure. Like they don't want to hear that, none of that.

Can I cut that right?

I think so?

I don't think so.

But go ahead.

We're gonna see.

I just it's just to squeeze it.

Yeah, you cut it wrong.

House was good. The other way.

You got more lemons you could try.

We just come to squeeze it though.

Okay, don't see how you do it.

Yo.

I can't wait for your family. I say, I'm gonna send them the here. I'm gonna send them the video.

The question is myself is gonna be.

Five Yeah, that's the real question. Okay, is he gonna make them proud?

Yeah, I'm gonna make them proud.

So so you're in high school basically, yeah, and you start to discover Is that when you discover that songwriters and producers make more money? Or is this right before college?

You're saying, No, I'm just now figuring just from me surviving, I'm too proud for I didn't want to ask anybody for money. I didn't I think the day everybody just was moving and I was the youngest one in the crew. So one day I remember speaking and Trey was like, are you a nee me? And I'm like, I don't think so why He's like, you're shaking And I didn't know I was just I had been hungry for so many days. I didn't know I was, but so many days.

Yeah, I was just oh my goodness.

Yeah, because I was thugging it out, like I was really just trying to get it. And again, there weren't any writers that were coming to write for me because Chef Tone was pulling up. He was writing for Trade. Johnsy Austin was writing for Trading, and this little kid in the corner that everybodys trying to get him a trade album, you know what I mean. And my Karen there's all there's this kid in the house that my Karen thinks might be a star. But ain't the check don't reflect,

So you talk out.

I turned them all they down.

You talked out, like those are gunshots, bro, I told you, don't let the water hit you know what the lemon?

Hell No, I'm a.

Mask, and so tell you know, I like, you've never been in the kitchen. You're good. I think you're safe. So go back to your story because you a good storyteller. Like they said where was a He was talking about how they discovered you a good storytelling. You in denial.

Yeah, I'm in denial, and i just want people to give me songs. So I'm writing these songs and again once one day, write me a song, and I'm like, right now, it's yeah, right now. And he puts a beat on sk as another producer that's on songbook as well, And the first thing I hear is, I think it's time we take a trip to the band girl. Yo. Body's talking and I'm loving what she says. Don't you be your friend to let me little faint? You welcome

This point broken, and you're discovering your anemic too, right.

Yeah, broke anemic, just suffering. And I'm teaching dance classes at this like White Dance studio. He's really off kids, and I'm teaching for thirty dollars an hour because I got a little one two stort to perform our high school and stuff like that, barely making it by. So when Troy Retch helps me register the song, I didn't understand the concept of a songwriter who goes and keeps track of every time a song plays on the radio around the world, collects two cents here, twenty cents here,

So when he asked you for the b and my information, were you like, huh yeah?

But I called my dad. My dad already had one set up for me.

Oh yeah, my bad. I love that all right, go on.

He's super music, literally, like it's from the Philly scene. Once I registered that, I went from being pissed broke to bringing in six bands like a month or every quarter. And I can't remember.

Exactly, My goodness, that's how long from that call to you receiving the money? Was it like six months? A year?

Yeah, so they pay out quarterly, so I think from that call it felt pretty fast. Me. I would say about maybe two three months. I was in a penhouse. Oh, because I've suffered long enough.

So you called your dad and your dad was like, son, already taken care of.

Yeah. He gave me the information because my dad was also helping me release music when I was in high school.

Oh, I love your parents, Pops.

Everything I got he taught me. He really taught me how to format structure. So he was trying to teach me about where we're at now, told me where music was going to go, streaming wise, and my dad predicted all that because he used to work for Apple Corporate and stuff like that. And I think, just me being stubborn, I wanted the record deal. I wanted to feel established in that way, and his heart was so beautiful that he let me do that even though he knew better.

This is yeah, but now you're saying that. He also taught you these other elements of songwriting indirectly though, right, So by the time you're in the studio, he baked something into you. Right.

