EMillz

"In the Limelight" Review by Kayotik Kraftz

It's been mad years since I first heard of E. Millz. When E. Millz was just regular Eric Miller, a new battle rapper to the Soundclick.com Audio Battle forum. I even had the chance to battle him when I was known under the alias "HektikStylez." Having said the history, it's actually an honor to see the progress and evolution of this fresh talent.

On to the review of the track "In the Limelight."

The track comes in with a very futuristic and new age feel. Sets the mood of a very chilled-out vibe until the beat kicks in. Immediately the song turns into a party. Good energy on the production. I'm not even into club tracks, but I know a solid club track when I hear one. And this delivers well.

E. Millz comes in with a great energy on the mic as soon as the beat drops. The flow is crazy consistent, and is even cunningly written in a story-line fashion. He takes you, from beginning to end, through the events of the night life of a successful artist making moves in his career. The one thing I really like about this track is the commercial sound and well performed hook. This is too catchy! I found myself rapping the hook in between thoughts. That's a sign of good work!

This track has a T.I. feel to it. I won't deny that I am a T.I. fan, so when I heard this track I automatically recalled T.I.'s performance of "Bring Em Out." Make no mistake, however, E. Millz delivers some witty punches and brandishes a style that is distinctly different from any other artist I've ever heard. "Shorty so fine, She's a quarter plus a dime," is the punchline that really stood out to me on this mix. That line made me laugh, and actually enhanced the vibe I had with this track. Good job, considering I was already bouncing to the tempo and flow. Comical wit is always golden when pulled off with some solid swag.

The only negative about the track is the volume of the vocals. I'm an east coast artist and producer, and the track vocals seemed to stand out too much even for my ears. I understand you have to make sure the audience must here the lyrics, but sometimes an artist needs to have a balance of vocals and instrumental. As I listened to the mix multiple times, I started to get adjusted to the volume. This track sounds like E. Millz is performing live in your room or automobile. So what I find as an essential flaw actually works to a bit of an advantage if your a fan of his music. Lyrically nothing new can really be said about the night life in a club, being that there is a huge market of singles, albums, and mixtapes dedicated to club life. However, it's not about what a person can about partying and being in the spotlight, it's the presentation and performance. E.Millz comes with a lot of charisma on this track, and I find that to really separate this track from the robotic saturation already in regular rotation currently. I'll listen to this before I'll listen to a Lil' Wayne or Drake club track. Yes, I said it and I stand behind that.

Overall, the track is solid. Great performance, nice delivery, a fresh hook, quick wit, and consistent lyrical content. You can't go wrong with this one people. "In the Limelight" is definitely a banger that I'd add to my Zune or iPod and blast through my car speakers. Good work E. Millz. Keep up with the great progress.

-K. Kraftz
Kayotik Kraftz Productions
www.kayokraftz.com - Kayotik Kraftz

The Seattle creative sector needs to decide whether or not to grow to accommodate the considerable talent that has grown out of the Puget Sound region over the past decade. Don't get me wrong, one of the great things about this city is its people's commitment to small business, grassroots organization and By The People, For The People directives. Still, it doesn't do us much good if all of our strongest musicians, actors, artists and writers have to go somewhere else to get the attention and facilities they deserve. When it comes to music Seattle has done well enough to foster rock, but we're living in the 21st century, there's more to the modern soundscape than guitars. Our hip hop and electronic music community becomes more interesting every year. If the acts at The Seattle Music Revival are any indication, we may just be standing on a wellspring of undiscovered talent.

One of the most surprising elements of the current Seattle music scene is its ever-growing list of impressive hip hop artists. At its best, Seattle seems poised to be for hip hop what Atlanta and St. Louis were for the genre five years ago. The secret ingredient in this development is the highly literate leanings of the Pacific Northwest. A lot of great authors and poets currently operate out of Seattle and Portland, fostering undiscovered scribes and performers in the vibrant coffee house circuit. One of those performers is rapper E. Millz.

Honing his craft performing spoken word poetry at venues around the state, E. Millz is a Washington native who balances club-ready tracks with intelligent rhymes and a positive (but not sappy) attitude. His set at Club Heaven on Sunday night was late enough that most Revival-goers had scuttled off to bed, but the floor in front of the stage was still more crowded than it had been all night. Together with another Seattle MC, Misfit, and Misfit's cousin Bo, E. Millz left his audience asking for an encore.

from left to right: The Mayor, E. Millz, Misfitfrom left to right: The Mayor, E. Millz, Misfit

It took E. Millz's performance to illuminate what I think the difference is between good rappers and not-so-good ones. A good rapper makes hard verse seem easy, while a bad one makes a lazy rap seem careless. E. Millz exudes genuine comfort on stage. He doesn't posture, he just does his job, and admirably.

I caught up with E. Millz, his manager Andrew "The Mayor" Lapic, and Misfit before the show to get the skinny on the Seattle hip hop scene. "You go to a show and it doesn't look like a hip hop crowd," says Millz, "It's really mixed but everyone is so appreciative." His comments echoed the sentiment of most of the electronic and hip hop artists I talked to over the course of the Revival. The Seattle music scene is, like the city itself, eclectic. Millz went on to describe the receptiveness of Seattle audiences to a variety of different kinds of music. Hip hop artists share the bill with rock acts, folk singers and glitch-masters. In that way, The Seattle Music Revival keyed into the city perfectly. - Mike Sarko

3BA is constantly looking for talented individuals with blazing, amazing skills; who are ready, willing and able to challenge themselves in our league. We expect our players to conduct themselves with integrity, positivity and exude a level of professionalism on and off the court... and even at half-time.

Eric “E.Millz” Miller, 21, of Lacey Washington got his head-in-the-game hoping to one day display his skills as a 3BA performer.

This father of one, who works at a diet supplements call center has always been intrigued with the 3BA concept and was honored to be offered the opportunity to work with the league.

Growing up playing in 3 on 3 tournaments and pick-up games himself, he knew he could match the intensity and speed of the 3BA game with his lyrical delivery and flow.

No more than 3 days from making contact with E.Millz, he came with an up-tempo, court thumping, chest bumping track, designed to get a player and fan into-the-zone.

“Get Ya Game Up (It's 3BA)” was written specifically for 3BA. With a quick cutting bridge, confident verses and direct content that all basketball enthusiasts can relate to The over-all feel of the song is like an event in itself; like something exciting is about to happen... like The 3BA.

E.Millz got his start 5 years ago as a slam poet in English class. When his instructor and classmates started to take an interest in his rhymes, E.Millz found his calling.

He's performed hundreds of shows all over the Northwest including Denver and has never lost a rap battle. This independent artist is looking forward to opening for Eminem's D-12 and is constantly working on new material.

When asked his thoughts on how music and basketball are similar-

“In Rap battles I call myself Mr. Clutch. I like to challenge the guy who no one can beat and deliver that one line or verse that ends the game. It's like checking-the-ball before play but we say mic-check. You don't have to be old-skool or new skool with your rhymes to skool someone in a battle like you would on the court. Teamwork in a game is the same in the studio. The engineer is the game-director making sure everything runs smooth. The producer is like the referees' setting the tempo, allowing the tone. The fans are the fans. My manager would be the coach and the artist is the athlete, giving all they got.”

Eric “E.Millz” Miller - Demone Gore (3ba.com)