Elephant Man- Short Bio

Elephant Man- Short Bio

Elephant Man, also known as the Energy God (born O’Neil Bryan, September 11, 1975) is a dancehall musician from Kingston, Jamaica. Elephant Man’s stagename stemmed from his large ears, which led to the nickname Dumbo in his youth. He started out his musical career as a member of the Scare Dem Crew, later continuing as a solo artist. He was later characterized by several trademarks, such as his dyed yellow-orange hair, his unique low-key voice, and his stage performance, which included jumping and running, or even climbing on stage props and monitors.

In 2000 his debut album, “Scooby Away” and its follow-up, “Comin’ 4 U,” were released. His third album, “Log On,” was issued in 2001. “Higher Level” was then released in 2002 with “Good 2 Go” following in 2003. “Good 2 Go” featured the hit singles “Pon De River” and “Jook Gal” which featured Twista, YoungBloodZ and Kiprich.

In 2008 Elephant Man released the album, “Let’s Get Physical,” included the singles “Five-O” featuring Wyclef Jean and “Jump” which was produced by Swizz Beatz. His next album,“Dance & Sweep Adventures Of The Energy God,” was released in 2011

Elephant Man has been criticized for his lyrics calling for violence against gay people. In 2003 British LBGT group OutRage! called for the arrest and prosecution of several dancehall stars including Elephant Man, Bounty Killer and Beenie Man for violation of hate crimes statutes. In 2004, he was dropped from the MOBO awards. Since then pressure from his record company and agreement with gay rights groups to avoid songs with lyrics deemed to incite homophobic violence have allowed him to perform in the U.K. In 2009, his scheduled appearance at Toronto’s Caribana festival was cancelled for similar reasons.