Eljay, (born Luke J. Adams on June 7, 1988), is an up-and-coming rapper from Peoria, Illinois. He is best known for his light-hearted rap that often satirizes the excesses and exaggerations in modern rap/hip-hop. For example, in his song "I Been Shot," he claims to have been shot no fewer than eighty times without requiring medical attention, and in "My Johnson" he claims to have a penis so large that he once used its abnormal length to save a small boy after the child fell down a well. He currently collaborates with his friend and producer Keith Mack, known by his hip-hop alias K Mack D. Unlike other gangsta rap artists, he avoids tangles with the law, respects local law enforcement officials and has never been arrested.
Claims and Exaggerations Eljay is also known for his very high opinion of himself and his lyrical abilities, as well as his many unfounded claims. For example, when asked about his musical influences in a recent radio interview on "Airplay," a weekly show on the Northwestern University student radio station WNUR, Eljay replied with a very long list of hip-hop/rap artists, including Jay-Z, Common, Lupe Fiasco, and even The Notorious B.I.G. and N.W.A. When the interviewer asked how exactly all of these artists influenced Eljay's career, Eljay responded,"Oh, I thought you meant artists that I influenced." It is important to note that almost all of the artists Eljay mentioned began rapping many years before he did, and some had even ended their careers by that time.
Additional outrageous claims by the artist concern his freestyle rap ability, which he says is so inventive that he frequently develops scientifically and politically relevant theories on-the-fly. In a discussion thread on his fan club group on Facebook, Eljay explains that the notion of using adult stem cells in medical therapy as opposed to embryonic stem cells came from one of his extemporaneous verses in a rap battle at Martini’s on Water Street in Peoria.
Music Career His first album, "Old Enuff 2 Vote" was released on March 6, 2007 in Peoria, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, and Palm Beach, Florida in many underground music locations, and it was highly anticipated by many underground DJ's such as Chicago hip-hop producer Prophecy, who is now collaborating with Eljay on his second album. Most notably, Eljay's material was sampled and mentioned by Swizz Beatz on the December 12, 2006 episode of Rap City.
Eljay currently attends Northwestern University and there achieved his first taste of notoriety outside of Peoria and was interviewed by The Daily Northwestern (see below).
Discography *2007 - Old Enuff 2 Vote (K Mack D Productions)