More than two years in the making, this August, Elephant Man will release his sophomore LP “Let’s Get Physical.” It will be the first release off his joint label deal with Bad Boy Entertainment/VP Records and the self-proclaimed “Father of Dance Hall” is both anxious and raring for its drop. Full of energy, as he always is, the new single “Five-O” featuring Wyclef Jean has begun to burn up phone lines from coast to coast. During an exclusive interview with DJBooth.net’s DJ ”Z,” Elephant Man breaks down the art of dance hall music, explains why Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan have a new appreciation for “Five-O” and makes a pitch to Energizer batteries to endorse their product.
Elephant Man Interview Transcription:
DJ Booth: What’s goin’ on ya’ll? It’s your boy “Z,” doin’ it real big, and joining me inside the DJ Booth is a Jamaican native whose music has touched millions of listeners in countless countries. Looking to get physical this August, please welcome Elephant Man.
Elephant Man: Yo yo what’s up, what’s up?
DJ Booth: What you sayin’ me friend, how are you?
Elephant Man: Ya man everyting good, all good.
DJ Booth: Beautiful. Ele, dance hall music peaked back in 2005 with artists such as yourself, Sean Paul, and Wayne Wonder. Is 2007 going to be as prosperous?
Elephant Man: Well, trust me, it’s gonna be very prosperous, because “Let’s Get Physical,” man, this album is crazy. I’ve been workin’ on the album for like two years. We’ve got a lotta songs – crazy crazy mad mad songs right now man. We just shot a video for the first single called “Five-O,” featuring Wyclef, we shoot it in Lil’ Haiti in Miami.
DJ Booth: Fans of dance hall music in the States, love it when they hear it played, but they probably couldn’t properly describe what dance hall music encompasses. So, can you give everyone a proper explanation of what dance hall music is?
Elephant Man: Dance hall music represents, and dance hall music is, happiness. Like the sound you hear when you are down, that lifts you up. Dance hall music is the thing that you sing when you want to get wild, like for instance our shows, our live shows. Dance hall music is a sight that drive you out of your mind – it’s like a rock show, it’s like you’re watching a rock band performing live; that’s a dance hall show, and the music when you’re down, it lifts you, and it make you just wanna jam, jivin’ in your car you just wanna jam, you just wanna get on the dance floor and dance and don’t stop dancing. It make the ladies get wild, it make you wanna sing; it just make you feel good.
DJ Booth: I couldn’t agree more. You know what dance hall music is also great for? It’s great for people who are looking to lose weight, because I know when I’m dancin’ to dance hall music, I lose about five pounds every hour.
Elephant Man: Yeah, by the time you finish really bouncing, you slim.
DJ Booth: Yeah. Now this summer you’re going to release your first album off your label deal with Bad Boy and VP, it’s called, “Let’s Get Physical,” as I already mentioned. Now, when I hear “Let’s Get Physical,” I assume it has a sexual connotation; can you give everyone the meaning behind this album title?
Elephant Man: Well, “Let’s Get Physical,” meaning, when you hear it, you don’t want to sit down, you wanna get up and dance. And a song called “Let’s Get Physical,” it’s so sexy, we had to name the album after the song, “Let’s Get Physical,” it’s crazy. That’s a makin’ love song to your girl she’s just gonna wanna hear it right through; and, when I call the album “physical,” it’s because the album is so energetic, the album is so touching and movin’ you’re not gonna wanna sit down when you hear it, man, it’s musical, crazy.
DJ Booth: Glad you made it ‘cause it’s gonna make a great gift for my girlfriend; I appreciate that.
Elephant Man: She’ll love me, believe me. She is gonna love it.
DJ Booth: And I hope so. The lead single off this album featuring Wyclef, as you mentioned earlier, just shot the video for it, “Five-O.” Now, is this something that you took from personal experiences with the cops? How did this song come about?
