El=m=nt profile picture

El=m=nt

About Me


I got my own sound. Do you have yours?

Read this. This is good for you, like vegetables. So I've heard....
ELEMENT's music can be described as evolutionary and continually moving in a direction that strives to reach a higher plateau. As abstract as that statement may sound, Element has never found himself trapped in a box that most, if not all hip-hop artists have confined themselves in. In taking what the hip-hop culture has instilled in his beliefs, Element has translated those ideals into music that is both fresh and forward-thinking. Influenced by the ground-breaking music production of DJ Premier, Pete Rock, the RZA, J Dilla, DJ Shadow, Timbaland, Dr.Dre, Prince Paul, etc., Element strives to push his sound to a plateau unlike any other.
To Element there was more to music than hip-hop music. Aware of the creative trappings and the musical limitations of sample-based music, Element made a conscious effort to take on different instruments, such as guitar, bass, piano and more importantly, drums. Though there was a hibernation period in which Element needed to understand the way such instruments were supposed to be played, not only from a technical standpoint but also from the perspective of knowing how each instrument "talk" to one another. From sampling records, Element then started sampling himself and incorporating a "live" aspect of music production into his compositions. Element is not driven by such meager goals as "keeping it real", since hip-hop traditionalists have often limited their musicianship by living in a box of "realness". Sometimes we ask ourselves what does keeping it real mean? Does it necessitate a conscious effort of non-conformity to the status quo? Does it mean every person who thinks of themselves as an emcee can "rhyme"? Does it mean that every person with a music generating program can make the next hit? You could be a jack of all trades and still be a master of none. Even if you are "keeping it real" in the context of hip-hop or whatever context it maybe, your "realness" can not be gauged or measured on the strength of anything you perceive to be real, especially if your ass is trying to "keep it real", ya dig?. Remember, "real" does not mean a damn thing these days. Keeping it real doesn't pay the rent nor does it cover electric and cable. N*gga, you can't even take your lady out for a night out in the town, twice a month, since your addiction to material things got you hooked on this drug called "realness." I'm sure that menial J.O.B. that you have ain't what you had in mind before you signed up to be the "next big thing." You didn't even need Simon Cowell from American Idol to tell you that. Look, I ain't knocking you 'cause you haven't realized that YOU suck. I'm just a little concern is all. Be honest and ask yourself, "Am I keeping it real or am I f*ckin' kidding myself?" You have to buy that kind of honesty to get something that "real". For the most part the $9.99 you spent downloading that LP from iTunes wasn't even worth listening. But you know what is hard to come by these days. The truth.
I am not insinuating that Element is the most righteous m*therf*cka on the face of this Earth, because nobody is, not even your mother. He sure isn't the most talented person in this world since there's a billion other human beings that could do what he does, if not better. What Element brings to the table is certain truth to his music. He doesn't promote some revivalist hip-hop sh*t that most cats who are stuck in the "Golden Era" stay stuck in the "Golden Era". ATCQ was my shit. Some cats like Kane. Some swear that Rakim was Allah and the founder of all subsequent flows, rhymes and defined the word "emcee" when mentioned in circles of conversation, street ciphers and any ideological debates of "best ever". One old school ass n*gga had the nerve to put Whodini on his top five. This dude Element, he got 1) Rakim, 2) KRS-One, 3) Kool G Rap, 4) Pac & Big (respectively), 5) Jay-Z & Eminem (respectively) as the "emcees" that personified and changed the way an "emcee" was personified. Ya dig? Those cats spoke the truth. F*ck real. The truth. They rolled with truthful m*therf*ckas, who told you how it was, and not how you wanted to hear it. That kept them on edge, sharp as a motherf*ck. Element, he doesn't roll with cats that swear progression isn't worth the hassle so they stay sampling on their SP-1200's, getting that 12-bit lo-fi sh*t bumping and still sampling from the same crate using the same f*cking loop that another dude already done flipped. Or believe some delusional hype that most MC slash DJ slash Producer slash overall obsessive control freak who veil their insecurities behind this unsubstantiated cloak of "keeping it real".
