His first public performance was at the age of 8. Fresh to death in an olive green suit, white gym socks and black church shoes, Antwan Elliott traveled solo for an hour and a half on a Greyhound bus to his aunt’s dorm room at Syracuse University, convincing himself, and his captive audience, that he was Lil Vicious. His antics were not out of the ordinary, coming from a rambunctious Jamaican family, but in the years that followed, the young artist known today as S.I.E. continued to show glimpses of talent as a showman.


Growing up in Rochester, NY, in the ’90s, S.I.E.’s claim to fame was his emergence as a talented young tap dancer. He was that kid at the recitals that everyone was talking about and cheering for, but it wasn’t until his junior year of college that he took entertaining seriously.

“I grew up loving Biggie and how crazy he was lyrically. But when I hit 18, was in college, was grown, my whole mindset changed. I started thinking about how I was gonna support myself, how I was gonna be independent, how to make my family proud, my relationships, my friendships, my ambitions. I just started thinking.” It was around that time that he began identifying with young rappers like Drake and J Cole, whose music aligned so closely with what was happening in his life.

“I just naturally started rhyming, just trying to find a way to deal with life. I liked it, liked expressing myself, and then I grew to love it.”

Rapping was cool, but his roots were calling.

“My whole family is from Jamaica. Go to my parents house right now and there’s reggae playing and rice and peas ah cook,” he joked. “Bob Marley and Sanchez are my idols. The first tape I bought with my own money was Vicious. And as I was getting deeper into music, reggae was in my heart. That’s the vibe I always gravitated to.”

Today he’s all grown up and back on stage. He’s outgrown the suit and white socks, and the lyrics are original, but S.I.E. still approaches entertaining like it’s his first dorm-room performance. He is the party starter on a mission. For S.I.E., success is everything.


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