Listen to my music….it’s the best picture of me that could ever be painted….however for those of you who want to read it from me…
THE NOW…….
Currently my wife and I are running Green Digi Entertainment (more info at www.GreenDigiEntertainment.com). We are an artistic family driven by music and dance. I have been rapping and producing Hip Hop music in Eugene, OR for the past 10 years, while Vanessa has been dancing, teaching and choreographing in Eugene for the past 8 years. We have been married for about 3 years and have a one year old son Zeno, who is the absolute light of our lives.
About 6 months ago we were sitting down and discussing our futures and our hopes for Zeno when you might say we had a revelation. Both of us had been working at our art for a very long time and felt like we were running in place. So we decided that we needed a drastic change in our lives in order to feel complete. We were tired of just sitting and waiting for our careers, it was time to got out and start creating our careers. This is when we founded Green Digi Entertainment and began a plan to live our passions everyday.
Green Digi Entertainment is a platform and philosophy to unify our arts as a family. Our main focus with our company is to inspire as many people as we can, while conserving as many resources as possible. About 3 months ago we decided that we needed to lead by example if we’re going to inspire our son how to follow his dreams. That is when we headed out on a 3 month, grassroots street performing tour all around the nation with our one of a kind Rap Tap Duet. We had a great time, met a lot of awesome people and all in all it was a huge success.
One of the best parts of our tour was we were asked to join Zion-I and The Grouch’s “Healing of the Nation Tour”. It was amazing experience in which we learned a lot about the music business and about all the difference dance and music scenes through the nation. Also, E.T.’s first solo album “pHone Home” received national press from Okayplayer.com and reached the top 40 of the College Music Journal’s Hip Hop Charts. All these experience were proof that if we work hard and passionately pursue our dreams, good things will come of it.
So now we are in love with traveling and meeting new people and with this project would like to share some new experiences with you.
THE THEN……
Born in 1984, I grew up in Ghosttown, Middle of Nowhere (a.k.a. Casper, Wyoming) as the youngest of four mixed raced kids to a single white mom. My first memories are living in a safe house for battered women with 6 other families and going to the food bank to get white labeled food. Shortly after moving away from the safe house his father found them and was imprisoned after firing his shot gun in an attempt to break into their home. With his father in prison and his mother working nearly 70 hours per week, I was forced to come face-to-face with the mean mug of reality at an early age. Eager to fit in with the older street kids I began experimenting with drugs, alcohol and crime by the age of 12. In jail at age 14 for cultivation charges, I picked up my first pen and put it to paper vowing to never become a “Ward of the State” like his older sister and brother (both had recently been taken away from their mother the state).
With the help of a few mentors, I turned my life around. Filling my life with writing, reading and Hip Hop music I stoked my fiery passion for self expression, education and entertainment. By High School graduation I replaced his lying, cheating and stealing with writing rhymes, reading and feeling out my options for the future. Having competed with 100 other students, I was 1 of 10 awarded a full ride scholarship to any institution in the nation. After visiting many campuses I chose a place that was like a distant and foreign planet compared to my home town…Eugene, Oregon.
Ultimately the “care free” college life wasn’t for me. Turning down multiple offers to graduate school, I dedicated my life to my family and the Hip Hop kulture. Although I’m now living check to check, I would rather be doing what I love, then what everyone else does (i.e. conform to the norm). While living in Eugene, I linked up with my brother Gab (a.k.a. Philosophy) and two other guys to form a group called The pHormula. While getting my B.A. in Philosophy I was the lead emcee, graphic designer, videographer and producer for The pHormula. We created 2 full length albums “What the pH?” (2006) and “No Formula” (2008). “No Formula” was an instant local hit selling 3,000 burned copies in the first year, but was also a prophetic statement. After the album, life changes caused group to go our separate ways. Since then I have gotten married and had a magnificent baby boy…which has put me on my current quest to reflect on the past in order to project into the future.