I had that ability because of him. I just didn't want to use it. Yeah. But when I was doing it just off of necessity putting original songs on YouTube, my pops was like, format it this way, structure this way. Yeah, and he really taught me how to like hone in my runs. He's a really great piano player, an incredible musicians. So by the time I got things started taking off from me. People thought I had superpowers because my dad

I love that.

Yeah. So I go from being a starving artist and then that's them that ended up breaking tray and taking trade to the next level. So when Ready blew up, everybody's like, there's a fifteen year old that rot and Drew Love became instantly the fan favorite Yeah album, and they were playing on the radio in Atlanta. So I think that's how word got to Usher, and then I went from that to working with Usher, Mary J. Blige and Beyonce Keisha Cole all in six.

Months after that, within six months. Yeah, how old are you at the time? You're like fifteen?

You said, yeah, so I'm fifteen, So let's just say, yeah, I'm like sixteen by the time everything starts to really take off when the project releases and people start hearing, and all I needed was a shot.

Now with that shot, how does a fifteen or sixteen year old know how to manage money?

My business manager, So yeah, the business manager I had when I when everything took off for me as the same business manager I have now and we're like family. So he was really teaching me. He was like, you're not going to become an etue Hollywood story remember those. Yeah, he kept saying that he's not going to be that on my watch, and till this day he's got my back.

Okay, So he helped you manage And then what are your parents saying? Was your dad like I told you so soon?

My dad was very protective of me coming into it, just because he knew how they steal and the music industry teaches us and they just put us through things, and he was really protective. But then once I got signed to death Jam, that's when he was just like okay, like I'm not going to be that father. That's like in the way, like yeah, And to this day I

But why do you say that, Because I.

Really got screwed over in that deal. I really got screwed over in that deal. And I'm not blaming death Jam. I just think that a lot of promises were made and me being so naive, I believed everything so much so that I invested a lot of my own money that I thought I was gonna get back, and I

Person, smile heading on you, thank you.

But I literally was like, are you sound crazy? I'm never gonna stop smiling and throughout life. And he told me this, He's like, when I signed Chris Brown, these guess I knew the star he was gonna be. But he walked in and he had a smile that lit up the room, and he was like, I don't want to watch that same smile fade in you. Wow throughout the years, the way that the music industry can just beat on you and just take everything, take it in

Why do you say it was a nightmare the whole time though.

Just because the more you love it, the more it takes from you. And I think as artists, right, especially singers R and B artists, when they're saying the genre is dying, it's not dying, but you're definitely fighting an uphill battle because you watch rappers get on stage, right and they get they make significantly more than the let's say, like a new rapper versus a new singer would make

The real singers yeah, yeah, you know what I mean.

You're expected to put on a show. Yeah, you're protecting your instrument, so there's a lot of it you're putting into it for minimal return.

Yeah.

The return is your love for the art, your love for the craft. So it's one of them things.

Man, How old were you when you signed the deaf Jam deal?

When I signed the deaf Jam I believe I was nineteen.

Okay, and that's when he started releasing the reins. Yeah, was there any other would you say, looking back, lessons that you wish you could have not had learned head on?

It was all beautiful. I definitely felt like after I left def Jam, I thought it was going to be easier getting off that deal just because shit, they were dropping everybody. So I was like, I didn't sell deeper numbers, like just drop me. But it wasn't that easy.

They didn't get any of yourublishing.

No, I was already signed to Sony okay.

So they didn't So there's no way for them to get your publishing. Yeah, so it does make it easier for them to possibly drop you. And that's what you wanted.

I wanted to get dropped, but it wasn't that easy. There was like lawyers and conversations and how do I leave, which songs can I take with me? Which it was this long process. I remember even in the middle, I just wanted to stay creative as an artist, that's how we live. And I remember putting something up on a SoundCloud this is fun just for fun covers or whatever, and with intense the upload didn't even happen. I got

Even when you upload you saw that. Yeah, that's scary.

