Born in Los Angeles, CA, EL-K!NG (formally known as Element Rhymes) is the consummate rapper. As the son of an avid R&B singer, Element grew up in a household that influenced his passion for music and creativity. Although Element received constant exposure to music his childhood was extremely difficult since he grew up in an abusive household. To escape the physical and psychological abuse of his parents, Element turned to reading as a way to escape the tortured reality of his youth. Poetry also soon became a therapeutic method to cope with his pain and struggles. His troubled upbringing played a large factor in the development of his rapid aggressive rhyme style, as it also eventually peaked his interest in battle rapping. At first music was just a coping mechanism to deal with his pain and anger, but as he got older his skills had developed to the level of a top tier professional lyricist. In 2002, he formed the infamous LA street rap group, Custom Made, with high school friends Scavie Scoobs, Lavi Bluff and Sinister Six. After dropping their first straight-to-street album, LA State of Mind, in 2004 they began releasing countless mixtapes and were performing multiple live shows on a weekly basis. Custom Made became well known throughout the underground hip-hop scene as emcees who told tales of LA street life narrated over East Coast themed production. By 2006, the group’s extreme work ethic had attracted interest from multiple labels and they decided to sign a deal with the NYC powerhouse hip-hop label Babygrande Records. This resulted in the release of the Custom Made compilation, Sidewalk Mindtalk (2006), and their classic LP, Original Dynasty (2008). In 2007 they released, Truth Be Told, on the legendary hip-hop label Rawkus Records. 2007 was also the year Element joined The Bronx rap group Street Disciplez to release the album, Sink or Swim, Live or Die, Survive or Perish. Street Disciplez would end up becoming Custom Made’s NYC extended family and featured extensively on Truth Be Told, Heavy Traffic and Original Dynasty. In 2009, Custom Made severed ties with Babygrande and Element became the first member of the group to release a solo album with his classic LP, Great Expectations. On his debut solo album he was able to showcase his wide range of rap styles. His content ranged from hardcore street rap, socially conscious issues, diabolical battle rap and even records with a more commercial appeal. Later he collaborated with Custom Made producer Abstrakt Soundz to create the followup albums, A Long Story Short (2010), and crowned KING (2013). In 2013, he linked up with Inglewood rapper Hollywood Donut to drop the LP, Stomping Ground via Stan Media Group. Since then he has released a slew of mixtapes such as No Fear (2014), Goodbye Jane (2015), LA Raw (2016), Summer Moon (2021), Code is Law (2022) and WIPED (2023). When it comes to music, very few artists have a work ethic that even comes close to what Element is capable of. Some might call it madness, but that’s the only way he knows how to work. Throughout his career he was sporadically participating in battle rap events and tournaments, but battling always came second to his career with Custom Made. Most battle rappers couldn’t make a record if their careers depended on it. Element’s ability to produce good music outside of the battle scene is what always separated him from other battle emcees. Eventually he began to delve deeper into the battle rap scene and before long he became a regular on the professional rap battle circuit. Throughout the years he has battled some of the biggest and most well known emcees in the rap battle world and has still been able to release excellent music on a consistent basis. Besides music he also became deeply involved in the cryptocurrency world and even started his own podcast. Overall, his music is a combination of socially conscious issues, battle and street rap mixed with his real life experiences. Whether rapping with Custom Made, releasing solo records or going bar for bar against other emcees in battle, Element never fails to disappoint and always brings his A game. At the end of the day Element is the true definition of an emcee.