CLICK HERE FOR PDF VERSION OF THIS PRESS KIT
E.T.’S DEBUT SOLO RELEASE
‘pHone Home’
Full Length Digital LP Releasing Wednesday February 2nd, 2011
“Full Length Physical LP Releasing Wednesday April 20th, 2011
Feat. Geo of Blue Scholars, Zumbi of Zion-I and Grayskul of Rhymesayers
After 10 years of writing, recording, mastering and spending 5 years as the lead emcee of The pHormula, E.T. is set to release his debut solo LP “pHone Home” and set off on his First National Tour “Pick Up Your Phone”. “pHone Home” is a story of one man’s epic journey to fatherhood while dodging vulture debt collectors, battling relationship woes and confronting the calling of forgotten heritage. E.T. truly shines as he masterfully presents his many styles and vividly tells his life story. With such guest appearances as Zumbi of Zion-I(their recent LP “Atomic Clock” has spent last 8 weeks on CMJ’s Hip Hop charts), Geo of Blue Scholars(recently signed to the same label as KRS-1, Duck Down Records NY) and Grayskull (signed to Rhymesayers Ent.), “pHone Home” has a universal sound that is out of this world like alien landings sure to leave the listener in awe barely standing.
Upon first sight most people mistake E.T. for being Hawaiian, Mexican or Cuban. All people give an alien look when he tells them he is actually a black Creek Indian and Irish emcee/producer from the middle of nowhere/Casper, Wyoming. Although his origins are from the strange and unknown, E.T. is not about aliens…just the unknown. E.T. stands for Examine the Truth, which is a call to listeners to be aware at all times, questioning “The Truth”. He is self described as “Ear opening Hip Hop with enthralling lyrics over phenomenal beats which raises your fists, touches your heart and ignites artistic passion.” His sound is catchy, but not commercial and progressive, but not preachy.
With the name E.T., “pHone Home” was pretty much a given for the title to a first album. However, E.T.’s vision behind the album is much deeper. He used this cliché phrase for his album to prove that you can turn anything into Hip Hop. Hip Hop is about recreating your reality through self expression. Much of the same can be said about art in general but particularly rings true with the Hip Hop founders’ sampling of records in a time when records filled the ears of most people. Fast-forward to today every city is filled with the sounds of cell phones ringing, dialing and reminding us we are alive and connected. So, E.T. thought why not sample all these seemingly non–musical sounds and create a musical composition like none other? Chain Pull. Light bulb illuminates. E.T. creates the title track for his LP “pHone Home”. All of his artistic skills as a writer, rapper, producer and mastering technician are displayed in this track, which is available for download and has a music video at www.therealet.com.
Other tracks that are guaranteed classics are “Inhale” (a buttery beat with lyrics from the deepest underground cracks of hip hop) “Particular”(a love song for E.T.’s wife, featuring Tomo of Volifonix on Sax) and “ProFreshN’Ill” (starts with ET calling into a CA radio station with Arseniol Hall). Plus E.T. has linked up with two West Coast heavy weights Geo of Seattle, WA and Zumbi of Oakland, CA on “Soul Fly” (an upbeat song about keeping your head up) and with the Minnesota based record label Rhymesayers’ Grayskul on “In Da Bag” (a song about having paid dues).
E.T. has been patiently honing his talents gaining enough experience and respect to be dubbed as one of the Northwest’s elite Hip Hop artists. As a part of The pHormula he has helped produce two Full Length LPs (“What the pH? 2006 and “No Formula” 2008) and a double disc Northwest Mixtape featuring Cool Nutz, Braile, Lafa Taylor, Marv Ellis, Sapient, etc. (“Tracktown” 2008). Additionally, E.T. has shared the stage with KRS-1, Zion-I, Blue Scholars, The Flobots, The Game, Bone Thugz and Harmony, Andre Nicotina and many others. Now performing as a solo artist, E.T. has much more artistic freedom to stretch the limits of his style creating a more edgy and personable sound filled with his life’s stories.
Be sure to stay connected by visiting www.therealet.com for all tour and album updates.
Contact Info:
Vanessa Martin
booking@therealet.com
www.therealet.com
541-912-9540