Yeah it was. It was a really And I got this tattoo it says ilegitimate non carbo rundom, which it says what illegitimate non carbo rundum, which is Latin for fuck the system, because the system fucked me. Yeah, can I curse on here? All right? But that's how I felt. That was the one time and I've never understood being Caribbean there like you're not allowed to there's a lot of traditional things that you're not allowed to feel as a man. And I remember growing up, I'd never understood

Yeah, that's a scary reality. Did you end up talking? Are you only cooking those two little I want to start you smashine. What are you doing?

So?

I'm just like, do you need a real fork? I feel like I don't know if that's and smashed with it?

You know, I can use this.

Actually, I'm watching you. I'm trying to learn what you're doing. I feel like, just so for all the listeners out there, he's got planting cut in half. I thought he was gonna do thin slices like the drinking stuff. Go for it, Elijah, you are very entertaining. I don't know. Jennifer, come up in here and cook.

I did do it wrong.

Actually, you slice it right?

Yeah, I did do it wrong.

Is the slicing? Is it the slicing?

I did do it I supposed to do this.

Oh you hear her in the back. There you go. You're supposed to slice it? Yeah, I guys, I wish you could watch this. Go to YouTube whatever you got to watch this. No, I meant slice it the long way.

Is that how you guys do it? This? Yeah? Way? Yeah?

Okay, yeah, Okay.

I gotta take these ends because these ain't no good.

The ends aren't good because.

We're trying to get it shape.

Okay, yeah, now make more because I'm gonna want more than three bites.

If it's good.

Did you call your dad when you were at these moments of like despair?

No, I just got to the point where I can call my dad for again.

As I was going to say, as a Caribbean man.

There's a lot of traits that I am like just now learning to undo.

And you didn't like that one.

But I think I'm coming up with something right now.

Okay, okay, I'm I'm trust now.

My creative mind is moving.

By the way, that was like a measuring cup. The bowl was supposed to be that. But I don't know if you needed the bowl.

No, we don't need it. I'm gonna be Elijah's.

I'm watching it learning, I'm gonna enjoy every bit of this. So you so the whole time you can't call him? Can you call your mom?

No? I used to really just go through things on my own, okay, which is very unhealthy, but I was actually did okay with it?

Is it because you like song wrote too? Did that help?

Yeah? That was like my therapy. So that's the only place I feel safe to really tell people or invite people in what I'm going through. I've just always been taught. And my mom was like that, like she just got shit done, didn't she Never I've never heard her complain. I've never She's literally like the closest thing I've seen to Superwoman. Four kids, three jobs, and we never felt a lot of.

Kids and three jobs. What'd your dad do for work? So were they together?

So here's the thing. So when I speak about my dad, I don't like using step father or so I'm not speaking about my biological father who taught me how to sing and do music. Me and my biological father are on the best term, is.

That the biological that did the be on my account?

No, yeah, me and me and my biological havn't father, haven't really been close since like elementary school for a multi not because he didn't try. I will always say he wasn't one of the fathers that like didn't try to be in my life. I maybe didn't try hard enough, but he tried. But once I feel like my father, who God gave to me, I never had to ask him to be a father. He was always that in

You want to know something that's facts.

You feel me damn, And it's just like, how dare you feel like demand something that you haven't really earned.

You're both fathers to Haitian No.

So my my father who has been really the focal point of my life. He's trinidaddy in so both Caribbeans, but two different sides. In Haitian culture, I will say we can be toxic, and there's just in it. We're so traditional that it can be toxic. And now I'm not saying in a harmful way, I'm just saying that I think a lot of my habits from not allowing myself to feel, not being this open with my emotions. Not that's a very common thing in Haitian culture. Just

With your mom working all these jobs, with her remarrying, I would assume she remarried.

No, she didn't. Actually, I feel like God only brought him together for what he was going to mean to her kids. I don't think that.

They really but they're not together anymore.

But you think they were ever meant to be together? Oh yeah, if that makes any sense.

So he was in your guy's lives for how long?

