Welcome to the UnStruktured Podcast.
In this episode, Bob Smith and I sit down with Damien E-LOVE Matthias, award-winning producer, entrepreneur, and a powerful force in the early formation of hip hop.
We begin at the intersection of music, design, and cultural resistance with the story of how E-LOVE himself became immortalized as the figure in the iconic Public Enemy logo. From that lasting image, we trace his journey… from growing up in the Caribbean, South Bronx, and Queens, to shaping the early sound and message of hip hop alongside legends like LL Cool J, Chuck D, and Rick Rubin.
In this conversation, we open a window into how creativity moves culture, how identity is shaped across geographies, and how E-LOVE turned vision into venture, never losing sight of purpose or people.
00:00 Introduction to the UnStruktured Podcast
01:00 Hip Hop's Early Days and Influences with Bob and Michelle
04:32 E-LOVE joins in: Technical Difficulties and Personal Stories
08:29 E LOVE's Iconic Public Enemy Logo
11:34 E LOVE's Early Life and Influences
20:12 Meeting LL Cool J, Rick Rubin, and the Rise of Def Jam
25:40 The Evolution of Hip Hop
28:03 The B-Boy Stance and Breakdancing
31:43 Creating a Culture and Marketing Strategies
36:34 Hip Hop Movies and 'Krush Groove'
39:26 Taking Chances in the Creative Industry
41:14 The Political Evolution of Hip Hop
42:02 The Impact of 'Do the Right Thing'
43:08 A Life-Changing Incident in 1989
44:01 Transition to Politics and Bill Clinton's Campaign
01:00:03 The Role of Technology in the Future
01:03:09 Tokyo Comic-Con and Stan Lee
01:10:52 Final Thoughts and Inspirational Messages
AN E-LOVE STORY
E-LOVE is a multi-platinum award-winning writer, producer, director, and a Federally Registered Lobbyist who sold more than 40 million records as an Artist/Producer and marketing Guru since 1984. He was an integral player in the ascension of Hip Hop, where brand references became shorthand for aspiration and status with nothing more than references in a song or shots in a video.
E-LOVE is best known for co-producing and performing with LL Cool J, among Def Jam Records’ first artists, and was instrumental in launching the careers of Tupac and John Forte. E-LOVE was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on October 30, 2021, and is literally the symbol of hip hop, the Public Enemy Logo, the # 1 hip hop logo of all time. He is the silhouette of the man in a hat, standing, arms folded, with a crosshair positioned over the top.
E-LOVE was born in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, the middle of eight children of Caribbean immigrants. He grew up in South Bronx and Queens, New York. At age eight, E-LOVE recognized the incredible power of the media after winning a prize on the nation’s number one kids’ show, Wonderama, earning instant fame that lasted a week, a feeling he would never forget. From dean’s office to favorite student, to a producer earning a Grammy and multiple MTV and Soul Train, to co-founder of VR Innovator, in 2014, a pioneering hardware and software/content creator for all media, gaming, television, film, VR, and AI.
By March 1984, while NYU students Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons were co-founding the independent, fledgling Def Jam Label, E-LOVE was in junior high school in Queens, creating demos in his parents’ garage. In his neighborhood, all the kids were into rap. Run D.M.C. from Queens just broke, about to drop their record, and on the radio with Kurtis Blow, the first rapper to sign a major record deal. All the kids were making demos to emulate Kurtis Blow and Run D.M.C. So E- LOVE purchased $3500 worth of recording equipment with money he won in a snow shoveling contest.
Around that time, E-LOVE and LL Cool J met as teenagers in Queens when the hip-hop scene was first “blowing up”. They teamed up, produced a single, “I Need A Beat” and “Dangerous” on the B side, and submitted their demo to numerous record companies with no response. E-LOVE and LL Cool J ultimately sent their demo to Rick Rubin. Rubin liked the single and invited them to a meeting in New York. E-LOVE and LL Cool J, with $5 between them for pizza, jumped the turnstile at the train station in Queens, rode to New York, met Rubin, and signed a record deal.
In 1984, Def Jam released LL Cool J’s debut single, “I Need A Beat”. This debut single sold over 500,000 copies due in large part to Def Jam’s cutting-edge innovative marketing strategies developed by E-LOVE based on the birth of the “Street Team” for Peter Gatien, known as the “King of New York City Nightlife” in the eighties and nineties. The “Street Team” brought out all the “A” listers who ran New York, from the sports, entertainment, and Wall Street, to Gatien’s clubs, including the Limelight, the gothic club for the Marilyn Manson followers; the Palladium, the pop club, the Madonna audience from Studio 54; and The Tunnel, the hip hop mecca – everybody from Run D.M.C., LL to the Notorious B.I.G. All were regulars and all performed at Peter’s clubs making him the “King of New York City Nightlife”.
In 1985, LL Cool J, DJ Cut Creator, E-LOVE, and the Fat Boys appeared as themselves in the feature film, Krush Groove, a fictionalized version of the early days of Def Jam produced by Jackson/McHenry Productions and distributed by Warner Bros, starring Kurtis Blow, Sheila E., Run D.M.C., the Fat Boys, and introducing TV Star, Blair Underwood, to film. This was one of the first hip-hop movies to go mainstream. LL Cool J performed the single Radio in Krush Groove that sold over one million copies.
E-LOVE developed a global fan base touring and performing internationally with icons and legends LL, Run DMC, the Beastie Boys, and other rising stars. His keen eye for recognizing, developing, and marketing untapped talent was instrumental in launching the careers of Tupac Shakur and John Forte.
In 1989, E-LOVE was shot 8 times during an attempted robbery and carjacking and rushed to the ER. After several days, he woke up in the middle of Last Rites being administered as he lay barely conscious, strapped to a hospital bed, tubes everywhere, nearly flat line vitals. E-LOVE was one of the first patients to be administered a treatment that consisted of an IV drip of CBD and THC. His recovery progressed over three years, with multiple surgeries and rehabilitation. E-LOVE miraculously beat all odds, his life transformed, Last Rites never forgotten.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, E-LOVE enrolled at the American Conservatory of Music (ACT) in San Francisco, California, majoring in directing, screenwriting, and producing. This life-changing decision was made after a deep conversation with music mogul, Lyor Cohen, former president of Def Jam, former Warner Bros. executive, and current global head of Music at YouTube, that E-LOVE return to school… he followed Cohen’s sage advice.
@eloveglobal
STRUKTUR SOCIETY
This episode was brought to you by Struktur Society, the community for creators in art, design, and music. For almost a decade Struktur has brought together creatives from across the industrial, apparel, graphic, and sound design industries, building professional relationships, creating a platform for knowledge sharing, and raising the bar of product creation.
From live events and workshops, to publication and podcasting, Struktur continues to evolve to build the strong creator community needed to craft our future. Find us at struktursociety.com and subscribe to our Substack at struktursociety.substack.com.
© StrukturSphere llc 2025. Original music by Greg Brace Music.
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