Elephant Man On Being A Fashionable Dancehall Artist: ‘Yuh Nuh Fi Look Like Cokehead’

Dancehall artist Elephant Man relishes in looking like a rockstar.

On a recent Instagram Live, the ‘Energy Gad’ dazzled phone screens with a neck full of diamond chains as he told artists to “get it together” when it came to fashion. 

“Yaa artist and yuh have hit song and people love you – yuh nuh fi look like cokehead bro, come on,” Ele argued. “Mi shouldn’t deh pon live inna so much chain, but the fans dem bro, dem haffi see…”

With a longtime mantra that “image is everything”, the Pon Di River artist, whose given name is O’Neil Bryan, got his first inkling of a superstar aesthetic while growing up in Kingston’s Seaview Gardens. He had the fortune of living minutes away from dancehall pillars Shabba Ranks and Bounty Killer, and would observe other visiting stars. 

“When me a grow up inna Seaview Gardens and me see Shabba, Ninjaman dem, Super Cat dem. When Shabba dem come fi do a stage show, you see a star before even him go pon the show,” Ele reasoned. “When Ninjaman walk out and stand up fi 10 minutes with him stick pon the stage and shot a fire, bomb a drop, gyal a faint, ambulance a tun over – image…”

He continued, “Pinchers as a singer dress better than nuff a di deejay dem – image. Sanchez, one a di best dressers when it comes to blazers and dem thing deh. Wayne Wonder, Buju Banton; ‘member bigfoot pants a run the place now, a dem man deh run dem tings deh… Mi haffi give it up because dancehall comes with fashion.”

He also lauded late dancer Gerald ‘Bogle’ Levy, whose dance moves contributed to several of his hits like Willie Bounce, Keeping It Jiggy and Sesame Street. 

“My brother from another mother, Mr. Wacky, Bogle, condolence to mi G, mi friend. Bogle run fashion. A Bogle fuss a wear the vampire something dem… A when me start travel me see seh a di vampire something dem… Bogle run image. Image come wid dancehall.”

Ele started curating his colourful look in the late 90s as part of the Scare Dem Crew which included Harry Toddler and childhood friends Nitty Kutchie and Boom Dandimite. It was Ele’s idea to have the group dye their hair to distinguish themselves from other crews, and he’s kept the style ever since. 

“Mi a seh to how the competition inna dancehall did wicked…we a go want something fi stand out… Mi jump pon mi bike and call Harry Toddler and mi go pon mi scooter and we go a Sandra Lee a Skateland and seh, ‘Lady, dash some yellow thing inna dah something yah and do weh yuh haffi do’ cause a ‘Scare Dem’ – nothing cya pretty pon we. We done ugly already, so mek we just go full ugly. Then the dressing come with it, so me always try put out that.”

Besides his hair, Ele’s fashion game has evolved to include diamond-encrusted grills, slashed eyebrows, Yankee ensembles, head-turning costumes, and lately, a tracksuit in every colour. 

Sealing his star factor was a signature lisp, spirited performances, and an infectious catalogue that attracted big collabs with stars like Janet Jackson, Busta Rhymes, Mariah Carey, and Lil’ Jon. 

He also did a stint at P Diddy’s Bad Boy Records which released his Grammy-nominated album Let’s Get Physical in 2008.