Today we’d like to introduce you to Erockalipse.
Erockalipse, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started rapping at a very young age.
I remember there was a group of guys rapping outside of the middle school I attended and I decided I would try it.
I was destroyed by one of the rappers and I remember that I didn’t mind since it was my first time and I had never tried to rap before but…
It was the laughing of all the other students standing around listening to that sparked my relentless determination to never feel that embarrassment again.
I began taking rapping and rap battles very personal by making sure I was always prepared to destroy anyone who attempted to challenge me to a rap battle.
I always enjoyed reading at a young age so I unintentionally developed a strong vocabulary that was very useful for my new found passion.
After my reputation for being the best rapper on campus grew, I was approached by a classmate who said his uncle was starting a record label and was looking for an artist and they suggested that I contact him so I did.
I recorded my first singles “Elliot Ness” and The E is Genuine” which was produced by Norby Luna and released on his Doorway Records record label.
I did countless live performances and became a member of 2-Tone.
Later, I decided I wanted to remain a solo artist and I left the group.
Shortly after, I was contacted by Mark Adams who was looking for an artist to record with some talented producers who had started their own “Serious Records” record label.
I would have to travel to Fort Worth to record at Legacy Studios to record my “One The Hard Way” album.
I was surprised at how much attention and radio play it received.
I remember working as a cook at the time when I first heard my songs on the radio… I was so excited that I quit that job immediately.
I did several live performances and some of my most memorable where at the Hard Rock Café and the Palladium night club in Dallas.
I also did a live performance on a television show called “On the Fly”.
A year later I recorded an unreleased follow-up album called “Vitamin E” with producer Rod Kirkpatrick.
The album was never released due to disagreements between management and the executive producers although I later released a couple of singles from the album “Literary Freak” and “Designed to make you Swing” out of my own pockets.
After being disappointed about the outcome of that album I was very determined to get back in the studio.
I contacted the first producer I ever worked with Norby Luna and recorded my “Kliffhanger” album which was hard to keep in the stores.
I am planning to re-release it later this year.
Next, I recorded my “Southern Eclipse: the Final Chapter” album in 7 days with GU GU of Redrumm Recordz on Midwest Records although there was a dispute regarding which label was better to promote the album since it featured a lot the talented artist from Redrumm Recordz.
After once again experiencing disappointment from others hindering the success of my music, I decided to step away from the music industry to pursue my interests in other creative ventures.
Several years later after reminiscing and listening to all of my previous albums, I decided to experiment with music again.
With the popularity of the internet at the time and me being an Alumni from Carter High School, I joined the Alumni community website.
One night in the studio with a classmate who was also a music producer named Steven Bowers, I wrote and recorded “I Went To Carter” just to use on my page but after being contacted by one of the host of the website I was asked if they could use it on the main page and it just kind of took off from there.
A couple of years later, the Carter High movie was in the works and I was getting contacted by so many people asking if I was going to do a song for the soundtrack.
I was interested but based on my past experiences with the producers I usually worked with I knew that chances were good that I would be disappointed again because so many people were involved.
I tried to make it happen but at the time, I could not find a producer who took the project serious enough in time to get anything done.
After talking with the film director, I was told my “I Went to Carter” song would be featured… but it wasn’t.
After another disappointment, I decided to start producing my own music and with some help from a couple of my producer friends, I am currently enjoying it.
As an answer to the Carter High snub, I recorded and released my “1819” album which is a snapshot of my experiences as a teenager at Carter High school.
In the meantime, I continued to appear on other artist’s albums some got released and some did not.
After my biological mother suddenly passed away and I began dealing with some confusing family issues, I wanted to record a more personal album so I recorded and released my “My Life My Channel” album last year.
I am currently recording my upcoming “Aries” album that I plan to release early next year.
Today, I control every aspect of my music from writing, producing, recording, music videos and artwork for my Stead-E-Rock Records Label.
I honestly feel like I am a survivor of an era of music that was a lot more chaotic and challenging to get your music out to your fans.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Music has and always will have its unique challenges but for me, it was always the unpredictability of people associated with everything but the music.
The untalented people who plot to exploit the talents of others are the worst.
Trying to make it in the music industry without knowing the way the music industry functions is dangerous and if not for the internet we would continue to see more of those heartbreaking stories of artists getting ripped off or continuing to mistakenly signing outrageous contracts with people or companies that you thought had your best interest in mind.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a recording artist, music producer and owner of Stead-E-Rock Records an independent record label based in Dallas, Texas.
I write and produce music based on life experiences good and bad.
I am very proud to continue to do what I love and look forward to seeing what the future holds for my music.
My music is original, vibrant and different because of my life long experiences with different producers and artists in the music industry.
What were you like growing up?
I was a young and shy person when I was younger but I had to learn how to survive the best way I could.
As I got older, I learned to channel a lot of my anger into my music and in other creative ways.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://erockalipsesupreme.blogspot.com
- Email: erockalipse@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erockalipse
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Erockalipse
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/erockalipse
- Yelp: https://erockalipse.bandcamp.com
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/erockalipse
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