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El-P Information
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'El-Producto' or 'El-P' (born 'Jaime Meline') is a hip hop producer and rapper from New York City, well known and controversial in underground hip hop circles. His work as a member of the trio Company Flow (alongside Bigg Jus and Mr. Len) was heralded as some of the most progressive and intelligent hip hop of its time.
Originally signed to Rawkus Records but dropped after a creative dispute, El-P now runs his own record label, Definitive Jux. In May 2002, he released a solo album, Fantastic Damage. Of the many albums he has helped produce (most on Definitive Jux), the most influential and successful has been Cannibal Ox's only full-length album, The Cold Vein (2001). El-P has also contributed productions and guest raps to albums by Aesop Rock, Mr. Lif, and others.
As a rapper, El-P's style can be characterized by his dense, aggressive, and verbose attacks, which include notable use of metaphor, science fiction and fantasy themes and references, and associative word play. Regardless of this sophistication, he does not eschew traditional hip hop subject matter, a description which would fit equally well several of his colleagues. His impact as a producer owes to his innovative mix of bleak futurism and low fidelity sounds. This sound may be influenced by Public Enemy's production team, The Bomb Squad, but it is also original and modern in its own right. El-P is a great fan of science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, and many of Dick's themes-paranoia, the nature of reality-feature in El-P's work.
El-P has worked with free jazz pianist Matthew Shipp, a fan of El-P's music. In an interview with Shipp, Meline stated:
:First and foremost, I wanted to do it because it scared the shit out of me ... And when I get offered the chance to be involved with something that scares me, I usually do it, because I'm trying to learn, I'm trying to understand music as much as I can, to become a better musician in general and work in different capacities.
The resultant album, High Water (Mark), has received mixed reviews.
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