Then he's still in our life. He came in and he never left our life. We called him father and we met that check on him. I tell him happy Birthday, like I talked to him every He's my father.

I love that, but they split? Yeah, how long ago did they split?

They haven't spoken since since right before my do happen? So since I wouldn't even go as far as to be like that, they were like ever, like really there was a moment where I was like, Okay, this could be something, but literally we got along better with him.

I guess we're I'm confused. I've met people that had like great stepfathers and then like when the parents split, they feel like they have to choose to stay by their mind.

I've always felt that way, but not it was just it was a completely.

Did you guys say something to like, hey, she.

Loves him the same way too, but you just said that you know what I'm saying. She loves him for us, She literally like loves our relationship. Yeah, she's not like that at all, like with him. It's because again it's not I think growing up you only believe that relationships ending like animosity. Yeah, but some it's just I'm not feeling you like that, you know what I mean. But it's this game, like how could she be mad at him? Everything I've become because of what this man.

Taught me, her children, and what is it unconditionally.

That's all she's ever wanted for us. We are her world. And I literally think that so much load was lifted off of her because she was doing everything on her own and she never had to ask. I'm telling you, like my father, he doesn't. He's not somebody you had

Is he like doing more of the checking into type all.

The time, all the time. He watches over he handles all my Spotify accounts, he handles all my music accounts and everything like that. He watches my social numbers and be like, son, you should post more. Yeah, like he really it's a deeper kind of love, And for me, that is who I feel God put on this earth to train me up to be a that is a father.

Yeah.

Yeah, there's a difference between I believe a biological dad and a father figure.

Yeah yeah.

And to me, blood couldn't make him more of my father.

Yeah.

I've never really spoken about it like at length like this.

So it's beautiful. I've never even seen it at length. But your mom was still hustling multiple jobs while raising you said, three four kids, four kids.

Yeah, and I've never felt her be absent. So weird. And I'm like, I'll hear people talk about they have three jobs and they came in as a.

Single Oh yeah, no, trust me. I have a neighbor who grew up with a single parent, a single mom, and she said that she never saw her mom. So her goal was like, yeah, I'm a single parent, but my kids are gonna see me.

Yeah.

You know what I'm saying, I'm gonna make it. I'm gonna make it work somehow. But you're saying your mom didn't miss it be even with all those jobs, because she's a truth. You said she's Dominican, Dominican true. I don't say Jamaican's we always got a hundred jobs.

Yeah, what I'm saying, it's culture. Yeah, and she never complained, And I feel so bad for her because I'm just like, dang, like, I never heard her complain. So maybe that's probably contributed to why I don't ask for help. Yeah, because I've watched this woman never ask for help, have all these jobs and she's never.

And you never seen her cry or nothing.

Never. If I see my mom cry, my head might explode because I just can't comprehend. My heart would break. I've never seen her cry.

Yeah. Do you think that's a good thing? Though? Do you look at women like differently because she's held this bar of like strength.

I have to say yeah, I have to say yeah. I just think that there's a new there's a new normal that's not normal for me because of I was raised very traditional. Again, it took my mom a long time to assimilate. She's still simulating to American culture. So now when I see like women be like, oh, is this nigga gonna pay for my hair? Is gonna pay for my nails? Done? Is this nigga gonna pay? I'm not knocking it. I'm just not from I just can't come because even if a man was to try to

I was talking more of the like the I feel like the women not hating on women both. If you came across a woman that was more like easily frustrated, complaining a lot, and all of that, do you feel like it would throw you a little bit? No, because you'd be like, man, my mom did this and she didn't even blink.

Yeah, but I also understand at the same time, like I that doesn't bother me as much, just because I have friends that are.

Those look official. I'm getting those look official.

I'm very proud.

I am personally.

Of you right now and that was good too.

Smell gup, but they look at you're almost burning them. Yeah, but you want to know something, I'm very proud of you. I know this sounds crazy, but like I was concerned, especially when that I know.

