by Martholdy Pierre-Canel ‘21

It is extremely likely that you have heard the name “Dirtyy Eli” in the hallways of Sherwood. Junior Elijah Williams has been gaining fame throughout the school since freshman year by producing trap music for his fans.

Coined by Williams himself, he encourages students to join the “AllButt Nation” of people he identifies as fans and supporters.

Now you are probably wondering where the name Dirtyy Eli came from. Rapper “Swipey” or “Dirty Swipe,” who unfortunately passed August 21, 2016, was Williams’ favorite artist of all time. “I never knew him but I could relate to his music so it felt like he was a close friend to me,” said Williams. He then decided to name himself Dirtyy Eli as a tribute to Swipey but added a second “y” to be different from other rappers because it is not common to see “dirty” with two “y”’s.
Williams love for music has always been present. “Music calms me down,” said Williams, “Who wants to drive in a car and not listen to music?”

This inspiration to create music, however, started when Williams made his first song in the eighth grade and his friend, Maria, messaged him on Snapchat complimenting his work and reciting the lyrics of his song to him via Snapchat. “Next thing you know I go to school on the first day and everyone is saying ‘Dirtyy Eli!’” remembered Williams, “The poms are saying it, [and] they’re supporting me. If it wasn’t without the poms and Maria I don’t think I’d be a rapper, for real.”

Williams’ inspiration for making music is simply happy faces. Seeing his supporters all around Sherwood praising his work and asking for more singles motivates Williams to continue to drop hits. In order to make his music, Williams uses an MP3 Converter along with a microphone, finds a beat, and creates his lyrics.

When it comes to collaborators, Williams can be seen with BossUpShawn and Drippy Tre but Williams doesn’t collab often because he doesn’t “want to [blow up] and [people] be like ‘oh he only blew because of such and such.’” Dirtyy Eli’s music can be found on Youtube, Soundcloud, and Spinrilla.

Williams plans to continue making music as long as his fans ask for it. Therefore, become a member of AllButt Nation and support our hometown rapper, Dirtyy Eli.