Elhae

ELHAE merges alternative and mainstream R&B through relaxed yet emotionally charged vocals atop spare beats that favor unhurried pacing. Following the 2015 arrival of his debut EP Aura, the artist steadily broadened his reach, issuing his first major-label full-length All Have Fallen in 2016, which climbed into the upper ranks of Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop albums tally. Further growth arrived with the Motown-issued Aura III in 2021 and the concise, polished independent set Forgotten Flowers in 2023. Beyond his own recordings, ELHAE has also supplied production for two Dove Award nominees in the Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year category: Andy Mineo’s Uncomfortable and Tedashii’s This Time Around.

Jamaal Jones, raised in Minot, North Dakota yet long based in Atlanta, first sang in his mother’s church choir before gravitating toward rap and R&B. Adopting the moniker ELHAE (“Every life has an ending”), he issued early independent singles such as “Gold Roley,” “Stars,” and “A.N.O.” during the first half of the 2010s, eventually realizing a goal by joining Atlantic, the same imprint that had previously housed several of his heroes, among them Lupe Fiasco. All Have Fallen appeared in March 2016 and included a guest turn from Kehlani; the project later reached number 47 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, after which demand for ELHAE’s contributions increased. He handled production duties on both Uncomfortable, Andy Mineo’s Top Ten Billboard 200 album, and Tedashii’s This Time Around EP. Subsequent projects included the 2017 Aura II EP and the 2019 album Trouble in Paradise before ELHAE transitioned to Motown for Aura III, which featured Rick Ross, Xavier Omär, and Masego on the laid-back standout “My City.”

Citing the limitations of major-label ties, ELHAE opted for independence with 2023’s Forgotten Flowers, a compact and unified collection of characteristically sincere slow jams highlighted by Big K.R.I.T.’s appearance on the frank “Check on Me.”