Milwaukee is a city that is full of so many talented music artists. Even though it is not thought of as a big music hub in the way cities like Chicago, Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles are, there are still so many artists from Milwaukee who are making their mark in underground music communities. It seems like every week, there is a new artist from Milwaukee who is emerging and gaining some sort of viral success. There are other artists who have been a staple in the local community for a while, and these artists are thought of as the ones who truly drive the Milwaukee music scene forward. Eli $tones is an artist who has been one of the most important local artists for several years. He was one of the first Milwaukee Hip Hop artists to accrue popularity outside of the city in recent years which does not make the typical gruff, harsh Drill music that a lot of people associate Milwaukee with. Eli $tones has shown music fans that Milwaukee artists can do more than make Drill music. Eli $tones has been honing his craft for a very long time, having first started to upload music on Soundcloud about 10 years ago. He started to really gain traction a few years ago when his Star67 EP started to pop off online(this is when I personally discovered him). He followed up the success of this project by staying prolific with his releases, releasing a plethora of singles throughout 2021. This all led to the release of Eli $tones’ debut album, $ticks and $tones, which came out at the beginning of 2022(I reviewed this album very positively back when it came out, so please go check out that review after reading this if you have not yet). After taking the rest of 2022 off, Eli $tones has returned with a new sound in 2023. He has decided to try his hand at HyperPop, putting his signature R&B twist on this very popular genre of music. In this post, I wanted to highlight his two newest tracks, both of which were released this summer. ‘ABSOLUTELYNOT’ and ‘Satellites’ show off a new side to Eli $tones artistry, proving how diverse an artist he can be. Please let me know in the comments below how you feel about Eli $tones’ new tracks ‘ABSOLUTELYNOT’ and ‘Satellites,’ and also comment the names of any artists you think I should check out next!

‘ABSOLUTELYNOT’ was Eli $tones’ first release of the summer, which came out at the beginning of the season on June 15th. This is a fun and light HyperPop track with an Emo Rock tint to it. The melody for this song is driven by a fast and melancholy Punk guitar riff that has the energy of an early 2000s Pop-Punk or Emo song. This melody feels like a fusion of Pop-Punk from artists like Blink 182 and Emo Rock by artists like Taking Back Sunday. The melody is complemented by highly saturated synths that give the song an ultra-modern feel. Somehow, this melody feels super newfangled and retro at the same time. This melody is put on top of a fast-paced beat with a HyperPop tempo that also feels inspired by Pop-Punk music. Even though the beat has the speed of a HyperPop track, the way the drums are mixed feels very Punk. As good as the instrumental is, Eli $tones’ vocal performance on ‘ABSOLUTELYNOT’ takes it over top. Everything about his vocals on this song is great; from his flow to his wide vocal range, his vocals make the track hit so hard. I love how palpable the emotion is in the way Eli $tones’ sings this song. ‘ABSOLUTELYNOT’ is an excellent example of HyperPop that takes elements of Rock music from the early 2000s and makes them feel so fresh. ‘Satellites’ was Eli $tones’ second release of the summer, having come out at the very end of the season on September 9th. ‘Satellites’ also feels inspired by Emo music, albeit a completely different kind of music than what we heard on ‘ABSOLUTELYNOT.’ This song has a melody that makes me think of the Emo Crunkcore music that became big online in the mid to late 2000s. When I hear this melody, I immediately think of artists like Blood on the Dance Floor, 3oh!3, and brokeNCYDE. This is an underrated style of music in my opinion that I feel probably deserved more shine, so I am happy to see Eli $tones pursuing this sound. The melody for this track is so dark and fun, being driven by extremely fat and distorted synths that feel like they are hitting you from every direction. This melody is put on an intense, House Music-esque beat that is so high-energy and makes me want to party when I hear it. Eli $tones’ vocal performance on this track is a bit more understated than the one on the previous track, but that is totally okay because it fits the feeling of the song. The lower tone that he sings with contrasts the eccentric sound of the instrumental, making the song feel all-encompassing. Through ‘ABSOLUTELYNOT’ and ‘Satellites,’ Eli $tones’ prove how vast an artist he can be. It seems like there are no limits to the types of music he can make; he can make songs for so many different kinds of music listeners. These two tracks are the latest example of why Eli $tones is one of the most important artists from the Milwaukee area.