Alter ego of British rapper and comedian Paul Alborough,
Professor Elemental (also known as MC Elemental) is a
Steam Punk musical artist and one of the pioneers of "
Chap Hop." While not
the first to mix hip-hop with steampunk, he is apparently the first to put the unique British spin on it that has become known as chap-hop. His character is that of an eccentric upper class
Gentleman Adventurer and
Mad Scientist from
the late 1800s. While his act probably started out as a
piss take (he intended to do an album about rappers throughout history), he has become a major sensation in the
Steam Punk community, and his rap about his
love of tea, "
Cup of Brown Joy
", became a
YouTube hit.
Tropes he displays:
- Adventurer Outfit
- A Fête Worse than Death: One of his songs, but with "Def" in place of "death"
- Awesome Anachronistic Apparel
- Bad Humor Truck: "Animal Ice Cream."
- British Accents: Professor Elemental speaks in the affected Received Pronunciation of the upper crust.
- British English: Elemental gets into a rap battle on the differences between British and Canadian slang.
- Cool Helmet: Elemental's pith helmet.
- Crazy Awesome
- Crowd Song: "Cup of Brown Joy." "Now when I say 'Earl Grey', you say 'Yes, please!"
- Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe
- Everything's Better with Monkeys: His butler, Geoffrey, is an orangutan.
- Fandom Rivalry: While many fans enjoy both performers, there is a growing rivalry between fans of Elemental and fans of Mr. B. See Rap Feud below.
- Gentleman Adventurer: Elemental dresses in pith helmet and khakis, and a Sherlock Holmes pipe.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: In his video for "Fighting Trousers" (see Rap Feud below), Elemental enters a boxing ring wearing khaki shorts and boxing gloves, but still with his trademark pipe and pith helmet on.
- Hip Hop
- Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: "Let's settle this like gentlemen, armed with heavy sticks, on a rotating plate with spikes, like Flash Gordon."
- The Mad Hatter: Elemental's gone mad from an excess of tea.
- Mad Scientist: Elemental raps about experiments that Dr. Moreau would be jealous of in "Animal Magic".
- Quintessential British Gentleman
- Rap Feud: Currently in a feud with fellow chap-hop artist Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer, which has gained them both international recognition.
- Spot of Tea: "Cup of Brown Joy" is a love letter to the stuff. "Love a cup! Oh, God yes!"
- Taxidermy Is Creepy: Elemental is a "mad taxidermist", who experiments with sewing parts of different animals together to create new ones (while they are living) in his song, "Animal Magic." The animals get their vengeance in the end.
- Travel Montage: In "Cup of Brown Joy", his head on a teacup travels to places famous for tea across the globe.
- Upper Class Wit
- Vaudeville: Elemental is also a member of Come Into My Parlour, a "Victorian Cabaret" steampunk theatrical troupe in England, several members of whom appear in his "Cup of Brown Joy" and "Fighting Trousers" videos.
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