Enig'ma The CEO

Who's Enig'ma? Emcee/Songwriter Enig'ma made the critical decision many years ago to attempt to be one of the all-time greats in the world of Hip Hop, and since then it has consistently been the guiding light keeping him focused. In an era of superficially rich, stereotypical keep up with the joneses flavor Enig'ma was determined to not be grouped in with the rest of the artists in his craft. Enig'ma's style is generally unconventional as he has become a master of reflecting his perspective ...

Who's Enig'ma? Emcee/Songwriter Enig'ma made the critical decision many years ago to attempt to be one of the all-time greats in the world of Hip Hop, and since then it has consistently been the guiding light keeping him focused. In an era of superficially rich, stereotypical keep up with the joneses flavor Enig'ma was determined to not be grouped in with the rest of the artists in his craft. Enig'ma's style is generally unconventional as he has become a master of reflecting his perspective of the world without glamorizing nonsense or sacrificing integrity. Growing up from the South Side of Chicago Enig'ma learned quickly of the paths that he could take in poverty. Proud of having the privilege of a two-parent household for the majority of his life he was taught many morals that ultimately shaped his personality. These morals allowed him to explore situations in the hood and gain street knowledge without losing his mind. A strong lover of music, a lack of athleticism and dance rhythm Enig'ma found his niche with Hip Hop music, poetry and writing. With sharp wit, a lack of intimidation, and overall admiration for music Enig'ma began writing songs at the age of 12 at a level which he describes as...terrible. "For a long time I could not figure out who I was behind the mic. I've been a fan of Hip Hop for as long as I can remember so when I started writing I had so many shape shifting styles that I ended up sounding like everybody. As they say, a jack of all trades is a master of none." Once Enig'ma entered Whitney Young High School he began to see life slightly different from the life he had become to know. From everyday neighborhood violence to a multicultural environment Enig'ma began to find a comfort zone in the essence of complex Hip Hop. "My High School had a large culture of Hip Hop that I saw everyday. Seeing breakers, graffiti artists, ciphers and battles became an everyday thing. Coming from the hood where nobody wanted to hear me unless I was talking about the streets it allowed me to be more unconventional and spit on a level of complexity that my classmates generally knew, but when I went back to the hood and back to the banging I chose to keep my mouth shut. That would've been like talking to a brick wall." Although Enig'ma generally kept to himself throughout high school, he forged a bond with certain friends who would prove to be instrumental in becoming a man. Entering into the group Knowledge Guided Souls, or KGS, Enig'ma's sharp wit was encouraged and appreciated by his friends. It was with this group that he recorded his verse ever and made him a believer that rap was something he could do seriously. Unfortunately, this enthusiasm was short-lived as his father became sick and passed away when he was 15, a period that he describes as a blur. "I was one of the lucky ones. I was privileged enough to have a strong father figure in my life who actually encouraged me growing up. He was old school for real and though he considered rap to be just talking on beat he still would take me to buy rap records and we would talk about them while riding in the car. One of the last things he told me was he knew I would be successful because I was smart, but made me promise I wouldn't lose myself in the process. He said to always be myself and if people didn't respect it then they're not meant to connect with me. He passed away less than a week later but its something I'll never forget him saying." Becoming a man at an early age due to his father's death didn't stop his love for music, but it strongly conflicted with the level of emotion he once presented. From having a balance of subject matter Enig'ma began to only write dark, negative music that lessened his appeal to the listeners. Being that his friends were older, upon their graduation from High School and treks to college Enig'ma began to mold himself into an unrelentless rapper hellbent on doing him without caring who liked it. Unfortunately, most people didn't. "A lot of times I sat and wondered why did I even bother. I was too witty for the hood, too hood for the witty, wasn't skinny or light skinned enough for the women. Not commercial enough for the pretty boys and not experimental enough for the hip hoppers. It really played with my artistic