You was because I saw you looking like when.

It popped and you ran. I was like, oh, yeah.

But this is actually like how I like mine a little well done.

When you're writing songs for like Justin Bieber and Beyonce and all these guys, what's the thought process of like where you came from to where you are now? Did you ever have an aha moment?

Yeah with my mom because again, because she made all these sacrifices, there was a lot of pressure to, like I said, become a doctor, lawyer or or engineer or I failed, and there.

Was to be something.

Yeah. There was one time she was like, are you going to come back and just go to college because I don't want the church laughing at me, like she's really big in the church like that. And she was like, I'm sure she went to church and was like they're like where's Elijah? Or my nickname was Red, so there's like where's Red and she's, oh, he's doing music. And I'm sure there were like snickers. But when I paid her mortgage.

Off, y'all, I was gonna say, but you're making a lot of money and you said at that nineteen did you ever send money back? Hey, surprise.

First thing I did was pay off her mortgage at.

The young teenage. At seventeen, I paid off her mortgage and she still asked, though, if you went to college.

No, That's when she stopped asking no. So the like I was saying, right when I went to Atlanta, and things were starting to happen. It was like, are you going to come back? Come on, I'm like this music stuff like that, it's not a real thing. Come back, go to college and do it the right way. But when I paid her mortgage and she was like, oh wait a minute now, like he said yeah, So she couldn't wait to go to her friends and be like, my son like paid off my mortgage.

Yeah, he sings yeah. So then when you do songs for Beyonce and Justin Bieber, how is her response?

Then she can't believe it. But what really blew her mind was there was I did my first headlining tour two years ago. It was just by myself in an opening acts, and my sisters surprised her and flew her to Atlanta. So imagine a woman from the Caribbean Islands, where there's.

Wait, she's currently where she currently.

Lives in Florida, but her whole adult majority of her adult life was in the Caribbean. So coming where there's power on one side of the island and power on the other side of the island, half today and coming to Atlanta, getting flown to Atlanta, flew out and pulling up to a venue and seeing your son's name sold out concert, seeing your son's name in and seeing hundreds of people singing law to his songs. So when she got backstage, I still get emotional to telling. So she's like,

But you monitor the content knowing that she she's going to see it possible.

Not no more. My mama knows I'm crazy. I was like a problem child growing up.

I like that.

Yeah, she knows I'm crazy. But and it looks like and I squish it in enough time, you caush it. Yeah, that's when it comes what it's supposed to.

And then you're gonna put the sauces and on.

I should make some more.

The only thing that I'm sad about, Elijah is that your time is so tight.

What time is it now?

I'm watching it. We got like probably fifteen more minutes. Now, we got time, not to capture the whole rest. I still want to talk about the deluxe album, Elijah, Yeah, I still want to. I guess since we're so clite, like tight on time, we can jump to it. But I just I want to know. How did it make you feel to hear your mom say that to you?

Though? That was when it was real for me. I think that I understood why she said that, because this is beyond her wildest dream, like your son are like overcoming the odds and making music for the world, and you at one point not even knowing if you'd be able to see the world. Just insane for her, But that motivated, that put a deeper firing, like now, none of that shit like that. I thought, mint stuff, don't need nothing, and I got her arranged over after that.

That's cute. You does your siblings? Do you get like love from your siblings or do you ever get I don't know if you ever even would ever admit to this, but I know what it's like. To have siblings, but is it all love or is there jealousy or is there no me and my sisters are really oh you're the only boy.

No, my little brother. He's like way younger than us. But so I think I used to worry about him just because he was so far like down in age from us that I felt like he was trying to find him. Since struggling with that and also feeling like we he found space where he belonged in our crew, just because how big is the age? Can you like at least ten years?

Oh, that's a big age forever he will be your baby brother exactly. It's like he could be forty and you'd be like, that's the baby brother.