Nah, man, this kid is all about the music. To push the bounds of hip hop music where others have only dreamed of. We ain't calling you out, kid. It is well-documented that frugal attempts at "keeping it real" has produced results that have left most hip-hop artists lost in obscurity, rendered irrelevant and mired in debt from chasing a dream of being something they'll never be (just check ALL of the great '90's artists that are collecting dust in ya bin). Yeah motherf*cka, that place YOU wanna be at but you're too much of a b*tch to step out of your comfort zone and "hot box with God." But God got nothing to do with this soliloquy of chaos, no, this narrative is about this young Brooklynite who seeks to rise above mediocrity and accomplish what most artists fear of. Success. Success you ask?!!? Oh sh*t, the crowd is in an uproar. People are raising their hands, eager to ask questions. "You, in the bucktooth grillz, what's your question? What's that?!!" Bucktooth Ruth was like, "Ayo, hold up, you mean you don't wanna make dough, Element? Is you crazy?" My n*gga Techinical Tommy was bent and asked me, "Don't you want that Moog Voyager Limited Edition?" Big Dick Rick was stunting in his ride, rolled down his tints and was like, "Nah, nah, don't you want that Land Rover you've wanted since you was 11 and do like Warren G on "Ain't No Fun" by having bitches in the front and bitches in the back?" I'm sure deep down, this void created by insecurity needs to be filled and re-filled, time and time again. But you know what? Be honest with ya'self. Mo' money mo' problems. Right? Unfortunately, survival comes at cost these days. From what I gather, "the cost of living is preposterous" (Mos Def, "Respiration").
Thanks to your friendly out-of-towner whose high-level professional job has blurred the lines between rich and poor; their money has ultimately phased out the middle class and instituted the re-organization of the class structure in New York which has made this once-diversified metropolis into some playground for the affluent and their uber-hip children. Sucks for me, good for you. Right? Right. I could go on with the outcomes of globalization but I'm sure a few "townies" or "transplants" or "country bumpkins" might take offense and say sh*t like "What do you know about Globalization?" Or "What kind schooling did you receive?" Or "You're the problem and we are the solution". Just cause your parents are wealthy doesn't mean your soul is rich, bitch. So here is some advice my friend - take time out from making them commercial jingles you call music; then quit rhyming, cause a 37 year old rapper from the Northwest ain't cutting it in the Big Apple since that B-Boy revivalist schtick you rep ain't really selling with New Yorkers who could see through your bullsh*t; and stop fronting about that condo you bought in Bed-Stuy as if you didn't have some influence in evicting some helpless family from their Section 8 housing. While you're at it, read a book, kid. "Urban Fortunes" by Logan and Molotch. F*ck it, if you got half a brain, go ahead and read "The Global City" by Sassen. You want knowledge of self (not that 5 Percent/Nation of Islam talk neither), read those books and you'll know your place is in the scheme of things. So next time you see some a homeless man pushing his cart filled with everything he owns or hear about a family of five who was forced to live in the public shelter system, just remember that you're to blame for the widening gap between rich and poor and factors of economic segregation since you have neglected to realize that your money ain't worth a goddamn thing if it ain't spent the right way. But what do I know, I ain't some financial consultant, I'm just some fool bitching about how rich you are and how the rest of us will suffer from your greed. Oh yes, your time will come, my friend. Payback is a bitch, so I've heard. Now your penance has passed. But I doubt you'd care. Where was I, oh yeah.
In the end, Element seeks to make a dent in society, not a major impact, just a dent. Making some meteoric splash on society is asking for much, 'cause we all can't be saviors to the fallen. Simply put, this man just wants to be true to himself. So for you journalists who salivate at the thought of being the lucky f*ck who stumbles on the next "big thing", don't even bother posting up that blog on OKP and showing off the skills you learned from college English Comp, cause Element isn't some f*ckin' regurgitation of your favorite producer. For you emcees looking for that next Acid Pro-Fruity Loops-ASR-10-MPC 4000 street banger, look a little further cause we ain't selling that crack-chipmunk soul around here. But for those in need of something else, we got the elixcir that'll get you believing that hip-hop isn't dead. Blame its death on the motherf*ckas who are killing it. So you want the truth? A truth that "realness" can never provide. So for you cats who are driven to "keep it real", ask yourself are you "keeping it true"? 'Cause this n*gga is.
Words by E=MC2.
site design by S. McVetty

