History Music / ElP

* AIIsACrapshoot: The robots in “Stepfather Factory”
-->And in a ''few'' unsubstantiated clinical trials, this condition has led to simulated feelings of resentment and worthlessness
-->Manifested in the highly unlikely but still possible [[KillerRobot act of physical aggression]] towards you and your loved ones [[CallAHumanAMeatbag fleshy surfaces]]
* AlwaysABiggerFish: “Tougher Colder Killer”:

* AntiLoveSong: “Draconian Love (Habaeus Corpses)” is set in the future, on a “prison ship” where El-P and fellow rapper {{Music/Cage}} are executioners who spend all day shooting prisoners in the head. El-P falls in love with Prisoner 247681-Z and fantasizes about running away with her, escaping their horrible existence and living an idyllic life in a cabin far away from the metropolis…only for the song to end with El-P following orders and coldly shooting her anyway.
* BearerOfBadNews: “Tougher Colder Killer”, which starts with the line “''To the mother of my enemy, I just killed your son''”
* BreakupSong: “The Overly Dramatic Truth” and “How To Serve Man (The Meanest Things I'd Never Say)”
* {{Cyberpunk}}: A common theme in El-P's work, if not lyrically then definitely thematically.

* DroneOfDread: Considering ''Accidents Don't Happen'' is heavy on [[Creator/GeorgeOrwell Orwellian]] paranoia, it gives it more gloominess. ''T.O.J.'' is also a droning reflection on a relationship.

** ''I'll Sleep When You're Dead''; Smithereens (Stop Cryin), Habeas Corpses (Draconian Love), Poisenville Kids No WinsReprise (This Must Be Our Time)
** ''Cancer 4 Cure'': For My Upstairs Neighbor (Mums the Word), $4 VicNothing but You + Me (FTL)

* MundaneMadeAwesome: “Tasmanian Pain Coaster”, the epic opener from ''I'll Sleep When You're Dead'', is about encountering and riding a subway train with a junkie ex-friend. But if you didn't pay attention to the lyrics, it'd be easy to make the mistake of thinking El-P was riding a train ''through an apocalyptic war zone into Hell itself''.
* NoMeansYes: From the second half of “Sign Here”;
-->The safety word is Yes, try it (“''Yes''”)
-->I'll restrain you for your protection, now do I have your consent for this? (“''Yes''”)
* [[NonindicativeName Non-Indicative Song Title]]: "Tuned Mass Damper" has nothing to do with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuned_mass_damper Tuned Mass Dampers]], but instead is an anguished, bitter song against drug addiction.
* NoOSHACompliance: The shoddily-made robots in “Stepfather Factory”

** ''Fantastic Damage''; Truancy, Blood

* OutOfGenreExperience: His solo albums are a rare case in hip hop, where intros and outros are an experience by themselves. For the latter, the closest comparison could go to Music/ProgressiveDeathMetal or Music/ProgressiveRock: Cue long tracks with everything shifting, from vocal approach to beat structures. For drone experience see "drone of doom" above. ''Request Denied'' is a great intro example in this line.
* PrecisionFStrike: "Dear Sirs" is a passionate, angry (if short) song that utilizes the word only once to great effect.
* SelfBackingVocalist: A lot of El-P songs. ''Dead Disnee'' for example. At times done for striking emphasis.

** The title of “To Serve Man (The Meanest Things I'd Never Say)” is a reference to the famous ''[[Series/TheTwilightZone1959 Twilight Zone]]'' episode “To Serve Man”, which the song actually samples.
** "Delorean" makes constant references to ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'', and ends with a [[TheStinger stinger]] where El-P and Music/AesopRock drop all pretense and literally just start a ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' rap.

