Eli Sweet

Eli Sweet (born Eli Sweet) started rapping, like many other middle-class white kids, as a fake-ass gangsta rapper. Attending public school in downtown Atlanta, he was immersed in hip hop culture, but was too pragmatic to take his dreams of becoming a rap star seriously. Although generally supportive, Elis parents, successful Atlanta politicians, viewed Elis goal of a career in rap music skeptically. Rap music seemed incompatible with the other commitments in Elis life- to sports, to politics, and to studying Chinese.His early music suffered creatively because of this internal contradiction. Relegating rap music to a fantasy, his rhymes were fraught with generalities and invariably limited to the styles and content of commercial rap at the time. Graduating Grady High School in 2001, he took the best option available, and enrolled at Haverford College, in the Philadelphia suburbs, pursuing a 4 year bachelors degree.In college, Elis aching desire to chase his dreams began to coalesce into a game plan. It was clear to him that he never could have been, nor ever should have wanted to be a gangsta rapper. It was an epiphany for Eli to realize that the violence, materialism and misogyny characteristic of mainstream rap were not inherent to the art form itself, and that it was possible to make authentic rap music without copying the traditional formula.Liberated by this understanding, Eli set to work developing his songwriting skills and finding his voice as an artist. The eclectic influences that had once distracted him from rap music now inspired him. Even college provided a forum to advance his understanding of the music industry and hip hop culture. As a Cultural Anthropology major, Eli wrote his senior thesis on beef in hip hop, arguing that media outlets and fans are complicit in the creation and amplification of music related conflicts.Since college, Eli has been grinding on the streets of Atlanta with purpose. Four long years of studying the game taught him that up-and-coming artists have to take their fate in their own hands. While holding down a variety of day jobs (construction worker, political consultant, sandwich maker) Eli has continuously advanced with his music, recording songs and giving promotional mixtapes (Kudzu Promo; Homemade Hustle) to anyone who will listen.In the music industry today, artists have to create their own markets and build their own distribution channels before they can expect support from a record label. Aware of this reality, Eli has been networking with DJs, parlaying with producers, and collaborating with other rappers in the Atlanta underground scene. He has been performing shows, reaching out through the internet [www.myspace.com/EliSweet (www.EliSweet.com coming soon)] and directly contacting the gatekeepers of the music industry.The commercial success of supposedly alternative hip hop acts like Kanye West, MF Doom, Talib Kweli, The Roots, Lupe Fiasco, and Outkast has proven that great rap music does not always follow a predictable model. Anyone with lyrical skills, sincerity, and depth of perspective can make powerful music. Equipped with a disciplined mind state, and a lyrically crunk style, Eli Sweet is poised to show folks another side of the ATL.