Longtime Athens hip-hop artist's first-ever solo release is a Christmas album

As award-winning Athens hip-hop artist Elite Tha Showstoppa, Darrin Ellison's reputation in the local music scene as a high-energy MC with a stage presence only rivaled by his lyrical prowess is renowned and respected across multiple genres. That's why many are surprised to find out that he had never released his own solo album.

In a career retrospective interview with the Banner-Herald last year, Ellison revealed that he had recorded enough material for at least three albums, but no one could have predicted that the first release to come out of that would be a holiday-themed collection that went back to his R&B roots.

Ellison recently sat down with Banner-Herald arts and culture reporter Andrew Shearer to discuss the making of "Everyday of the Year: The Christmas EP," which was released this month on collector's edition CD and on streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.

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Shearer: Last time I was here in your recording studio, you told me you were sitting on hours of unreleased material and you were looking forward to putting out your first album. What made you decide on a Christmas EP?

Ellison: My mother, Wanda Ellison, is responsible for this. Back in December 2015, I released a hip-hop rendidtion of the Stevie Wonder classic "Someday at Christmas" along with a music video that we shot at the very last minute. Every year since then I've wanted to do a Christmas album. Then last month right before Thanksgiving, my mom came by the studio and heard one of the tracks, and there were twelve I'd been working on. She was like, "So why don't you go ahead and finish them and put them out this year?" Mind you, Thanksgiving was around the corner, and she put me on the clock to be done by Thanksgiving. That's why the EP only has five songs.

Shearer: But that's just the physical CD, which you only made 500 copies of. The streaming and digital versions of "Everyday of the Year" only have four tracks because "Someday at Christmas Time" is missing. Can you talk about why you weren't able to include that song?

Ellison: When that was released, I gave full credit to Stevie Wonder in the video description and didn't claim any copyright on the original work, and it sat there on Youtube for seven years without a problem. I never got a letter or an email or anything, which is why I thought (my version with the chopped-up sample) was in the clear. As an artist, I'm really particular about copyrights as well and I'd never want to step on another artist's toes. The streaming services wouldn't accept it, so it's only on the CD, which makes it a collector's item.

Shearer: Other than that track, all of the others are new, and they're R&B and jazz instead of hip-hop. In our previous interview, you'd said that you started out as a singer and a poet, and that the first songs you wrote were all R&B. Do you think people will be surprised to hear that you're a really good singer?

Ellison: This Christmas EP is gonna be very different for a lot of people. I've sung background or on the hook of my hip-hop songs in the past, but nobody ever asked who it was. People assumed it was Ben Stevens, which I was fine with (laughs). I used to be part of a couple of groups when I went to Bernie Harris Middle School and Clarke Central High School. We wanted to make the girls swoon or whatever. At that time I was a theatre guy and I liked the stage more than the basketball court. I liked Broadway, so that's what I thought I was going to be doing.

Shearer: You've got Andreanna Williams of Aquatic Soul Band singing a feature on "Shed Your Light."

Ellison: Yes, Andreanna came here to the studio to record that. My sister, Senetria Jones, sang backing vocals on that track and also on "Be Kind." And my mom was the audience.

Shearer: You said you were originally working on twelve songs for a Christmas album. Does that mean we can expect to hear the rest of them around this time next year?

Ellison: Ideally, the goal is to do a full Christmas album in 2023, like ten songs. What I think I'm going to end up doing is taking a slow roll and dropping singles here and there. The happy tone of this music is the opposite of the headspace I was in when I was writing the songs, so I had to kind of work my way through to access that. This experience has been really therapeutic for me, and I know that's part of why my mom was so encouraging, and she was right.

To purchase the "Everyday Of The Year" CD, visit facebook.com/elite.tha.showstoppa and send a direct message.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens hip-hop rotalty Elite Tha Showstoppa releases Christmas EP