Elliterate

Elliterate
Elliterate Live (c. 2012) Elliterate opening for Andre Nickatina at the historic Wilma Theatre in 2012.
Background information
Birth name	Charles Russell Banham
Also known as	Charlie Russell, Elli
Born	(1989-07-19) July 19, 1989 Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop Underground
Occupation(s)	Rapper songwriter
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Black Budget Productions Sarah Starr Entertainment Big City Entertainment
Associated acts	Shaymlusly Elliterate Raashan Ahmad Statik Selektah Termanology Blu
Website	www.elliteratemusic.com

Charlie Banham (born July 19th, 1989), better known by his stage name Elliterate, is an American rapper and songwriter based out of Los Angeles, California. He is a member of the hip-hop duo Shaymlusly Elliterate and the hip-hop collective Black Budget Music. Elliterate released his debut solo mixtape "The Free EP", in 2014, and is currently promoting his debut studio album, "Charlie Russell", set to be released early 2016. "Charlie Russell" will feature appearances by Rick Ross, Statik Selektah, Blu, Skyzoo, Jared Evan, Raashan Ahmad, Termanology, and more.

Early life

Elliterate was born Charles Russell Banham on July 19th, 1989 in Manhattan, New York City, at the now defunct Saint Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center, to Kim Anderson, a poet, writer and humanitarian, and Russ Banham, renowned business author, actor, and director. After his father got a job teaching drama at the University of Montana the family relocated to Missoula, MT. However, after his parents’ divorce, Elliterate split his time between Missoula and Seattle, WA, attending O'Dea High School in Seattle before pursuing a Music Composition degree at the University of Montana.

From an early age, Elliterate was passionate about writing. His first published short stories and poems were featured in the Montana Anthology of Poetry and the Montana Festival of the Book. He has said that he first began listening to hip-hop when he was a young child, mimicking the style and flow of Detroit rappers Eminem, Elzhi of Slum Village, and Binary Star. When speaking of his primary influences, Elliterate noted “I've always been really drawn to the Detroit music scene. I'm torn because the West Coast (hip-hop) has influenced my style so much, but I'd have to say the lyricism that comes from Detroit is unparalleled”.

Career

2008-2012: Beginnings and Shaymlusly Elliterate

While pursuing a music degree at the University of Montana, Elliterate honed his skills by freestyling at college functions and frat parties. It was through this that Elliterate first connected with fellow rapper Shaymlus (nee. Shay Sweeney), though they had known each other as children. As Shaymlus put it, “we were just kicking it one night, drinking and what not when Ell started to spit me something he had wrote. I thought it was off the chain, and started to freestyle myself. He didn't know I could spit, but thought it was dope and next thing you know we were recording music and doing shows.” Their first show as a duo (and first show under their new moniker) had them opening for and introducing Mike Jones, gaining them significant exposure and interest as opening acts. This lead to numerous live performances and tours opening for other respected artists, including: Dead Prez, Nappy Roots, Curren$y, Andre Nickatina, One Be Lo (of Binary Star), Freestyle Fellowship, Sweatshop Union, Devin The Dude, Raashan Ahmad (of Crown City Rockers) & more. They also performed at the 2011 Independents Day Festival in Helena, MT, hosted by rapper Tech N9ne and featuring performances by Kottonmouth Kings, Strange Music, Jay Rock, Murs, Kidz In The Hall, Doomtree, & Blueprint, in addition to Shaymlusly Elliterate. In 2011 & 2012, respectively, Shaymlusly Elliterate was voted Missoula's "Best Local Band" by the Missoulian newspaper. They have produced four full length mixtapes: 2010's "Late To Class", 2011's "SynSpeak.Com Presents: The Spelling Bee" and "If You Can't Say It, Spell It", & 2012's "21 Bump Street" (featuring collaborations with Los Angeles rapper Spice 1 and Raashan Ahmad of Crown City Rockers).

Shaymlusly Elliterate has also produced the musical score for three award-winning theatrical productions. With frequent collaborator and producer The Funk Junkie, they produced the music for Seattle Public Theater's "Mauritius" (written by Theresa Rebeck) and "Superior Donuts" (written by Tracy Letts), and Seattle's Theater Shmeater's "Crooked" (written by Catherine Trieschmann). All three plays were directed by Russ Banham, two of them winners of the Seattle Time's "Footlight Award" ("Mauritius" for "Best of The Smaller Houses" in 2010, "Crooked" for "Best Fab Fringe" in 2011). In regards to Shaymlusly Elliterate's musical production in "Crooked", writer Miryam Gordon wrote "(This) one interlude in particular is an evocative hip-hop style song that is great for that moment in the script."

2013-Present: Solo Career

In 2013, Elliterate moved to Los Angeles, CA to pursue his solo career. He released his first solo project, "The Free EP", shortly thereafter as a lead up to his full upcoming solo album, "Charlie Russell", set to be released early 2016. The first single off of the album, “What Do They Know”, featured prominent East Coast rapper Termanology and production from Statik Selektah. It gained widespread popularity upon its release on internet blogs and college radio stations and was in weekly rotation on Sirius XM channel Shade 45.

Starting in October of 2015, Elliterate began releasing a monthly music video series through his website entitled “The Verses Series”. Each video is a standalone short music video for one of his verses, sometimes including the hook or chorus, from both unreleased songs as well as pre-released material on his albums and others.

Discography

Albums

• "Charlie Russell", [Black Budget Productions], 2016

Mixtapes

• "The Free EP", [Black Budget Productions], 2015
• "21 Bump Street", (as Shaymlusly Elliterate), [Buzz Records], 2012
• "If You Can't Say It, Spell It" (as Shaymlusly Elliterate), [Buzz Records], 2011
• "SynSpeak.Com Presents: The Spelling Bee" (as Shaymlusly Elliterate), [Rock Lovely Productions], 2011
• "Late To Class" (as Shaymlusly Elliterate), 2010

External Links

• http://www.elliteratemusic.com
• http://www.blackbudgetproductions.com
• http://elliteratemusic.bandcamp.com
• http://www.soundcloud.com/elliteratemusic
• http://www.facebook.com/elliteratemusic
• http://www.twitter.com/elliteratemusic

References

This article "Elliterate" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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