Rapper/producer Elite has been paying his dues long before linking up with J. Cole as an in house producer for the Ruff Ryders, and now he's finally getting the recognition he deserves with his own solo project, Awaken.
Download Awaken and peep the full tracklisting below, which includes features and production from J. Cole, Alchemist, Omen, and Voli!
A note from Elite:
As I finally upload the last files at 4:30am for my first real project, I want to take a moment to reflect on the journey. The first part of it anyways because there is still a long long way to go. I started out as an artist at the age of 17.. Discovered by Ruff Ryders while performing, but my production is what I became known for. I laid the groundwork. Paid dues. Learned. Struggled. Triumphed.. All that. I had highs and lows, Shootouts for Jadakiss… Who Dat for J. Cole… And the gaps in between. Nothing though compares to the moment I completed my first real song with the intention to becpme an artist again a little over 2 years ago. The song was called Judas. it didn’t make the mixtape because I felt it was best on it’s own as a prequel. I remember distinctly closing my eyes with my head back listening to the entire song for the first time after finishing and being overwhelmed at the emotions I felt. Finally a completed thought. A real creation.. It was mine.. All mine. I did not have to wait to see if another artist wanted to use it, I did not have to hope someone else would take what I had started in the right direction. It was done. I had full control and I was never going to give it back. Between then and now I have worked harder and with more purpose than ever in my life to create “Awaken”. Perfectionism doesnt begin to explain the lengths that i went to in order to make sure every tiny sound was in the perfect spot in every intro, outro, bridge and adlib. More like obsession. Because of this a lot of my close friends believe I shouldn’t be putting this out for free, I should shop it, try to get a deal with it etc… The songs are good enough, I know that. I think I bypassed the “prove you can rap” step and just went straight to making songs. I know I can rap, i’ve rapped since I was 17… I’m not a rapper.. I’m an artist that can rap.. I enjoy the craft of making an entire SONG. Start to finish. Production, Writing, Recording, Mixing. All of it.. All myself.. all in this bedroom. No studio, no budget. Which brings me back to why I decided to put this tape out and not try and shop it. I know there is so much room to grow still, there always will be. Everysong I do will be better than the last.. I know what I want my major studio album to sound like in my head… And it’s way beyond where I am at right now.. One step at a time. Everything happens as it is supposed to. And although I feel like Awaken has been such a personal milestone for me as an individual.. There are so many people who helped me create it. The musicians, my team, my friends.. but most importantly my dad. I dedicated this project to him because if it weren’t for him I definitely would not be doing music.. He always believed in me and until the end I think he was more excited about this project than I was. He passed a few months before I could finish, which has been incredibly hard but he knew where this was all headed.. Now it’s my job to prove him right! Damn I’m writing a lot of shit but you know what I want my fans (future and present) to get to know me. I’m definitely an open book as you can hear from the music. Not afraid to be vulnerable, you can’t be if your creating art. That’s where all the best stuff is created from. Taking risks.. This whole post feels like a risk.. But that’s how I know it’s good. With that said, Thank you to every single person who downloads this project.. Listens to it, enjoys it and shares it. This is just the beginning, but at the same time it feels like finally… Awaken! Tomorrow 11/11/11 at 1:11pm
-Elite