But we've connected on a level that I never could have understood. He's so far, like more mature than I was, And I'm just I'm so proud of like the man he's becoming, and our friendship there is really becoming a friendship and not a brotherhood. But I used to make a mental note of my head, I gotta work on that. I gotta work on nurturing my relationship with him and overcoming that age guy. Ye, And so now we're really close to me and my sisters like watch the same shows.

Right.

Yeah, So when I see siblings don't get along, that's another thing I don't understand because my mother and her siblings weren't always on the best terms. So she was very adamant on y'all are all each other half.

I feel like that's a Caribbean type mentality. But I do see what you're saying, because my mom and her siblings are the same way, don't really mess with each other. She grew into us like the year all you guys have you better not fighting public. Don't let nobody come between y'all. You put a lot of soul.

You gotta do it.

You feel me.

Excited, And I love that you made sure to make that come around with your brother too, because I also understand like that little age separation where you're not close for a little bit and then boom they turned into adults and all of a sudden, you have relatabilities.

Yeah exactly, but he was my fan first. It took my sisters a while if they appreciated it. I didn't know to, but I did used to feel away because I'm just like Damn. I'm like supporting them and putting them, helping putting them through college. And there was a point where I was like, damn with y'all even know, because the industry was whooping my ass and I'm just like, damn, but y'all even know, like y'all brother is actually like in the studio with Beyonce or with Usher and stuff

You go on whose side though it can't you can't say it was respectfully. I don't think you could say it's ego on your side because everybody who has a siblings will be like, yo, are you gonna acknowledge it?

Yeah? Yeah, you know what I mean. And it was like and a lot of times when they would tell me it was I was going through a lot alone. Yeah, And I think I was expecting, because of the relationship we had as kids, them to be but I think they just were going through their own They were in college, you know what I mean, and they were trying to

Did they Did you ever get a chance to express that kind of window to.

Them or they I was feeling it. I never expressed it, but which I appreciate because now I know how they view me as authentic because they just celebrate me in that way and they're super supportive because again I was going through things with death, cham going through things with my publishing company, going through things with artists still in my publishing stealing my money, but then also like showing

Do you now have mentors in the industry?

Yeah, I definitely Like Keisha is like a huge mentor.

I love her.

We talked all the time. She just announced her tour, so you should we love. Yeah, she's somebody who checks on me, like a guardian angel. That's like my sister. But Twain right there checks on me. She's like, how's your heart through relationships? And she's had to come and get me, like in the middle of a fist fight.

She's fist fight.

Yeah, I'm from Florida.

You should ever be in a fist fight from Florida.

It gets that way. Okay, we pull up, pull.

Up a seat, let's eat. He did it? What is the song? Do we have to any more saut stepping or anything?

It should be? It should be good.

Eat here? What did you do with this work? He was doing something?

Here we go, I'll let you taste it.

No, we're gonna do it together. It's gonna be good. This is just a version.

Just do it.

You're gonna tell everybody how you forgot to I.

Did forget Okay, So I ended up making a Jamaican version on accident. This is not the Haitian version because I was so into the story I forgot to put the boo yard in that.

But that would have been so it would have been just so you guys know it. But Jennifer said it would have been a paste because we just made like you made a soup.

Yeah, it would have been a little thicker and the flavor would have been in there. But this is not bad because Jamaica's killing chairs.

Okay, here we go. I don't know this, mom, does it taste Haitian? No, want to try your version? But this is good though, it's perfect.

All. Oh wow, there's a really good I'm proud of me.

I'm proud of you too. You should have made all of them so you'd have a snack on the way to the plane.

Oh that's all good, is perfect?

Absolutely one more. I'm Jamaican.

There, that's what Jamaican cowing up.

Oh this one could be fried Mar. I'm taking all the good ones, okay, Elijah, Yeah, let's get to this deluxe album. Tell us all about it.

The Deluxe for me is my first time really getting to be the artist I've always wanted to be. There's so much experimentation happening with electronic elements, live musicianships, and.

I just didn't want you to spend the block.

