A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to call up rapper/producer, Jaime Meline (aka: EL-P) on the phone and speak to him from his home in Brooklyn.  I was conducting an interview with EL-Producto for a print magazine and, as our conversation exceeded both the allotted time slot set aside for the interview and the maximum word count for the article, a few things became increasingly apparent.  EL is a perfectionist and takes pride in every minute aspect of his work.  Not only is this true as far as his own albums are concerned–they have consistently taken 5 years to be released, from one to the next–or the work that he produces for others, but there’s also a great attention to detail when it comes to his live tours and every other aspect in everything else that he’s involved with.  These weren’t huge revelations; his dedication is always strikingly evident in the final product, but the passion in his voice and within every single detail of every answer was undeniable.  In regards to his work ethic and throughout much of his subject matter, Meline is a very serious character.  He doesn’t take his work or the necessary focus that it takes to create it lightly.  However, EL is also comically cynical at times and always manages to buffer any abrasiveness with tongue-in-cheek winks and nods to his audience, letting everyone know that, while he clearly observes and relays plenty of material that could be considered tragic, conspiratorial, and/or anxiety-inducing, there’s an absurd humor to these extremes that is never lost on the Definitive Jux label founder.  His first official video from his recent full-length, Cancer For Cure, displays this tongue-in-cheek view of chaos and tragedy as poignantly as anything that we’ve seen from him up until this point and, featuring a sample from the late-Camu Tao‘s “When You’re Going Down,” it also works to display another defining characteristic of Meline: his undying dedication and appreciation for the artists/friends around him. Read the rest of this entry →