Eric Jordan is dope. Don’t believe me? Take one look at his illustrations of fallen hip-hop legends like Big Pun and The Notorious B.I.G. or his on take on Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama and you will. Art Nouveau Magazine caught up with Eric recently for a quick chat. Here is what he had to say.

Art Nouveau Magazine: Who is Eric Jordan?

Eric Jordan: I am Eric, son of Eric. Otherwise known as E or Easy or Jherell (father of Superman) but go as EJORDANILL.COM at the end of every painting. I am an Illustrator/Designer looking to dominate the artistic field via hard work and nice colors.

ANM: Why is Hip-Hop so prevalent in your work?

EJ: Hip hop is the underlying foundation to me. I more like a lifestylethan just sounds in the distance. Hip hop is the background of all I do and art is my passion and the music flows right out. I illustrate those who I admire and who I believe demonstrate creative excellence. Those who through hard work and unique style made their voices heard other so many others who attempted to speak louder than them. The artists I portray are those who encourage me to work hard so soon someone can look at me as I look at them.

ANM: What is your favorite medium to work with?

EJ: My favorite medium is Corel Painter the oil preset. While in college I painted in oil and loved it. It was my goal to become as fluid with the paint as possible and make it similar to a second language. At the
same time I purchased a computer to be in the loop as several of my classmates went digital to execute their artwork. I knew that I had to incorporate the computer somehow even if it were simply to scan. But soon afterwards I was introduced to Painter and at that moment I went digital. I draw with pencil most of the time, sometimes on my wacom tablet, I the scan in the drawing and its Painter and Photoshop the rest of the way through. Colored pencil may be a close second, Prismacolors are Gods gift to colored pencils.

ANM: Which album are you more stoked about Kayne's or Jay-Z's? Why?

EJ: This may be the hardest question of 2008. I'm going to have to say I'm more excited about Jay -Z's album. Not to take anything away from Kanye as he has made only classic albums. But its something about about Sean Carter that gets me excited. I may be drooling as we speak.

ANM: What are you listening to right now?

EJ: Right now I am listening any and everything that Freeway aka Philly Freezer puts out. At this point I believe he is my favorite artist which was another question that I never had the answer to until
recently. You should buy all his mixtapes and both of his albums. He's dope and his from the great city of Philly.

ANM: Tell me a bit about your background? Did you go to Art School?

I am from West Philly and started drawing around 6. I think it was an influence from my father as he used to draw superheros for me. I begun to pick up the pencil and soon after it was something like an addiction and while others played ball and sold drugs I drew pictures. I had a mean jump shot though.

As far as schooling I went the University of the Arts where I chose Illustration as a major and was focused from there on. My Professors from UArts equipped me with the tools needed to succeed and I am thankful for their dedication as now I am on the path to becoming a legendary artist or thats the plan at least.

ANM: Tell me about the Kanye diary project.

EJ: The Kanye diary project was given to me from the editor at Formatmag.com. I am grateful for him reaching out to me and giving me the opportunity to take on this project as well as all others we have
worked on together. He wanted the book  to have the feel of a diary and day planner with small illustrated notes as if Kanye were to have drawn them himself alongside his writings. It was an exciting project for me. I think this is because my portfolio consists of only paintings and to get a chance to switch and show versatility with another medium. It was fun.

ANM: Who have been some of your favorite clients?

EJ: My favorites had to have been XXL and YRB. XXL was very easy to work with. The art director was very precise, motivating and professional. YRB was very open and left everything to me. The product was a very different piece as I wanted to take a different approach thus we have the piece "3 Stacks" an illustration of Andre 3000 as  with the project asking for an icon. I believe Andre is a lyrical legend and
deserved to be preserved via illustration and I am proud of how it came out. Hope you like it too! On the designer side of things I really enjoy working with Rocksmith, a clothing line based in New York. They just do cool stuff, any coolness you want to wear they make it and I help them make it so its a beautiful thing. You can check them out on Karmaloop.

ANM: What do you use to create?

EJ: Beside infleunce from all things creative from music to art I use an HB pencil, regular computer paper(no sketch book) Macbook Pro, Painter, Photoshop and Wacom tablet. I throw on some rediculously loud music and get busy.

ANM: Is there anything else you'd like to mention?

EJ: I would like to say thank you to everyone involved in any of my illustrative efforts. To continue to check, comment and spread the word of both ejordanill.com as well as ejordanill.blogspot. Most thanks to Art Nouveau Magazine. Seize the day and plan for the future.

For everything Eric Jordan please visit http://www.ejordanill.com/