Yeah, live musicianship that's happening on there, and it's I get to be the artist. And I got a song with Kim Barrell, who I've studied. You couldn't tell me, like in a million years, I had to be in the same room as Kim Borell. And I'm in a great space. I'm independent with the team that I've always dreamed of. I feel like I call them my avengers and collected them and they've collected me throughout the way. Like Jen who's on my management team. We've been rocking

I love that you keep everyone in your camp around forever. Oh yeah, that's a good sign of integrity to really.

Yeah my opinion, Yeah, I would think so. And then my my manager, he was the president of Deaf Jam when I was there. He was the person who's really him and no idea, Peter thea and yeah, that's the way. And r I p to my also my co manager hoodie that just passed.

Yeah, I heard about that.

Yeah, he managed myself Tone stiff An and he. I wish he would have been able to see what the deluxe. He was one of the people that put everything in place with the label that I'm at now. I would say the partner.

You dedicated a song to him though, Yeah, Well.

Something happens when I hear does something happened when I hear your name, And that's with me made in Tone who he was really fighting every day, fight for us on just he would show it to my Good Day New York performance and I'm just like, did you just flying from Australia He's yeah, I'm like leaving to go to Jersey per Tone right after this and just he really gave his heart and his soul to this project. And I think he'd be proud. I think he'd be very proud.

Yeah, and he could obviously feel all the love.

Yeah. We're Dene Malloy, who's been my reference and to be and my study. He's who signed me A, B and I and he's not my A. And R Shy Riddick, who was an intern that songbook when I had moved to Atlanta and he was interning there. He's on my team as well. So yeah, this Deluxe means more than just music and more than just songs. I think people are getting the Elijah that I felt a little too restricted to be allowed to become at the major side of the major label system.

So your deal right now, is it like one hundred percent freedom freedom, one hundred percent yes, And it's not independent though it is independent.

It's with my label and Monarch is the partner, so they provide. Yeah, they're a distribution company, so they just make sure that we get on Spotify, Apple Music. Actually, what I really like about them is they provide other services to like we get a product manager internally and stuff like that. They just keep everything. They help facilitate certain services that I would have liked at a major label situation without selling myself.

Yeah, I like that too. And then earlier back, not trying to circle back, but you had mentioned like stealing, like someone stole stole music from you. Can you talk me through how that happened?

So what happens is those.

Plans are good. Trust me. I don't want to eat it because I have to ask questions and I'm watching the clock. So you make this.

Plane somehow along the way. It's crazy. When I signed a deaf jam, the whole question, the only bad thing that I kept hearing over and over was like, is he a songwriter or is he an artist? I'm like, what, Like Prince was a singer songwriter, Lauren's singer songwriter. But that was a real thing that they were trying to find out. I'm like, they're one and the same.

Yeah, but why can't you be both?

Though?

Yeah, but now you're great at it.

But now everybody wants to be a songwriter. And you have these artists who don't write, and but they want publishing on a song because they realize, like when touring is done, when everything is done, and they want to still live these extravagant lifestyle. Publishing is what you have in the days where your bones don't work the way today, certain you can pass down to your kids. It's like equity, it's like real estate.

I heard a lot of the major artists not dropping names, but like people like a Beyonce. I don't want nobody coming from me for that. But I heard that they automatically if you write songs for them, they automatically get a part of the deal is that they have to get a writer's credit on it.

I've heard that, mean I've not heard that. I've experienced it, not from Beyonce in particular, but there has been certain artists that are my heroes and for me, I don't mind if it's not. But sometimes it gets a little to the point where it's just like being greedy if you didn't write a single word on the song. At least with Beyonce. But I've experienced what I've told us. She's she is. There is musicianship going into it, so she's going to rearrange and change the songs, and she's

That was unapologetic, but she asked, but did she contribute?

I felt, I felt this is for me. I felt like the way she brought the song to life and her isms, and there were certain things that were it wasn't like Verbatim to make demo record. Yeah, I wrote the song myself in a scured though and she cut it, but there were ways she brought it to life. So I feel like and that wasn't greedy, that's not at all.

