BIO
ElJay Williams Jr., a native of Kansas City, Missouri known mononymously as ElJay or The Artist ElJay, is a American Singer, Dancer, Model, Writer, Philanthropist, Entrepreneur, and Actor.
At the age of fifteen, Williams recorded his first demo entitled “Trust Me”, and shortly after moved to Los Angeles, CA. to receive professional training at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.
In the early 2000’s ElJay got his first shot in the entertainment business when he signed a deal with Good Life Entertainment as an Creative Director. He created electrifying performances for artist of many different genres. Choreographing afforded him the opportunity to open for major artist in the industry while networking and expanding his knowledge of the music industry.
By 2002, ElJay began his undergraduate studies at The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff where he majored in Journalism and minored in Music Performance and Theater Arts. He also held a choir scholarship with the world renowned Vesper Choir, under the direction of the late Dr. Michael J Bates. El-Jay also was highly involved in the theater department under the direction of Broadway writer and director Steven Broadnax, holding leading and supporting roles in Hamlet: The Revenge of the King, The Hip Hop Project, 1970s Blues in the Night, Closer Then Ever, and Dream Girls, just to name a few. Having such remarkable reviews afforded the theater department the opportunity to perform on the Kennedy Center Stage, The American Theater Festival, and hold a US College Tour. Along with singing and acting, Williams was a part of the college dance team; The ShowStoppers, performing for college homecomings and on major platforms such as BET’s Televised Spring Bling.
In 2005, El-jay entered a singing contest in Arkansas, that broadcast on the CW Network. Eljay won the contest and was granted a one year recording contract with On The Rise Productions.
After graduating with his Bachelors in Arts and Science in 2007, Williams went on to gain his Masters in marketing while simultaneously creating his own production company entitled ElJay Williams Jr Entertainment. Under this name, he released several stage plays in which he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in entitled; 2007’s Wrath: The Rise of the Anti-Christ, 2012’s Sub-Conscious: The Deception Behind the Music, 2012’s Soul Glow.
ElJay revamped his company and renamed it EWJR Entertainment. Under this new name he performed his next round of stage plays; 2015’s Rufus Dysfunctional Family and 2016’s Rufus Group Therapy. These productions exposed him to his first sponsor who invested in 2017’s Hollywood The Musical.
In late 2018, Williams created his first full EP entitled “Melody” and In early 2020, now under the name The Artist ElJay, Williams collaborated with Grammy nominated producer Jo Blaq, to produce a Hott New EP entitled ”Champion”.
In late 2020, ElJay signed with Big Noise, a music firm specializing in Artist Development, management, publicity and marketing distribution. Since his signing, ElJay has been feature in Music Connection magazine, performed on a variety of platforms, and released 2021 album entitled “I Need You/I.N.U.”, which received a Grammy Consideration for the 64th Grammys by the Recording Academy.
Today, ElJay continues to make amazing music that keeps him at the forefront of his genre as an independent artist, while continuing to connect and network with artist of different backgrounds in an effort to continue to push the brand.