** Deep Space 9mm. A portmanteau of Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine and a 9 mm gun.

* StronglyWordedLetter: “Dear Sirs” subverts this. El-P literally starts it with “Dear Sirs…” and you can hear the sound of a typewriter in the background, but the lyrics immediately take a left into apocalyptic imagery and ranting poetry, and it finishes with the declaration that, even if everything else in the song occurred, "...Me fighting in your war still would be the least likely thing that would ever fucking happen, '''EVER'''."
* TakeThatCritics: Started as far back as ''Weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamix'' from the receivership of ''Funcrusher''. Fandam, the title track, lingers with "You misinterpreted that Funcrush shit / So man Funcrush this", going down to "Call it off beat , jagged , ragged , form the pattern" in regard to his style, as rapped in ''[=DeLorean=]''.
* TheUnexpected: Music example: El-P himself on the remix of A-Trak's "Piss Test". Alongside names like [[Music/ThreeSixMafia Juicy J]], Jim Jones, and the FlatbushZombies.
* YiddishAsASecondLanguage: "The Full Retard" includes a rare usage of the Yiddish term ''oy vey'' in a hip-hop song.

* LongTitle: The unreleased instrumental "Lab Rat Bravely Escapes On A Hovercraft Only To Crash Directly Outside The Gates".

El-P (born Jaime Meline, born March 2, 1975) is a rapper hailing from [[BigAppleSauce New York City]]. He's been active since 1993 and is known for being in the groups Company Flow, The Weathermen, and Music/RunTheJewels, as well as for his solo material. He also founded the label “Definitive Jux”, which itself is well-known for signing artists like Music/AesopRock, Cannibal Ox, and {{Music/Cage}}.

El-P is a rapper and producer, and he's well known for both aspects. His rapping is characterized by being dense, aggressive, and manic, while at the same time employing complex metaphor, allegory, and wordplay. He often verges into outright science fiction in his songs (Creator/PhilipKDick is a big inspiration of his), and even when he's relatively down to Earth his lyrics still feature [[AccentuateTheNegative dark and gritty imagery]]. His production is known for its bombastic, dystopian sound, with heavy use of dramatic synthesizers and lo-fi machine-like drum samples.

He's also released several instrumental collections, such as ''High Water'' (A [[GenreShift collaboration with jazz musician]] Matthew Shipp), ''Collecting The Kid'' (various unreleased odds & ends), and his ''Weareallgoingtoburninhell'' mixtapes (featuring instrumental versions of the songs on his solo albums as well as a few original instrumental works).

* TheUnexpected: Music example: El-P himself on the remix of A-Track's "Piss Test". Alongside names like [[Music/ThreeSixMafia Juicy J]], Jim Jones, and the FlatbushZombies.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ELP_4004.jpg]]

** The title of “To Serve Man (The Meanest Things I'd Never Say)” is a reference to the famous ''[[Series/TheTwilightZone Twilight Zone]]'' episode “To Serve Man”, which the song actually samples.

* DroneOfDread: Considering ''Accidents Don't Happen'' is heavy on [[GeorgeOrwell Orwellian]] paranoia, it gives it more gloominess. ''T.O.J.'' is also a droning reflection on a relationship.

* AmbiguouslyJewish: Culturally Jewish to some degree, but is a sworn atheist. He is a co-owner of a Jewish delicatessen/smoked fish emporium in Brooklyn along with the Frankel brothers (Alex being a member of Holy Ghost!) and fellow rapper Despot, however.

El-P (born Jaime Meline, born March 2, 1975) is a rapper hailing from [[BigAppleSauce New York City]]. He's been active since 1993 and is known for being in the groups Company Flow, The Weathermen, and Run The Jewels, as well as for his solo material. He also founded the label “Definitive Jux”, which itself is well-known for signing artists like Music/AesopRock, Cannibal Ox, and {{Music/Cage}}.

** ''I'll Sleep When You're Dead''; Smithereens (Stop Cryin), Habeas Corpses (Draconian Love), Poisenville Kids No WinsReprise (This Must Be
Our Time)

[[IThoughtItMeant He should not be confused with]] Music/EmersonLakeAndPalmer, whose lengthy band name is often shortened to "ELP".