Elle Varner Talks About Her Path The Last 10 Years, How The Pandemic Effected Her & New Album “Self”

While talking to Mina SayWhat for The Philadelphia Tribune, R&B artist Elle Varner discusses her path through the music industry in the last 10 years. She talks about the sacrifices she has had and the things she wishes she would have done. On the heels of her first self booked tour and upcoming album “Self,” Elle talks about her journey in finding herself. Check out the article HERE or read below and watch the full conversation.

Having a career in music seems like a dream come true. The parties, the events, the attention, it all seems very glamorous. However, many do not know how hard it is to actually be in the entertainment business especially as an artist. R&B Singer Elle Varner knows first hand that all that glitters is not gold and has been learning to weather the ups and downs of this beautiful storm called the music business.

Born into a musical family, Varner studied at New York University’s Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music. Her mother was a vocalist, singer, songwriter and father was a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. At the age of six, she started playing instruments. First the flute then the piano and guitar. Varner was basically born into the music business and even she has seen ups and downs in her career.

In October 2009, a year after graduating from NYU, she signed a deal with MBK Entertainment/RCA Records along with a co-publishing agreement with Sony Music. Eventually, she left that major label. “I realized at a certain point that I spent so much time looking at everything through the lens of the majors, the major labels. And the music industry, where do I fit in now? And then it was like, girl, you just have to work,” says Varner.

Over 10 years later, Varner now has her own label, 212 Enterprises, and has embarked on her self-booked tour, “An Intimate Experience with Elle Varner.”

Elle Varner officially burst on the music scene in 2011 with her song “Only Want To Give It To You” featuring rapper J. Cole. The song peaked at #20 on the US Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It was produced by Philadelphia production duo, Pop & Oak, Andrew “Pop” Wansel and Warren “Oak” Felder.

Her debut album “Perfectly Imperfect” was released in 2012 when streaming platforms were not even popular yet. Pop & Oak produced six songs on the album, including her second single off the album “Refill.” Artists T-Pain and Wale were featured on the remix. This song is where Varner’s unique musical palette would surface. “The fiddle almost got taken out,” says Varner about the song which incorporated a fiddle throughout. “The fiddle almost got taken out before the song came out. It scared everyone. It scared people at the record company. Even radio was like how are we going to work with this. I was pretty much like nah we can’t take it out.” It is not typical to hear a fiddle in an R&B song, but Varner fought for her art.

Throughout her career, Varner has recorded a lot of her music in Philadelphia. In 2014, Varner released “I Don’t Wanna Dance” featuring rapper ASAP Ferg, another collaboration with Pop & Oak. She also collaborated with Pop’s father, Philadelphia International Records soul musician, Dexter Wansel. Varner has regularly recorded at Sigma Sound Studio and loves a good cheesesteak from Ishkabibbles.

When talking about the sound of Philly R&B, Varner says, “I feel like Philly R&B has a slowness to it. It’s like a sauce. It’s like a roux. It’s not rushed. You’re gonna hear a real story. You’re gonna get some substance. It’s gonna take its time and really pay attention to detail. That’s how I feel about Philly Soul and R&B.”

Varner has been navigating the ins and outs of being an R&B artist. From being signed to a label, to being unsigned and not allowed to release music, to all the changes in the music industry and technology in the last 10 years, to the changes in R&B music, Varner is now operating her own label and has a distribution deal with Entertainment One (E One). She is her own boss.

As she navigates having her own label and booking her own tours, Varner is enjoying this newfound independence and hands on approach. “I’m a road warrior. As a matter of fact, I drove one of the cars on the last tour. I drove the vehicle myself. It was my first time handling everything business-wise. I loved it! I loved paying everyone. It’s like you have it, you pay it. Everyone is happy. Everything is good. It feels good to run a business. Why didn’t I do this 10 years ago? I don’t know. But that’s part of my journey. That’s part of my story.”

Varner’s current 8-city tour, “An Intimate Experience With Elle Varner,” is underway with Varner performing primarily at City Winery’s all over the United States. She’s performed in Boston, Massachusetts and Washington DC. She stopped in Hampton, Virginia on March 26th and the City Winery in Philadelphia, with Philly’s own DJ Aktive opening her show, on Sunday, March 27. On March 29, Varner hits New York City, followed by Chicago on April 15, Atlanta on April 16 with the tour wrapping up in Music City, Nashville, Tennessee on April 17. She is also working on her third album titled, “Self,” and will perform some of her new music at these shows.

“For me to have such a [strange career], right now I can’t think of another word besides strange. It’s not necessarily unique, but I would say I’ve had a rather strange career. Like things don’t all the way match up, but for me, 10 years later, to still be so well received. I know my time is going to come,” says Elle Varner.

For more information on Elle Varner, visit ellevarner.com