Eli aka Elias Silva, is a 22 year old rapper, born and raised in Sacramento California, who grew up around most of his cousins and lost most of them due to gang violence, prison, or drugs. He has had a passion for music since early childhood. Eli says that his biggest influences growing up was Allen Iverson: “Because he always showed to just be yourself no matter how the media portrays you.” Eli’s musical influencers include Lil Wayne, T- Pain and Joe Blow. Eli is currently promoting his latest single “Kyrie”, produced by Alkapeezy, taken from the EP “COMPLETE”. Words have a hard time coming together to describe just how different this track is.
Eli’s storytelling is solid and the left-field writing style alone is worth accolades. Alkapeezy’s music is so smartly composed and the entirety of these elements, so well put together, in a laidback hazy style that you have to hear it a few times from start to finish, to catch the drift.
The way the song expresses its story will keep the listener entranced for the whole run time. Eli forges a cloudy, hazy and lazy rapping style that one could describe as stoner psychedelic, meanwhile in the background the production showcases hip-hop drums which hold up the orchestral elements that Alkapeezy has sneaked into the arrangement.
“Kyrie” as a whole is pretty calm and relaxed, it’s a very inviting track that will draw you in upon first listen and has high replay value, if only to discover where Eli is going with this one. Throughout the song, it’s possible to sense a strong focus on loneliness, isolation and self-empowerment. I smell smoke. And where there’s smoke, there’s fire!
The cryptic quality of Eli’s lyrics layer nicely with the languorous style of his signature voice. Eli is one of those controversial, polarizing type figures we come up against more often than not in the ever-changing face of modern hip-hop. Some people will love, and others will loathe his morbid, deadpan rhyming style on “Kyrie”.
However it doesn’t matter which side of the fence you’re sitting on, either way you’ll respect his artistry, and he’s a solid storyteller. “Kyrie”, is a good introduction to both him and producer Alkapeezy, and a pretty good determining factor on whether you’ll like Eli’s music or not.
On “Kyrie”, the beat floats along in the background and just melts together with Eli’s relaxed vocals. It’s a track that just vibes, and that I think is the key to enjoying this song – its unpretentious, untheatrical, and humble in its approach.
Just chill and vibe with it, as Eli eschews all the bombast and swagger drowning out the lyricism and storytelling of latter-day hip-hop. Eli isn’t hiding behind any masks to divulge the things his saying and the result is a sincere and pragmatic track. Ignoring current trends, Eli is committed to his cause.
OFFICIAL STREAMS: YOUTUBE – ITUNES – SPOTIFY – SOUNDCLOUD
Instagram: @elimoves @alkapeezy – Snapchat: @elimoves @alkapeezy