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 19/04/2006
Band Website: www.markcarranceja.com

www.thedjelement.com"
www.markcarranceja.comwww.thedjelement.com
Band Members:
Influences:
My Primary Influence: Life and the pursuit of happiness.
Secondary: Akai MPC 2000XL & 1000, YamahaES-6 (Loaded), EMU SP-1200, ENSONIQ ASR-10, YAMAHA QY-100, KORG DVP-1 Vocoder, KORG POLYSIX, KORG MS2000, KORG TRITON RACK (Loaded), ROLAND JP-8000, ROLAND JUNO 60 (my favorite), ROLAND VP-9000, SEQUENTIAL CIRCUITS SIX TRAK, SEQUENTIAL CIRCUITS PROPHET 5 (yeah haters, I got one!), MOOG Voyager (finally, after saving up mad ducks!!!), TC ELECTRONIC M-ONE XL, TC ELECTRONIC 96K FINALIZER, APHEX 104 AURAL EXCITER, TASCAM 112MKII (Keeping it real with tapes), TASCAM DA-20MK, TASCAM 414MKII, AUDIO TECHNICA AT-4040, PRESONUS BLUE TUBE, MACKIE UNIVERSAL CONTROL, MACKIE HR-824'S, MACKIE 1202VLZ MIXER, PRO TOOLS LE 7.1, Arturia Prophet V Virtual Synth, Arturia Minimoog V Software Synth, Arturia ARP-2600 Virtual Synth, Digidesign DiGI OO2 Rack, Digidesign M-Box 2 Pro, Apple MacBook Black, Apple PowerMac G4, Apple Powerbook G4 17", (2) TECHNICS 1200, RANE TTM-56, RANE SERATO SCRATCH and about 5,000 records, give or take. It's like Guitar Center up in my lab. And if I lost all of my shit I would f*ckin' cry for days. Wouldn't you?...
Musical influences: Kool Herc, Afrika Bambataa, Jazzy Jay, Grandwizard Theodore, Grand Mixer DXT, Grandmaster Flash, Awesome Two, Furious 5, DJ Shadow, Portishead, Massive Attack, Miles Davis & his 1st AND 2nd Quintets, Dr. Dre, Quincy Jones, Issac Hayes, John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, Galt McDermott, Jack DeJohnette, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Wayne Shorter, Stanley Turrentine, Stanley Cowell, Chick Corea, Roy Ayers, James Brown, Donald Byrd, Ronnie Laws, Ronnie Foster, Fred Wesley & the J.B.'s, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Zapp and Roger, Herbie Hancock, Depeche Mode, New Order, The Cure, Blondie, The Flaming Lips, Yo La Tengo, Tortoise, Animal Collective, Radiohead, Pulp, U2, Vincent Gallo, Joao, Astrud & Bebel Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stan Getz, Zulu Nation, Rocksteady Crew, Diamond D, Lord Finesse, Showbiz & AG, The Artifacts, Keith Murray, Redman, Def Squad, Kool G. Rap, Rakim, KRS-One, BDP, Digable Planets, Black Sheep, De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, Camp Lo, Gangstarr, Large Professor, Marley Marl, Pete Rock, The Bomb Squad, Erick Sermon, DJ Premier, KMD, 3rd Bass, MC Serch, Pete Nice, MF Doom and Viktor Vaughn and Madvillain and Dangermouse, Kurious, Black Moon, Boot Camp Clik, Da Beatminerz, The Beatnuts, The Neptunes, K-Os, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Blowout, DP One, my n*gga Jameson Bond, Turntable Anihilists, Madlib, J Dilla, The Roots, ATCQ, Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Mos Def & Talib Kweli, Prince Paul, Dan Auto and anyone who has ever tried making REAL music or consider music as their form of artistic expression....
Sounds Like:
"Elephants" by M-Tri (2008)

Directed by Mark Carranceja for Noisemaker Media


Noisemaker Media Video Production Promotional Spot



2007 Last Man Standing NYC Street Competition DVD Edit (Imeem Stream)

Directed by Mark Carranceja for Noisemaker Media and Produced by Victor Callender for Wheels In Motion Productions

2007 Last Man Standing NYC Street Competition DVD Edit (Vimeo Stream)

Directed by Mark Carranceja for Noisemaker Media and Produced by Victor Callender for Wheels In Motion Productions

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2007 Last Man Standing Official Edit v1.2

Tricks, Tips, and Eye Candy (Pilot Episode) (Vimeo Stream)


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Tricks, Tips, and Eye Candy (Pilot Episode) (Imeem Stream)

Featuring Ramelle Knight and Austin Paz

2007 Last Man Standing Highlights DVD (Bonus Footage) (Vimeo Stream)


2007 Last Man Standing Highlights DVD (Bonus Footage) (Imeem Stream)

"Ordinary Guy" by Mike Swift (2005)

Directed by Mark Carranceja for Noisemaker Media

People. Places. and Things: Episode One - Mike Swift

As shown on BCAT (Brooklyn Community Access Television) and MySpace TV. Directed by Mark Carranceja for Noisemaker Media

Goodbye Hello (2005)

Official entry at the 2005 New York Home Film Festival. Directed by Mark Carranceja

Trip To Pinas (2005)

A Short Film Directed by Mark Carranceja


Record Label: Unknown Indie
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

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