Reptor Productions 2008 - UK based unsigned online band promoters - Emation

Emation - Lots of Paper No Money		Visit website
Formed		Email this band
Genre Rap		Bookmark page
Country Usa		Email a friend
Album: Lots of Paper No Money
Joined Reptor Productions 645 days ago.
1. Parents Hate Me	BUY NOW!	play
2. Places Above	BUY NOW!	play
3. To the Top	BUY NOW!	play

Eddy's parents divorced when he was young and, like many divorces, it wasn't amicable. There were several moves, DSS involvement, and a lot of stress as a result. Caught in the middle of arguments and false allegations, Eddy began lashing out at a young age.

After Eddys mother married another man and they divorced Eddy really began to lash out towards society. He felt abandoned after watching his ex-stepfather leave his mother and his two other brothers homeless, in addition to making numerous false accusations towards his mother to obtain custody of the son they shared, Eddy's youngest brother. Eddy responded by making poor decisions and getting in trouble with the law. "I had a lot of charges against me," Eddy remembers. "Assault... arson... petty theft... attempted petty theft... destruction of property... even an illegal possession of fireworks." Facing court appearances, and the turmoil this caused at home, Eddy remembers running away while the family was living in Idaho and, eventually, being placed in the custody of the county, spending time in a residential facility. "It wasn't a long period of time," he says, "but it was the lowest point in my life."

"It was weird," Eddy remembers. "It was like I fit in for the first time. I hadn't really had friends before I got locked up and, all of a sudden, there were kids my age showing me respect."

It was during his time in residential that Eddy began rapping, something that he feels may have played a role in his fitting in. "The other kids and staff told me I have talent," he says, "and they meant it. By the time I was released they'd convinced me that I had a gift. I decided it was time to channel all of my anger into this, instead of getting into trouble."

Eddy's family left Idaho for Ohio shortly thereafter, and Eddy began taking music seriously. "I recorded a lot of stuff, and it got better as I went along," Eddy says. "I didn't have the money for studio time, so I had to do everything myself, and I got pretty good at mixing and mastering my own shit."

For the first time in his life Eddy was focused on something: making music. He'd found that his skills as a rapper - the same skills that had earned him respect in lockup - earned him respect everywhere he went.

"I'd pretty much been a loser with no friends before," Eddy says. "Rap allowed me to express myself lyrically and, really, it gave me the confidence to express myself at all." The response he got was nearly all positive.

In the end the response may have bolstered his confidence a little too much.

"I recorded a song called 'Troy Anthem,' Eddy recalls.It dealt with all of the rumors at my high school." It was well-received by the student body - but not so by the administration. "My principal suspended me. For a song - words to a beat - he suspended me. He said people could have been offended," Eddy says. "He didn't just say it, he yelled. That offended me. So with the support of pretty much everyone in our school, I took him out in my next song."

That song - The Treadmill Theory - included an intro from a popular radio DJ named Partyman from Hot 102.9 and, as can be expected, was panned by the critics, too. "I had a 4.2 GPA. I was a varsity athlete. I took him to the house in a song, and he took me outta the house," Eddy jokes.

Problems at home quickly followed. That was the final straw for his mother, who'd moved to Ohio in part to give Eddy a fresh start. She kicked him out of the house and, two days later, he was on a plane to try life with his father back in Baker City.

"Life in Oregon was way different," Eddy recalls. "I can't lie... I missed my mom. And I missed my younger brother. I felt like I'd let him down. My music had gotten me kicked outta my town and I couldn't be there for him like I had been. It sucked."

Eddy stayed with rap, though - and, for the first time, began to consider the effect his lyrics were having on his listeners. Music would be the only positive part of his life.

"I made a lot of new friends in Oregon," Eddy says. "I'd put up a profile on MySpace.com, and when I moved I changed my hometown to Baker. Before I'd even started going to school people there knew who I was. And they were feeling the music. It was an awesome feeling... I had fans!"

He performed in a show in La Grange, OR and, with several friends, set up an end-of-school party that featured a thirty-minute Emation set. "Two hundred people showed up on a Monday night," Eddy remembers. "It was crazy ." It was this, and his growing fan base on MySpace, that solidified Eddy's intent to begin to take rap even more seriously. "I decided I wanted to get signed to a major label."

