Eljay

Creating since 2006, Eljay is a hip-hop musician, lyricist, performer, and comedian. A natural on stage since elementary school, Eljay has performed in every live medium from oratory to stage drama to his own original comedy rap. A prolific writer, Eljay has produced over 50 original songs in addition to writing and directing college radio plays and live musicals. During college, Eljay became a celebrity on campus at Northwestern University, where students flocked to dozens of performances of college-friendly hits like “I Felta Thi” and “Red Rocket (In My Pocket)” off of his two studio albums, Old Enuff 2 Vote and Rebirf. After seven years in the U.S. Navy—during which he continued to write and perform—Eljay returned to Northwestern to pursue an MBA. He once again took the stage at local venues, and his music was a smash with his new cohort of classmates—particularly “Lunch n’ Learnin’". While at his master's program, he also wrote, directed, and starred in "Accepted!", a 3-hour musical that parodied business school and corporate culture, which ran 5 live sold-out shows for an audience of thousands. Originally a parody of hip-hop culture (“I Been Shot”), Eljay’s music evolved to range from lampooning the workplace grind—“Work Environment” and “Rap Star”—to juvenile humor (“Nocturnal Emissionz”). Recently Eljay has produced more family-friendly songs such as “Ruby Red” to reach a broader audience. His 3rd studio album, the first in 15 years, is targeted for a 2025 release.