Elijah Blake Releases New '5 Gold Rings' Video

Via his first-ever holiday project, Holiday Love, 2x Grammy Award-Winning contemporary R&B singer/songwriter Elijah Blake has now released its first visual, "5 Gold Rings," a trap-esque version of "The 12 Days of Christmas," premiered by HotNewHipHop.

Speaking on "5 Gold Rings," Elijah says, "The goal was to come up with a Christmas song that felt like a Christmas record, but wasn't limited to only the holidays & could stand the test of time. It's current enough to move & play in the clubs, but it has all the elements of the holiday time that you could have fun with & dance to with your family. It's a cool hip-hop song that plays off of the holiday nostalgia."

Additionally, he adds, "Even with the video, the first thing I told Boima (the director) was that this was an unconventional Christmas song, so I didn't want the video to be typical either. We played with certain elements to make it a bit edgy. The concept we came up with was Christmas in the year 3020. We incorporated the Christmas lights & colors, but kept it young, fun & as hip-hop driven as possible. Even the whole flow of the song is different for me because I'm more an R&B crooner, but this song has so many different elements of hip-hop in it. I wanted to have my Trap Santa moment."

In addition to Holiday Love, which is comprised of 7 tracks: 6 original and 1 classic cover (Donnie Hathaway's "This Christmas"), Elijah readies his next album Medusa, due out early 2020. Both projects follow 2018's self-progressed EP Bijoux 23 and 2019's joint-project with Jordin Sparks, 1990 Forever.

Notably, Elijah Blake is recognized for his pioneering efforts in the birth of Alternative-R&B, having made his mark penning Usher's No. 1 hit "Climax." Previously, he's collaborated with and written for the likes of Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, Trey Songz, Keyshia Cole, Ciara, Alicia Keys, Britney Spears, Kelly Rowland, Nas, Justin Bieber, Common, J. Cole, No I.D., The Game, Rick Ross, Dej Loaf, and many more.

Elijah Blake is a 2x Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer whose talents have touched and emblazoned the way for many. But, prior to gaining notoriety as a pioneer of the Alternative-R&B genre, writing for the industry's biggest household names and helping them reaching No. 1, Elijah learned of his love for music as a young child in the Caribbean.

Born Sean Fenton in the Dominican Republic and raised by a Dominican mother and Haitian father, Elijah's native tongue was French and Creole. Surrounded by African-influenced Caribbean music played in his home and neighborhood, coupled with his mother's love for Celine Dion, specifically for her French-sung songs, Elijah's diverse musical background developed early-on. After moving to Palm Beach County, Florida by age 5, Elijah's love for music would continue to grow after being gifted an extensive music catalog, including acts like Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Ace of Base, DeBarge, and other soulful, pop musicians. As he got older, he'd continue expanding his palette to TLC, Jesse Powell, Tevin Campbell, Brandy, Monica and more.

Keeping him from causing trouble in school as a child, Elijah's mother kept him in church, where their pastor told him there was a "calling upon his life," and encouraged him to join the choir to help him strengthen his gift - his voice. Helping him even further was Elijah's stepfather, who recognized his passion, and decided to teach him about Gospel music acts like Vanessa Del Armstrong, Karen Clark Sheard and the Clark Sisters, and more, giving him a better understanding of R&B and vocal structure.

Helping his mother pay bills in his early teens, Elijah would compete in poetry slams, which unknowingly helped him develop his songwriting and storytelling. Soon, he began working at Blockbuster, where he'd sing aloud and gain the attention of patrons - with one solidifying the phrase that he "had a calling upon his life." Elijah soon quit to further his musical career, making YouTube videos in the era of its late 2000s prime. Immediately following a few uploads, Elijah's views skyrocketed, leading to a Myspace inbox-full of messages from A&Rs across the country, like that from Atlantic Records' Mike Caren.

By age 16, Elijah was signed and flown out to Atlanta to begin working on his music, and soon after, with Trey Songz on his 2009 Ready album. From there, Elijah became a hot commodity in the industry as a fresh, gifted and spunky writer. He began working alongside and penning for Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, Keyshia Cole, Ciara, Alicia Keys, Britney Spears, and Kelly Rowland, and rung new bells with Usher - for his pioneering work on "Climax," a track that brought forth a new wave in R&B. Following the song's success, Elijah moved to Los Angeles in 2012, where he met legendary producer No I.D., who signed him to Def Jam, with management at Roc Nation. Elijah soon wrote for Nas and Rihanna, and both wrote and contributed his own vocals to tracks by The Game, Keyshia Cole, and Rick Ross' "Presidential."

Wanting to further his own career, Elijah released his debut 8-track EP Bijoux 22 in 2012, which featured Common, and offered fans a chance to get to know him. While the project earned comparisons to The Weeknd and Frank Ocean, Elijah's supple falsettos coupled with his effortless vulnerability opened the door for further industry collaborations; including Justin Bieber and J. Cole. In 2014, Elijah released his second EP Drift, and in 2015, he debuted his Billboard-charting (#21) and now Gold-certified single "I Just Wanna," featuring Dej Loaf via his debut album Shadows & Diamonds, featuring input from No I.D.

Elijah followed with 2016's Blueberry Vapors, 2017's Audiology, 2018's Bijoux 23, and 2019's 1990 Forever, a joint EP with Jordin Sparks. In November 2019, Elijah released his first-ever holiday project Holiday Love, featuring 6 original tracks and the classic Donnie Hathaway bop "This Christmas." Currently, Elijah's gearing up to release his next album Medusa, due out early 2020. With multiple projects available and a new one on the way, one thing that remains consistent with his releases, is Elijah's gift of storytelling via his songwriting, coupled with his ability to effortlessly offer freedom, relatability, and vulnerability; notably shattering stereotypical societal norms including: toxic masculinity in men and conformity in all.