Illustration by Dan EvansThis article originally appeared on Noisey.com.From the humdrum middle class neighborhoods of the San Fernando Valley, Flying Lotus flipped a family jazz past and a troublesome school life to become one of the biggest beatmakers on the West Coast. He’s worked with and influenced the likes of Thom Yorke, Erykah Badu, Burial, Herbie Hancock, Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, Snoop Dogg, and Thundercat, all the while digitizing soul music, masterminding conceptual dreamscapes, and inventing hellish rap characters.It was only eight years ago that he broke onto the scene with his debut album 1983, and, since then, each chapter in his life has been represented by a groundbreaking new record. So, how did a Nintendo-playing cartoon addict become a Flying Lotus? Stage by stage, we look at the evolution of LA’s modern beat king.If anyone was destined for success, it was Flying Lotus. Born Steven Ellison in 1983, he entered life as the great-nephew of jazz pianist Alice Coltrane and her late husband, the saxophonist, John Coltrane (who actually died before Steven’s birth), as well as being the grandson of Motown singer/songwriter Marilyn Mcleod. And, in the early days, he followed right in their footsteps, playing alto-saxophone and then saxophone through his young school years.By his 15th birthday, Steven’s cousin had bought him a Roland MC-505 groovebox and a school friend gave him a lend of a R.A.W. mixtape (listen below) from the L.A. drum and bass scene. His musical landscape changed, and an inner beatmaker began to bubble.Read the rest over at Noisey.comRelated:We Talked To Joanna Newsom About The Future Of Harp MakingWe Talked To The Animator Of SBTRKT's Spooky New Music VideoAn Inside Look At Porter Robinson's Electrifying ‘Worlds' Tour Visuals
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