Kaelin Ellis had no clue posting his beats on Twitter would lead to a collaborative project with Lupe Fiasco. Yet that’s exactly what happened as the two have announced the HOUSE EP, which is scheduled to drop on July 24.
“It was insane,” Ellis tells HipHopDX. “I watched his fanbase and my fanbase say it’d be a cool idea if we worked together. It went from a Twitter video and birthed a concept that speaks to right now.”
lupe lets work. this is crazy
— KAELIN ELLIS (@kaelinellis) May 5, 2020
The collaboration can be traced back to May 5 when fans tagged Lupe in one of Ellis’ Twitter posts. Lupe took notice and decided to jump on one of the beats made by Ellis, who had been sharing clips of his production during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Once Ellis saw what Lupe did with his beat, he gave his stamp approval and told the Chicago-bred MC “let’s work.” The two officially connected and began crafting what would become a five-track EP.
“I think it turned from one song to another,” Ellis notes. “I sent him a pack of beats, as well as a beat video, every time I made one. Eventually, time goes by and he’s like, ‘I got this idea, trust me.’ That eventually turns into HOUSE with all my beats fully arranged into songs. I was floored!”
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The end result was HOUSE, which will be Lupe’s first project since 2018’s DROGAS Wave LP. Ahead of the EP’s release, the duo has dropped the Virgil Abloh-assisted track “SHOES” as the lead single.
“‘SHOES’ is my personal favorite,” Ellis says. “It’s a combination of moments in the house, and Lupe doing what he does best.”
View the cover art and tracklist for HOUSE below. Stream “SHOES” above and pre-order the EP here.
1. HOMME MADE
2. DINOSAURS
3. SLEDOM
4. SHOES f. Virgil Abloh
5. LF95