No risk, no reward. Huge risk, well, you get the picture. Elephant Man is currently reaping the rewards of the mammoth risk he took by jumping totally outside of the dancehall performance box. When he bounds onto center stage in army fatigues, football shoulder pads worn on top of his jersey, and yellow hair a la Dennis Rodman, you have no choice but to sit up and take notice. Then he has the audacity to throw down some serious lyrical gymnastics on top of rhythms that force your body out of control….well, that’s why they proclaim him the Energy God!!

Elephant Man has embraced the live wire performance style that is usually associated with rock

musicians. Dancehall’s answer to Corey Glover, of the Grammy winning rock group Living Color, his commanding stage persona was developed at a time when posturing was becoming the mainstream’s idea of performing. Mix in his habit of spotlighting unique dance moves and party vocabulary, and there you have the ingredients for a long run on the top of the charts.

Elephant Man, a name given to him by Shabba Ranks, is actually the mature version of a childhood nickname that emphasized his large ears, Dumbo. Born O’Neal Bryan, Ele credits friend and mentor Bounty Killer for helping him fulfill his destiny of becoming a dancehall artist. He launched his solo career and was immediately positioned at the top of Jamaica’s charts with hits like “Log On” and “Higher Level”. This summer saw the entrenchment of his first US chart topper, “Pon de River, Pon de Bank”. This single was stationary on the play lists of urban radio throughout the country and it’s solidly produced video is still in heavy rotation on MTV, MTV 2, and BET. This hit has also had a foot hold on the Billboard charts for over 24 weeks.

Ele credits much of the success of “Pon de River” with his willful move away from the dancehall practice known as voicing. A perfect example is the Diwali riddim which is the base rhythm for summer crossover smashes from Wayne Wonder, Sean Paul and Lumidee. He didn’t want to simply voice this song on a riddim that everyone would eventually be voicing on. He made sure that for this song he used an exclusive.

Ele recently had an opportunity to gain even more visibility on the world stage when he was requested to be the first dancehall artist to host a pilot project on MTV2 in October called MTV2 Bashment. “It’s important because to see the fans dem request me to do something like that is great. Because something like that a get even more people to know who Elephant Man is and create more fans. And when they see what we can do and what we’re capable of, it a go overwhelm them. Trust me is one of the biggest things for me and me give nuff thanks.”

The fans are everything to Elephant Man. He recognizes that they are the basis for all his current and future success, so when he is writing his songs he keeps their wants in mind, not some industry standard. “I’m in the street. I’m not just writing lyrics by looking at a book. I’m mixing and mingling with the people, and listening to how they talk and react to the music, how they dance. In the club you see the vibe and you know what they want. Then when they hear their slang in a song or hear me talk about a situation that just happened and it makes sense to them. They can relate to it.”

With the landscape of great dancehall performers constantly growing it’s important to know who your peers are. In Ele’s case he feels that there is a tremendous amount of talent out there, some have already done their thing and others that have great potential. “There a lot of great artists out there. You got Sean Paul, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Sizzla. You got T.O.K, Wayne Wonder, Buju Banton, a lot of artists. We are all coming from the same root. We all pushing off the same energy and vibe.” And when he speaks of the dancehall fraternity, it’s because he truly dreams of a unified group of entertainers. In his opinion the days of everybody warring over who is harder, or who has more fans need to cease. “Everybody a do one music so it don’t make no sense fi everybody fight ‘gainst one another. Everybody a do one work. Unity is strength. Imagine if everybody come together and do one show, that would be the biggest show inna the world!”

Ultimately, Elephant Man wants people to know that he is a man. Like everyone else, there are good times and bad times. These have been great times and he’s thankful for them all. This album is not his first but he hopes it will be one of his most sccomplished. When contemplating where his career may be in five years time, he has this to say. “Well right now I plan to work very hard, and so five years from now, well, I really can’t predict the future, but I hope it’s gonna be great! I know what’s in my head to continue to make good music. Five years from now I would like to be successful and taking music to heights where me know seh everybody plays it and enjoys it. When them can say Elephant Man played his part, carry the whip and carry the banner and put it where Father God want him put it. Five years from now it’s gonna be a worldwide thing with everybody in the music coming together and taking it to another level.”

As for right now, with the distribution power of VP Records and Atlantic Records behind his soon to be released full length album, “Good 2 Go”, Ele is poised to repeat the mainstream dancehall success of his label mates. Though the lead single off of his new album has been out for some time, fans will want to buy the CD which features collaborations with Jimmy Cozier, Sasha, Killah Priest, and hip hop artists Rayvon, Lil Jon and Bone Crusher. Though most of the album is very uptempo and full of selections for the upcoming party season, there is a song called “Mexican Girl” that showcases another side of this deejay with its laid back rhythm and smooth vocals. This album speaks to the diversity of the genre: common riddims and exclusives, mixed with fast tempo and slow; all coming together in one stream of listening, rocking, grinding pleasure. And the fans will all agree.

In wrapping up, the question Elephant Man wishes people asked more often reminds us of the spiritual well that many Caribbean artists drink from. “I wish some of the people would come and ask if we love God sometimes. Just be like, ‘Yo, you love God?’, we hardly get that question. ‘Elephant, you love God’? Yes. ‘You love your mother?’ Yes. ‘You love your father?’ Yes. ‘You love people?’ Yes. Me woulda like that. Give Thanks.”