Elzhi
Before the world ever heard the name Elzhi, the young artist was sitting in the back of classrooms thinking of rhymes, spitting verses while his friend Fes banged out beats on lunchroom tables, or was battling rival emcees on the blacktop after school. He sharpened every blade in his arsenal, developing his style to measure up against the competition in Maurice Malone’s Hip Hop Shop, the legendary proving ground for Detroit artists that has produced some of the greatest emcees in the world. Read Full BioBefore the world ever heard the name Elzhi, the young artist was sitting in the back of classrooms thinking of rhymes, spitting verses while his friend Fes banged out beats on lunchroom tables, or was battling rival emcees on the blacktop after school. He sharpened every blade in his arsenal, developing his style to measure up against the competition in Maurice Malone’s Hip Hop Shop, the legendary proving ground for Detroit artists that has produced some of the greatest emcees in the world.
Elzhi spent years paying dues, writing songs, entering battles, and recording demos until he finally made his international debut on "Come and Get It", a standout track from J Dilla's album, Welcome 2 Detroit. The acclaimed song drew massive attention to the mysterious artist, and made his unfinished EP, Out of Focus, a highly sought after recording.
In 2001, Slum Village asked Elzhi to be a part of the group to elevate their reputation, and allowing him to reach new levels of lyricism. He recorded multiple albums with his former group, sold hundreds of thousands of records, and toured the world performing his hit singles "Tainted", (featuring Dwele)” and "Selfish", (featuring Kanye West and John Legend)” in cities as distant as Tokyo and Amsterdam.
In 2004, Elzhi released Witness My Growth, a 2-disc mixtape featuring many of his lost or unfinished solo songs, which has come to be considered an underground classic by hip hop fans all over the world. Embarking on his first European solo tour in 2008, Elzhi released Europass as a merch-table exclusive. Upon his return to the United States, he promptly released the The Preface, his solo debut on Fat Beats Records. The album helped to solidify his reputation as one of the most respected and inventive lyricists in the world, earning acclaim from legendary artists and fans alike. In 2009, responding to the demands of his passionate fan base, Elzhi released The Leftovers Unmixedtape, mixtape, a collection of rare tracks and unreleased exclusives featuring the hit single "Deep".
In 2010, due to complications with his former label and no longer content with being “your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper,” Elzhi signed with Jae Barber and The JAE.B Group, an Artist Relations and Management firm, drafting them to help launch his career to the next level. Moving past the relationship with his former group, Elzhi has reinvented himself as a solo artist and reignited his buzz.
In 2011 Elzhi released Elmatic, an homage to Nas' classic debut, Illmatic. A labor of love for Elzhi, the project finds the Detroit emcee creating new songs out of Nas’s original titles while rapping over the Will Sessions Band’s interpretation of the original beats.
After the overwhelming success of Elmatic, Elzhi is in the beginning stages of writing his new album using beats provided by an exciting roster of producers, and is embarking on a tour to reintroduce himself to the world. More than 12 years after he finished recording the legendary collection of songs, he has finally released the Out of Focus EP exclusively through www.elzhi.com.
Elzhi spent years paying dues, writing songs, entering battles, and recording demos until he finally made his international debut on "Come and Get It", a standout track from J Dilla's album, Welcome 2 Detroit. The acclaimed song drew massive attention to the mysterious artist, and made his unfinished EP, Out of Focus, a highly sought after recording.
In 2001, Slum Village asked Elzhi to be a part of the group to elevate their reputation, and allowing him to reach new levels of lyricism. He recorded multiple albums with his former group, sold hundreds of thousands of records, and toured the world performing his hit singles "Tainted", (featuring Dwele)” and "Selfish", (featuring Kanye West and John Legend)” in cities as distant as Tokyo and Amsterdam.
