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Civil Interview: Elijah Blake Talks ‘Shadows & Diamonds,’ Being Emotional In R&B, And Keyshia Cole Friendship

Posted on July 2nd, 2015
by
Staff Editor


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Where does the title Shadows & Diamonds come from?

Elijah: It stems from being in the position of getting the deal I always wanted as a kid, and No I.D. was somebody that I looked up to. I was like, “Man I got the guy who’s behind Kanye West, Common, Jhene Aiko to be behind me.” We’re doing amazing music together, and he’s really executive-producing my project. I felt like I was bringing to the table a guy who’s not perpetuating stereotype, grew up and is a mama’s boy, and grew up around his sisters. I’m not calling females “bitches” and “hoes.” I wanted to bring something new, but I also felt like my Achilles heel was working against me. I felt like my fans, and people who were open to Elijah Blake, and what I had to offer, made me hold on to the glimmer of hope and light to create a diamond.

Since all of your growth from your last project Drift, do you have like a favorite track on this album that means the most to you?

Elijah: I would probably say “Pinot” because it was like the first song I ever did with No I.D. I did that song before I did anything on Drift. No I.D. would never let me put it out until it was a part of the project, so I definitely feel like that was like my most honest song. It has those dark elements, but it has a positive perspective on it too. That was about my high school sweat heart who was like, “You’re so cool with everybody. You’re so transparent.” She thought that the one person I wasn’t like that with was her, my woman, and that I kind of set her out. She always felt like I wasn’t honest about my emotions with her. so I drank some Pinot, got in the studio, and called her to have an hour-long conversation. It was so special. I told my engineer to hit record, and I just started freestyling, putting the conversation I had with her into a song.

Rico Love has talked about how we do not express our raw emotions enough in hip-hop. This album definitely brings that out on songs like “All Black Everything” and “Armaggedon.”

Where did that rule come from? I wanna know! There’s strength in honesty. I feel like the media has perpetuated stereotypes, but if you’re honest or weak, that’s a sign of strength. I want to express that us guys have feelings too. We know when we mess up, and we know when we lost a good woman. There’s been times where I could just play the game of “Who’s gonna call who first?” I would do that, but as of now, at 24, I’m like, “I messed up. I miss you. I’m not really trying to run around with these thots.” I’m just trying to put that in music form. Since I’m so close to my mom, I’m more sensitive to that.

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