Elliphant bounds onto the stage, a ball of aggressive, masculine energy. She snarls, she spits out her lyrics, she eyeballs the audience, she grabs her crotch. In one of her videos she pisses in the street.
It’s the sort of behaviour you’d expect from a young
American male rapper. But Elliphant, real name Ellinor Olovsdotter, is a white
female rapper from Sweden. She’s rude, crude and provocative, but that’s all
part of her, frankly terrifying, charm. She chews up and spits out the stage;
resistance is futile. Even when she makes a mistake, she rewinds and starts again because she "wasn't feeling it" - she's Elliphant, she can do what she goddamn likes.
What’s somewhat jarring is hearing this white Swedish rapper
with a Jamaican accent. That, alongside the constant barrage of crass language,
almost feels like she’s a parody of Jamaican rap artists. Yet living in LA and
frequently visiting Jamaica, she’s clearly surrounded herself with that
culture. It comes naturally to her, making her far more authentic than Iggy
Azalea.
Musically she’s heavily inspired by dancehall and reggae. Sharing
the stage with her DJ, she raps over heavy beats and shuddering bass lines in thick Patois. If anything, she’s akin to a Swedish M.I.A or Santigold in her mix of
electronic and world music influences, as well as her half-sung half-rapped
vocal delivery. Alongside dirty, grinding tracks like Booty Killah and Look Like
You Love It (both taken from her most recent EP, pictured), there are tracks like Down On Life and Live Till I Die that have a greater electronic slant and sing
(shout) along choruses. She’s Swedish after all and isn’t afraid of a good
hook. Then there’s All Or Nothing with
production from Diplo and Only Getting
Younger with Skrillex, which give an idea as to the hard, raw edge of her
music.
Occasionally her political views get in the way of her
music. In one break between songs she raps about Save The Grey – nothing to do
with that recent film, but her activism project. It’s a little intrusive and
preachy when fans just want to see and hear her perform, but equally it’s
refreshing to see an artist connecting with politics through their music. Elliphant
represents the outsider and difference – her music is a loud, brash celebration
of that, crotch grabs and all.
The best track of the night, though, is One More featuring Danish singer MØ
(sadly not in attendance). The two artists share a punk attitude and pair
together in total unison, but MØ’s inclusion brings more creative and interesting
production than the usual dancehall beats. It makes you wish Elliphant would
embrace her Scandi roots a little more (musically at least) rather than the
faux-Jamaican style she’s adopted. Still, she’s a powerhouse performer who
deserves to be globally recognised beyond the usual token rap feature on most
records these days.
4/5