In 2004, Elzhi released Witness My Growth, a 2-disc mixtape featuring many of his lost or unfinished solo songs, which has come to be considered an underground classic by hip hop fans all over the world. Embarking on his first European solo tour in 2008, Elzhi released Europass as a merch-table exclusive. Upon his return to the United States, he promptly released the The Preface, his solo debut on Fat Beats Records. The album helped to solidify his reputation as one of the most respected and inventive lyricists in the world, earning acclaim from legendary artists and fans alike. In 2009, responding to the demands of his passionate fan base, Elzhi released The Leftovers Unmixedtape, mixtape, a collection of rare tracks and unreleased exclusives featuring the hit single "Deep".
In 2010, due to complications with his former label and no longer content with being “your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper,” Elzhi signed with Jae Barber and The JAE.B Group, an Artist Relations and Management firm, drafting them to help launch his career to the next level. Moving past the relationship with his former group, Elzhi has reinvented himself as a solo artist and reignited his buzz.
In 2011 Elzhi released Elmatic, an homage to Nas' classic debut, Illmatic. A labor of love for Elzhi, the project finds the Detroit emcee creating new songs out of Nas’s original titles while rapping over the Will Sessions Band’s interpretation of the original beats.
After the overwhelming success of Elmatic, Elzhi is in the beginning stages of writing his new album using beats provided by an exciting roster of producers, and is embarking on a tour to reintroduce himself to the world. More than 12 years after he finished recording the legendary collection of songs, he has finally released the Out of Focus EP exclusively through www.elzhi.com.
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Love It Here
Elzhi Lyrics
[Chorus x2]
But I love it here,
Just think if I wasn't here
My uncles and cousins here,
My struggles and come-ups here
We sense the trouble near
You bubble, we double dare
... The block is ours and we don't wanna share.
[Verse 1]
Feel my pain like it was yours
Crack addicts bustin' right through my doors
Bleedin' on my lawn, I'm destined to be great
I swear gypsy could read it on my palm tipsy
I'm calm and I blow up like Vietnam bomb history
I lost my moms but no drug abuses beyond 50
Sign of the times twist me 'til I'm found dizzy
My punished and my blood from all the pimps that birth me
Even when I was broke, I was wearing new kicks and jerseys
I live among the sick and scurvy
'Til this day they can suck a dick that's dirty
With symptoms of burning piss with pearly puss
My words are just emotional
Spoken from the bottom of the totem pole
I gotta get a grip, like a rope with an open hole that's chokeable
On a throat that hold a vocal tone
My niggas push coke with no discussion on the mobile phone
Just hold the chrome... they know it's on
... Yeah
[Chorus x2]
(Talking)
Yeah. For real. Real talk right there...
[Verse 2]
Drive-by's, windows bust out, bullets put in the lawn chairs
From a block over, soundin' like Lil Jon snares
Life's gotten colder I'm revealin' the smurf
How's hustlin' not a job when you feel you at work?
My momma told me to keep my brain in them books
I grew up learnin' only way you earnin' is becoming famous or crooks
And since schools never taught us to be entrepreneurs
And we don't have patience to make money off of computers
We live a fast life(fast life) with officers and shooters
Get scars, strip bars with broads taped bras off of their hooters
Such an ugly game, why it look beautiful from afar?
You in prison wishin' they were removin' you from the bars
Contributed by Emma Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
Barry Jordan
Dilla was a fool for this beat, damn. Elzhi is so underrated
Jovan D
elzhi is sick dope
Arwald C
As a white boy who grew up in east texas now living in OC, thank god for YouTube cos I'd never have underground connections to great music like this
Lewi Yonas
This comment made me realize how much music I would’ve never listened to of YouTube and pandora didn’t exist
blackmist1981 *FBT*
A lesser beat would have easily been overshadowed by the rhymes, but its equally amazing and would have ignored a lesser emcee. Greatness
daboe0909
Finding a track like this is like scooping buried treasure from the bottom of the ocean.
xOUT 0F T0aSTx
daboe0909 The epitome of a hidden gem mate.
Peter Carpio
The flow from this guy. WOW !!! Elzhi is a beast !!!
Steven Hernandez
sick...gotta love Dilla r.i.p.....shoutout to Elzhi..one of the deepest i ever heard
aqiyl qasim
Yo, this is one of the illest tracks I've heard in a minute. Elzhi is an MC, know that to be the truth.