Next president presidents.

Yeah, to allow this to be done to newer songwriters, like it happened to me because somebody literally told me when I said, why do you feel like you deserve forty percent? I got to earn your stripes. I'm like, I'm not a fucking tiger. I don't want stripes. I want Louis Baton, I like that Gucci. Yeah, I don't want those stripes. I need to doing the first every month.

Yeah, But yeah, did that takes a lot of courage for you to actually stand for up for yourself and be like.

For sure, because they'll take the song off the album. I had a huge artist it ended up coming up. But the manager there was like, you have ten seconds because they was about to put the project out there, like give us posting guest or no. Within response to this email, we're taking off the album. And I said it's not fair, and they took it off the album. It ended up being on the deluxe.

Yeah, so if you guys want to hear you hear it on the DELX. Yeah, obviously tell us which song it is.

Yeah, but I just didn't think it was I didn't think it was fair. Yeah, I didn't think.

I'm glad you did it so now we can enjoy on the deluxe exactly.

And they saw me at a party, the manager who was a huge manager. So I'm at a party. It was like Ush's birthday party in LA and he was like, man, Adam Levine asked me why I took that song. It was his favorite that song album, so we're gonna re release it as a deluxe and literally I was the only song they added the deluxe. I was really at first, I was like damn. I like the producers were looking at me like, damn, Eliji, you might have missed up for us. I'm like, bro, at what point do we

It just felt like everybody was like, oh a lot of talking about it.

That's how I felt.

Yeah, you under honestly, it wasn't just how you felt, it was reality. Yeah, it became reality.

Because I'm like, why is everybody just thinking like Elijah's is gonna give twenty thirty percent. In the beginning part of my crew, I was so young. I was having fun with it. I was like, yeah, you can have you can have this, And I'm like, why are y'all only coming after me? Even I would see emails and they're like, Okay, we need to find thirty percent for this person and everybody nobody's budget, but they're just expecting

Yeah, but that takes a lot of courage. There's no way you weren't like semi second guessing yourself, especially after they pulled it. Yeah, but then the producers were coming to you.

All I had to do was one time and Nigga stopped expecting it. I like you feel me to you?

Yeah, which collaboration on the album do you like the best? Not trying to make you choose between your twins and Streeter or anybody else.

You know. I hate with people as like this, but they're so different. The one with Me and Seven, I just realized, even just like last night, I'm like, dang, me and seven are both from Florida, you know what I mean. We both have had a similar experience with the major label system. We're also experiencing success outside of it now as independent artists. And I'm like, that's kind

That's awesome. Shout out to her. We had Streeter on and her story was really beautiful too. She was a very beautiful story. Yeah, and that was like a Chris Brown. Shout outs to Chris Brown and her dad first look the one that actually like initially put her on.

Yeah, and I had seen seven in passing. We've just never collaborated, collaborate, So this song is a beautiful represent.

I love the song. Thank You's beautiful? All right? You know what? You can? Go ahead. I'm so sad to see you go.

I want to do this. Can we have y'all done a part two? Can we do a part two?

I would love to do it a part two? Do you come to La a lot? You live here?

Oh?

Okay, you know where the studio's at. We gonna see a little.

Real. Yeah.

You went from non cooking to all excited about cooking. It's hilarious.

We gonna do part two.

Okay, part two. You heard it here first, but I want you to sing us out. Okay, I have to because when I heard you sing earlier, did you enjoy it?

All?

Right?

What song am I so we're talking about? Okay, dang sing? Okay, I gotta do a gospel song because I'm going ahead.

I'm feel I've had some good days.

I've had some.

He he's the class. I've had some weary days, some lonely nights.

But we're a look around and.

I think things over all of my good days, all the wait, mind.

My bad days, and die. I won't complaint.

That was beautiful. Thank you, my goodness, the boy, Thank you guys. You heard it here first.

Hey.

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