It wouldn't be in Oregon, however.

"My 'disciplinary record' in Ohio with getting an expulsion for my sophmore year meant that I wasn't allowed to go to regular school," Eddy says. "I had to go to an alternative school for troubled kids. I didn't fit in at all, but still attempted to make the best of my situation ."

"Life at my father's wasn't what I expected," he says. "My father and his wife were using methamphetamines, and our money started running out. At one point they had me selling drugs for them. I was getting in trouble for everything. I was the only one working, but they started banning me from leaving the house, washing my clothes, and even taking showers." C'mon.

The night Eddy heard that he'd be shower restricted he made the decision to leave Oregon. "I cashed my paycheck and bought a Greyhound ticket to New York," he says. "I had no where to go, but I knew I had to leave." Armed with copies of the CDs he'd mastered and burned himself, Eddy decided to go door-to-door, handing them out at record companies. He was desperate.

"It was a crazy plan," he admits. "And in the back of my mind, I think it might've worked."

He wouldn't have the chance to find out. Still technically a juvenile at age sixteen, a national warrant was put out for his arrest as a runaway. "The bus driver tipped me off, and I decided to get off the bus when it got to Dayton, OH," Eddy says.

Allowed back home, Eddy decided to do things differently. He penned the song "Never Leave Me Alone" - an apology to his family. It wasn't even intended for his MySpace page at first, but a friend convinced him to put it up. It would go on to appear on more MySpace profiles than any other song he had recorded, and resulted in hundreds of add requests.

Today Eddy's MySpace friends number in the thousands, and he receives hundreds of plays a week. He is known, both in Baker City, OR and in Troy, OH, as much by his rap lyrics as by anything else. He continues to mix and master his new material and, bolstered by the MySpace success of 'Never Leave Me Alone', has recorded a mix tape entitled, Lots Of Paper No Money.

And he does it all in secret. His mother and stepfather, who allowed Eddy to return home on a conditional basis, will not be adding Emation as a friend any time soon. "They saw what my lyrics can do," Eddy says. "Words, for at least a short time, pretty much wrecked my life." Eddy's rap has taken on real meaning since then, but none of that matters to his parents. "My recording studio is a microphone and a laptop loaded up with some dope software - and it's hidden in my closet," he says. "I'm lucky to have a place to live - but nothing's gonna stop me from tryin' to get my place in the world of rap."

HE'S NOT YOUR TYPICAL RAPPER...

"Emation doesn't fit the stereotype of most of today's commercially successful rappers," says sharx.us's C. D. Henderson. "He's a teenage white kid from the suburbs. He doesn't belong to a gang, he doesn't roll with a crew, and he's not rapping like he does."

And that, perhaps, explains Emation's appeal to his fans.

"MySpace, and the rap world in general, is full of rappers lyricizing thug life," says Henderson. "I get CDs all the time from artists who have changed their life story to try to fit what they think the rap game wants to hear, what they think will get them signed. Emation's real. His story mirrors the lives of a lot of the kids who listen to rap, kids who go through a lot and want their music to reflect that."

Eddy agrees.

"I'm not out here rappin' about rollin' on dubs," he says. "In fact, between moving and trying to put out a mixtape, I'm not rollin' at all - I'm broke!"

At sixteen, Eddy is one of the youngest rappers on MySpace.com. He has two years of high school to go, and recognizes that most rappers don't find success until later in life.

He's hungry to be heard, however. And while thousands of MySpace friends make for a good fan base, Eddy isn't satisfied.

"I'm asking my MySpace friends, and my real-life fans, to help spread the word," he says. "Repost my promotional bulletins... put my banner on their MySpace pages... select my song for their players... help get Emation out there."

Eddy's plan seems to be working, as his friend count grows and his music is featured on more and more music players on the site. His song Parents Hate Me was recently featured on Stu Stone's TSM Radio, and he was the first rap artists to host a live video chat, giving fans real-time video/chat access at least once a week.

In addition to the mixtape, offered as a free download at http://mixtape.emationtheone.com or for sale as an extended, autographed version, a full-length CD is due this fall.