Lord T & Eloise
Encyclopedia
Lord T & Eloise are a crunk
rap group from Memphis, Tennessee
. Lord T dresses as an 18th century aristocrat, while Eloise wears a tuxedo and sports a "24-karat" gold skin. The self-proclaimed "intergalactic time travelers" and "horsemen of the Rapocalypse" are on a mission to save rap music.
. Aristocrunk, also the name of their first album, is meant to describe both a philosophical lifestyle as well as the musical genre itself. Many songs from their albums Aristocrunk & Chairmen of the Bored
are accompanied by harpsichord
and baroque
style music, while others stay close to the traditional Memphis crunk sound. Lord T's are similar to the slow train lyrical style of Snoop Dogg
, Eloise's style draws more comparisons to Chuck D of Public Enemy. Drawing from a diverse palette of influences, the group admits that the Beastie Boys
, David Bowie
, Busta Rhymes
, The ODB
, 8Ball and MJG, Al Kapone
have all been influences. While tracks like "Million Dollar Boots" and "Penthouse Suite" have a more refined, classical edge with the incorporation of strings
, other tracks like "Pillz" and "Dance Move" have more of a crunk, dirty south edge to them, featuring 808
drums and a heavy bottom end.
, "Editor's Pick" from Blender Magazine and a review from VH1
that lauded them as "the world’s first purveyors of aristocrunk". They have also made appearances on Ellen! and E! Fashion Police. Now signed with R.E.M.
and Widespread Panic
's booking agency, P.G.A., Lord T & Eloise released their third full-length album, RAPOCALYPSE, in August 2010, with a national tour following.
Crunk
Crunk is a music style that originated in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-to-late 1990s and gained mainstream success around 2003–2004. Performers of crunk music are sometimes referred to as crunksters. An archetypal crunk track most frequently uses a drum machine rhythm, heavy bassline, and...
rap group from Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. Lord T dresses as an 18th century aristocrat, while Eloise wears a tuxedo and sports a "24-karat" gold skin. The self-proclaimed "intergalactic time travelers" and "horsemen of the Rapocalypse" are on a mission to save rap music.
Musical style
Lord Treadwell and Maurice Eloise XIII (aka Lord T and Eloise) have dubbed their own unique rap style "aristocrunk", a combination of the terms aristocratic and crunkCrunk
Crunk is a music style that originated in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-to-late 1990s and gained mainstream success around 2003–2004. Performers of crunk music are sometimes referred to as crunksters. An archetypal crunk track most frequently uses a drum machine rhythm, heavy bassline, and...
. Aristocrunk, also the name of their first album, is meant to describe both a philosophical lifestyle as well as the musical genre itself. Many songs from their albums Aristocrunk & Chairmen of the Bored
Chairmen of the Bored
Chairmen of the Bored is the second album by crunk rap group Lord T & Eloise, released in 2008 by Young Avenue Records.-Track listing:# "The Room" – 0:22 # "Coup d'Etat" – 3:30 # "Dance Move" – 3:51 # "Hot" – 2:45...
are accompanied by harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
and baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style music, while others stay close to the traditional Memphis crunk sound. Lord T's are similar to the slow train lyrical style of Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
, Eloise's style draws more comparisons to Chuck D of Public Enemy. Drawing from a diverse palette of influences, the group admits that the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
, The ODB
ODB
ODB can refer to:* the IATA airport code of Córdoba Airport* Ol' Dirty Bastard , American rapper and founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan* ODB, an object-relational mapping system for C++...
, 8Ball and MJG, Al Kapone
Al Kapone
This article is about the American rapper, for the notorious gangster, see Al CaponeAlphonzo Bailey, better known by his stage name Al Kapone, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee.-Career:...
have all been influences. While tracks like "Million Dollar Boots" and "Penthouse Suite" have a more refined, classical edge with the incorporation of strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
, other tracks like "Pillz" and "Dance Move" have more of a crunk, dirty south edge to them, featuring 808
Roland TR-808
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was one of the first programmable drum machines . Introduced by the Roland Corporation in early 1980, it was originally manufactured for use as a tool for studio musicians to create demos. Like earlier Roland drum machines, it does not sound very much like a real...
drums and a heavy bottom end.
Lyrical content
The lyrical content of this band has been praised by critics, who cite the cleverness of the turns of phrase and the catchiness of the hooks. Unique in its disregard for traditional rap dialect, "aristocrunk" lyrics are nevertheless made up of many rap mainstays, using common themes, such as the supremacy of the artists in the areas of success, sexual prowess, technological savvy and financial know-how (e.g., in the video for "Million Dollar Boots", they are shown with the ticker for the NASDAQ stock exchange displayed across their teeth, in place of a "grill"). Lord T and Eloise are a mixture of performance art, party rap, and social commentary; the group's lyrics cover a range of topics from plastic surgery to the stock market, from time travel to prescription drug use, mixing fun with satire.Critical reception
Lord T and Eloise have received positive reviews from numerous newspapers and music publications. Accolades have included an "A" from the Memphis FlyerMemphis Flyer
The Memphis Flyer is a free weekly alternative newspaper serving the greater Memphis, Tennessee area. Liberal in its politics, the Flyer covers local politics, as well as music and entertainment, regional sports, and human interest stories. Circulation: 55,000The Flyer was founded in 1989 by...
, "Editor's Pick" from Blender Magazine and a review from VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
that lauded them as "the world’s first purveyors of aristocrunk". They have also made appearances on Ellen! and E! Fashion Police. Now signed with R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
and Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guitarist Jimmy Herring...
's booking agency, P.G.A., Lord T & Eloise released their third full-length album, RAPOCALYPSE, in August 2010, with a national tour following.
Discography
- 2006: Aristocrunk
- 2008: Chairmen of the BoredChairmen of the BoredChairmen of the Bored is the second album by crunk rap group Lord T & Eloise, released in 2008 by Young Avenue Records.-Track listing:# "The Room" – 0:22 # "Coup d'Etat" – 3:30 # "Dance Move" – 3:51 # "Hot" – 2:45...
- 2010: RapocalypseRapocalypseRapocalypse is the third album by crunk rap group Lord T & Eloise, released in 2010 by Young Avenue Records.-Album information:"Rapocalypse" is the third full length album of Memphis rap/hip-hop group and self-proclaimed "intergalactic time travelers", Lord T & Eloise...