Ele A

Imagine a scrawny little kid asking to play soccer with the older kids, only to dribble past them all as soon as the ball reaches his feet. That’s kind of how Ele A arrived on the rap scene: born in 2002, Swiss, a total outsider compared to the genre’s typical physique. Then just give her an instrumental track and you’ll realize there’s no one else like her around.

Ele A blends a passion for old school with an openness to influences, a chill flow that knows when to hit hard, and her introspective bars have caught the attention of key figures in the game (with numerous features over the last couple of years), all with the attitude of someone who knows she’s killing it but doesn’t need to shove it in your face at every step. But just in case you need a reminder, on Thursday, September 12, she’ll be on stage at Poplar to remind us all.