Elephant Man: Yeah because, in the ghetto, and all over the world – uptown, downtown, in the ghetto, anywhere you go – you got cop problem people and you can see, if you watch the TV you can see Paril Hilton in jail, Lindsay Lohan getting locked up so, it’s a cop thing all over the world, it’s not new. So, this song is a song for all the people who got in trouble with cops; if you are in the lockup, or if you’re behind bars, you’re gonna like, “Hey, get me Elephant’s CD, I wanna play that song, “Five O,” man.” You can just play the CD and get whatever you need to get off your chest – you don’t gotta be cursin’ and do all that, you just listen to music and let the music talk for you.
DJ Booth: It’s gonna be a worldwide anthem; I like the sound of that.
Elephant Man: Trust me, man, yah, when the video – ‘cause filmin it, is one; seein’ the video and airin’ it – it’s over. [laughing]
DJ Booth: That’s what I like to hear. I wanna talk about another song off of this album; it’s called, “Gangster Rock.” As a dance hall artist, how were you able to encompass a gangsta feel, a rock sound, and stay true to the dance hall genre?
Elephant Man: You got a lotta gangsta all over the world; gangsta don’t like to dance, but they will rock, you know? They will lean on shoulders and rock, and smoke their cigars or their weed or whatever they’re smoking – their pipe. Feel me? So, the word ‘gangster’ and the rock wid it – the rock, it’s not like a dance; dance is gettin’ wild. The word ‘dance’ it went be for gettin’ wild; rock, you just move it easy, you know when you rocking you just rocking and you can rock your head, you can rock your shoulders, you know? So, it goes with the word, ‘gangster’: rock, rock goes with the word ‘gangster’. So the gangster is gonna can relate to it, because, it’s a everybody thing but, I did it mostly for the gangstas, because, we did dancing songs for everybody. But, gangsta rap, for the gangsters, they don’t wanna dance and get sweaty, they just walk away and do the gangster rock.
DJ Booth: Well it sounds like a fun combination, but as much fun as you have on your album, I understand that you also do get serious, and in some of the album you touch on the social ills and the violence, that plague the Jamaican people. Do you feel that education, through your music, is going to eventually help to make a difference?
Elephant Man: Yeah well education is the key, you know, if you can’t read and write man it doesn’t make sense, so education is the key. When you good music man, that’s what pays off. So when somebody listen to my album they can say, “Yo, general, Elephant Man real work hard to put this together, for me as a fan to buy a copy and be pleased with it,” you know? Because, in “Five-O,” video, I be here, as I told you, you see a girl holdin’ a baby, and Wyclef, and then it’s a baby just born, with the handcuffs they gonna put them on, so if you know that you got your kid just born, and you don ‘t wanna get in no trouble for police to come take you away from your kid so, the video is gonna do great, because the video mean a lot, and I was feelin’, and hearing what I’m saying, so you’re puttin’ the two of them together that’s a great collaborate there.
DJ Booth: Speaking of videos, I’m interested in knowing what you’re looking to do outside dance hall, because lately you’ve seen a lot of artists, have been given endorsement deals: TI, he hooked up with Chevrolet, 50 Cent’s doin’ his thing with Vitamin Water. Is there a particular product that you think the two of us could come up with a pitch for, for you to endorse that product?
Elephant Man: Well, any product man – I’m the energy god, I’m crazy, so any product they got I’m ready. So long a they talkin’ my numbers, and my language, I’m ready man.
DJ Booth: So how about we call up, Energizer batteries, and make something happen?
Elephant Man: I know the Energizer batteries want me to do something right now, I’m ready.
DJ Booth: Cool; let’s kick that bunny to the curb and make it happen.
Elephant Man: Yep, just make an Elephant Man and put some batteries in it then, yo, we just, yo, it’s crazy man.
DJ Booth: Elephant Man, I appreciate your time, go ahead give everybody a website or a Myspace address, they can find out more about you and this brand new album you have dropping on August 14th, “Let’s Get Physical.”
Elephant Man: Well, right now to all the fans I’m lettin’ you know that you can check out http://www.myspace.com/elephantmandj, or you can log on to http://www.badboy.com. Remember: the album, “Let’s Get Physical,” August the fourteenth, remember, “Five-O,” the first single featuring Wyclef, we just shot the video – vote for it, send it at number one MTV, BET – shizzle!
DJ Booth: The best of luck to you, Ele, I appreciate your time.
Elephant Man: Anytime, Aight!!
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