Before the world ever heard the name Elzhi, the young artist was sitting in… Read Full Bio ↴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.
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.
Detroit State of Mind
Elzhi Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Detroit State of Mind' by these artists:
Obie Trice What up Jokes on us Everything in the city ain't pretty Whe…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Elzhi:
Alienated I feel out of place, I feel so out of…
Boomerang Slang This is the unfinished stories of the streets, baby Don't g…
Brag Swag [Intro: Elzhi - talking] Yeah, yeah This your boy Elzhi F…
Cloud Just leave me alone, damn Every day I'm trying to dodge…
D.E.M.O.N.S. [Intro - Woman talking] (*wind blowing and bell ringing in…
Egocentric Damn, it's happening again Feel like I'm 'bout to lose my…
Fire [Intro: Black Milk] Elzhi, Black Milk, let's go, yeah [V…
Friendzone My heart bleed for her like cunt on that time…
Growing up [Intro - Elzhi - talking] Yeah, this goes out to all…
Guessing Game [Chorus 1] Here we go, go, let's play a game, game Try…
Hands [Intro: Elzhi - talking] Alright El Get it together nigga Ta…
Hello!!!!! Hello? Finally! Somebody playing this Aye, aye listen I don'…
Intro (The Preface) (I don't know what this world is coming to!) [Sample plays…
Introverted Whether you copped the album, downloaded, you streamed it or…
Keep Dreaming It's like everyday I wake up to some new bullshit Somebody…
Love It Here [Chorus x2] But I love it here, Just think if I…
Medicine Man A wise person said A wise person said Do what you do Think…
Memory Lane I'm trying to get to memory lane But wonder should I…
Misright I dated a lot of Misses and I gave em…
One Love We met up at the mall in the fall, somethin'…
Pete Rock Shout Yo, check this out man It's the Chocolate Boy Wonder Pete…
Represent Ya' listenin' to Elmatic Fire that weed up and put it…
Someone as Real as Her Someone As Real As Her (S.A.R.A.H.)Elzhi Magnetic know what…
Talking in My Sleep [Intro: Elzhi - talking] Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh Uh, uh,…
The Genesis Yo it's Elmatic, shouts out to the homie Nas, son Words…
The Healing Process Sit down Breathe in Stand up Get your mind right Today is a…
The Turning Point Render you unstoppable Take the red lights from which we aro…
The World Is Yours [Intro: Nas] "You want to get it, but you ain't gon'…
Transitional Joint [Verse:] Hey, hey I like her Isn't that how it starts? Sh…
Two 16's Yeah I know you looking for that fire I got that John…
Weedipedia Yeah, you made bail boy You need to stay your ass…
Yeah [Intro - Elzhi - talking] (*echo*) Up early Top of the mor…
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Michael Miller Jr
Changed up the song topics, switched track orders to match his own narrative, laid down BARS, and all of the instrumentals are played by a live band (that occasionally improvises in certain songs) . Not even drawing comparisons, you can see he put serious thought into this project. People act like he spit Illmatic word for word, beat for beat.
Parks Jordan
Shits dope
KP 187
Preach bro. He took one of the (IMO) greatest hip hop records made and added his own twist and experience on it. Mad kudos to Elzhi!
Marc John
Nah, this is how you do a cover especially if you're gonna cover the whole album. I was initially against it just in principle until I actually listened to it - Elmatic is his own album, and the producer absolutely nailed it. They brought it into the modern day, not taking anything away from the original.
johndoe781
for real tho
blacktee31
@Michael Miller Jr Thank you!
Maddox
Don't be stupid. Elzhi didn't just take Nas's beats and rhyme over them. He made the album his own. It's not a copy, he took Nas and New York and transformed it to Elzhi and Detroit.Elmatic is a classic get over it.
Sleep Is The Cousin of Death
@Samuel Ruezga which I think is more impressive.
Ello
Straight up, if anyone can seriously say this isn’t a classic. They need their heads checked and should have the ability to comment on anything hip hop related revoked permanently.
Samuel Ruezga
KCrits Elzhi turned a classic into a classic