Erick the Architect Offers Kernels of Insight on New Solo EP ‘Future Proof’

For those familiar with the at times-frenetic, at times-pleasantly disorienting music of the Brooklyn, New York-based hip-hop group, Flatbush Zombies, hearing the new solo music from the trio’s co-founder and primary producer, Erick Elliott (a.k.a. Erick the Architect), may come as a bit of a surprise. Where the Flatbush Zombies might try to proverbially push you over the sonic edge, Elliott, in his recent solo EP, Future Proof, instead tries to reason with you, relax you and offer kernels of insight.

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While one style is not inherently superior to the other, what the distinction exemplifies is that Elliott, like many great artists, has multiple sides to his aesthetic and creative mind. Further, it shows that he embraces both. This latter fact took some time to manifest, but, thanks to Elliott’s concerted efforts to do so, the musician has already established himself in a significantly new way, which, he says, he fully intends to continue to dig into, embrace and find a home in. 

“I’m a very chill person,” Elliott says. “But I also have another side. Everybody has another id, another side of you. For me, Flatbush Zombies is that other side. If you click on the name Flatbush Zombies, you might think I’m all about moshing. But if you click on this new stuff, you’re like, ‘Holy shit, this guy’s different.’”

That Elliott’s mind is capable in multiple styles is a testament to his upbringing. Growing up, his mother introduced him to Motown and James Brown. His Jamaican father introduced Elliott to reggae music from Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. Not to be outdone, Elliott’s older brothers introduced him to hip-hop. This informal education provided a wide spectrum. As he got older, the now-32-year-old Elliott took in the sights and sounds his home city of New York. In the 1990s, hip-hop was experiencing a golden age. But at the same time, the crack-cocaine epidemic ravaged certain regions. In love with music, Elliott wanted to prove himself in the art form while also speaking up. He began making beats and collaborating. 

“Hip-hop was about current events,” Elliott says. “It was the most truthful thing. It talked about how this drug was destroying these neighborhoods.”

Elliott saw a world of possibility in albums like Mos Def’s 1999 LP, Black on Both Sides. That record, which featured party bangers like “Ms. Fat Booty” and elegant music like “Umi Says” provided a blueprint for Elliott on how to invest in multiple styles under one metaphorical musical roof. 

Erick The Architect
Photo by Kanya Iwana

“I saw myself as being that kind of artist,” Elliott says. “To be rooted in hip-hop music but have my arms stretched across many sounds. I think that to preach individualism and to inspire people to try hard and to tell a story that’s not always the prettiest on the outside is important. I always wanted to be more truthful about my journey and how hard it is.” 

Growing up in New York City, Elliott was automatically thrust into a diverse atmosphere. Brooklyn, he says, must have at least one community of every culture in the world. Further, because the place is so populated and at the epicenter of global culture, there’s always someone in one’s professional rearview mirror, so to speak. This pushed Elliott to work harder, better. He formed Flatbush Zombies in the late 2000s and the group released its first single in 2010. At the time, Elliott leaned on experience he’d garnered while working previously in marketing for Sony Music. Prior, he’d gone to college for graphic design and computer programming. But now that he’d seen behind the curtain, Elliott could offer industry experience to a group. He had all the tools. Now it was time to implement a strategy. 

“When I was finally on the other side,” he says, “I was like, wow, this is what it’s like to work in music and not be an artist. It shows me how to do that for other people and apply it to myself.”

Today, Flatbush Zombies have earned millions of streams, a large fan base and have worked with legendary artists like the producer RZA of Wu-Tang Clan. Elliott says he learned one of his most important lessons from the historic group’s leader. Elliott went to RZA’s studio to work on music, but in so doing, he was reassured that nothing had to necessarily come from the collaboration. He could be easy about the whole thing, which, at the time, seemed like an astounding idea. 

“The initial thing he said,” Elliott says, “was that, ‘You’re always welcome to come here but I never want you to feel pressure to make music.’ RZA is one of my favorite artists. I mean, who isn’t a fan of Wu-Tang? But just hearing him say that—I’ll never forget it. We did make great music but that came from feeling comfortable.”

To remove the obvious, often-obstructive pressure during the creative act is now a signature skill for Elliott, himself, especially on his 2021 EP. The five-song album, which is a precursor to his forthcoming Future Proof EP, slated for later this year, is saturated with words of wisdom and effortless, subtle melodies. The album’s standout track might be its final one. On it, Elliott’s voice is heard upfront, calm and composed. He warns, “Monitor what type of energy is fueling you.”

“The stories on the EP are personal to me,” Elliott says. “I wrote the record in a tumultuous time. There was a lot of struggling going on between the riots and George Floyd protests.”

With the new EP, Elliott says that he’s seen a lot of new attention particularly from listeners across the Atlantic Ocean in the U.K. He also held a digital “festival” a month after the record’s release in February. And as others find his songs, Elliott feels more and more assured of his initial efforts. Originally, he’d wanted to show multiple sides of himself. Now he’s done that. Admirably. And while the EP portends another bigger version later this year, Elliott says that as long as music itself remains in his life, he’ll be okay no matter what happens.

“I’d gone to college for graphic design,” he says. “I was an animator, a coder. I had a different life path. But it was music that made people go, ‘Okay, this dude has something else to say.’ Music is something that gives people so much power and I can’t go any time of day without thinking about it.” 

Photos by Kanya Iwana

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