self-esteem and almost made me give up." Eventually KGS disbanded and the southern movement and sped up soul samples began to overtake hip hop. Once Enig'ma was forced to step out on his own he decided to take all the knowledge that he had gained over the years and reinvent his entire style to tailor how he felt. He reached out to his cousin Halo, high school friend Sonny Cheeb, personal friend Foxilady Kaye Brown and decided to create Perfection Music. Having most of the tools in place it was time to create the first project Make Em Look For Me Volume 1, a mixtape intended to unify Chicago Hip Hop, bring creativity and lyricism back to the forefront and be the coming out party for Perfection. He reached out to a well known internet producer he heard about from Kansas named XV and recorded his first solo track entitled "The Social Worker." "What a lot of people don't know is that The Social Worker was make or break for me. See at the time I didn't have an audience and I know the type of artist that I was going to be. I wasn't going to be one that just raps about nonsense all unfocused over whatever beat I could find and put it out sloppily. I knew I was going to try and create a good song with every song I made. I felt like The Social Worker was the strongest song that I could put out at the time and I was willing to chance the future of my career on it. My perspective was that if Hip Hop has gotten to the point where this type of song can't be appreciated by anyone, then Hip Hop isn't for me anymore. I'm a believer that Hip Hop is all about self expression, and if the public will only accept me for following trends then The Social Worker was going to be the first...and last song that I made." Fortunately for Enig'ma people DID like The Social Worker, which caused people to take interest to his work. He knew that he needed more production for more songs so he reached out to an upcoming producer in Chicago named J-Rell and the experience changed his life. "When I met Rell, off top, we clicked immediately. We shared practically the same tastes in music, work ethic, and artistic desire. He's the only producer that I've ever come in contact with that ever inspired me. A lot of producers have hot beats that I've wanted to rap on, but his music makes you want to come with it. I don't even think I'd still be rapping if it was just a business relationship. That man is my brother for real." With in-house production in place for Perfection Enig'ma began recording Make Em Look For Me Volume One. The end result was 28 tracks of self-reflective music. From the Perfection Music anthems Catch Us If U Can & U Don't Know 2007, the love oriented tracks of The Social Worker & TKO, and the lyrical gems Dodging Failure & Icewater, Enig'ma began carving his place in the world of Hip Hop and making everyone take notice. "He has a unique voice. He rides the beat well and has a few slick lines."- Lenny Santiago, VP of A&R, Def Jam Recordings With one artistic work under his belt Enig'ma also has been motivated to bring glory to the artists of Perfection. Releasing several highly recognized works with the team Perfection Music has moved over 50,000 digital downloads independently with very little radio play, no street team and no major cosigns. Going into 2009 Enig'ma is putting the finishing touches on the new series mixtape "Make Em Look For Me Volume 2" which features a further exploration into his mind. Featuring the new gem's The Natural High & F Off Part 1 Enig'ma plans to further push the envelope to notch his own place in the oversaturated land of Hip Hop. Enig'ma is also putting the finishing touches his EP "Make Em Look For Me 2.5," as well as working on his nostalgia mixtape project "Hip Hop's Bodyguard," his collaborative mixtape with Sonny Cheeb & J-Rell "In Search Of The Master," and his official debut album "The Sistine Chapel." "I've been indirectly working on The Sistine Chapel for like 4 or 5 years. That album is really special to me and naturally I want it to be put on the scale of Illmatic, Ready To Die & Reasonable Doubt. I refuse to rush it so the songs that I have for it are really heavy. However, I might come up with a concept tomorrow that might knock a track off the listing. When I feel I have the correct combination of songs for a classic then I'll put it out, and going into '09 I think I'm almost there." Through perils and triumphs Enig'ma has managed to show the world that it's possible to make it in music by being yourself. He is becoming a major threat to the nonsensical music that is out now without following trends. He has created a brand with the strongest individuals in Chicago and will never forget where he comes from. "...God Created My Heart, so if I always speak from it how can that not be Perfection?"