E Love

Posted on 02.7.2006

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E Love
Damien Earl Matthias
Producer - Writer

Don’t Call It A Comeback :
The Many Hats of Damien Earl Matthias aka E Love & The Rise of Headstone Entertainment

By Trevor Rasmussen

Damien Earl Matthias aka E Love is a musical heavyweight, a talented screenwriter, respected businessman and philanthropist, whose new foray into films is taking his business to a whole new level. His self-written and directed debut film Blunts and Stunts : CAlss of 1994 and it’s companion soundtrack are hittin’ the urban market in all the right places.

As a producer he borders on legendary. He’s earned several MTV Awards, a Grammy Award and multiple Soul Train Awards. He came up the ranks with L.L. Cool J with whom he earned a double platinum album on Radio, went four times platinum on Bigger and Deffer aka Bad and earned one more platinum distinction on Walking with the Panther. He also won an American Music Award for Song of the Year on the L.L. Cool J hit “I’m Bad”. He plays 5 instruments, including guitar, bass, saxophone, piano and flute and has performed all over the world.

In the last 5 years he has built a multi-faceted urban entertainment group, Headstone Entertainment, which includes a record label called Headwest Records, a music studio called Black Diamond Studios, a video game division and a sport management and marketing company called Infinite Sports Concepts. The first film called Blunts and Stunts : Class of 94 was written and produced by Damien himself and is the world’s first urban reality feature film.

Blunts and Stunts is a hip hop film about real people who think they have real talent in music, film, dance, singing, comedy and Rap. It stars DJ Pooh, Don Curry and Michael Sachs, who plays himself as a young recording artist who needs talent for an upcoming tour. Time is of the essence as he endures auditions with his boys whose only real goal is to smoke blunts and chase stunts. A precursor to MTV’s “Making of the Band" and "American Idol,” Blunts and Stunts shows us how it was getting done before reality TV. The film debuted to holiday audiences on 3 screens in Detroit and is screening at the largest Black History Month event in the nation, the Pan African Film Festival in L.A. next week.

As a companion to the film, Matthias has partnered with Detroit-based producer K.I.D.D. (who produced B.G.s gold record earning “Living Legend” album) to produce a compilation worth talkin’ about. With badass beats and solid songwriting, Matthias and K.ID.D. have brought together some Serious talent, including a track from B.G. Also included are some of the Midwest’s finest underground artists including Tone Tone, D.U.B. Camp, THE UNDATAKA, Y.B.I., ,XACUTION STYLE, The HardHitters, Y.B.I., NYCE 1 and Nathan Smith as well as some amazing newcomers. 11-year old prodigy, Lil’ Ace takes his turn on the mic in a tune called “If I,” while newly signed Headwest talent Sweet P busts out a brand new slow jam- sweeping ballad called “Nice and Slow.” The CD is slated to be released early this spring and is already makin’ noise throughout the community.

Damien Earl Matthias :: Photo Joe Shalmoni

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