Born in Huntsville Alabama 1992, Eric C. Tolbert was soon taken to New York at the an early age. He was raised, and spent the Majority of his life in Long Island, and was influenced heavily by the music scene of the city he was in. He began producing at eleven when his older cousin introduced him to fruity loops one. He spent the next few years developing himself as a producer, and honing in on his skills as a writer. Singing came first to Eric after growing up along side sister and fellow artist Shelly Aka Zephy. In His latter years Eric created a new Identity which he believed best personified him as an artist named Arik Divine. He choose to do this in honor of his grandfather, a highly respected man and pastor of whom he was named after. He felt because he wasn't exemplifying the types of beliefs and values his grandfather Pastor E. C. Ward was by doing secular music it would be a dishonor to continue on with that name, however instead input \"divine\" in place to show his respect for his religious values. \"Arik\" has had many musical influences which include but is not limited to Prince, whom he met and sang for at the age of 17 at Madison Square Garden in 2012. This not only motivated Arik's drive for music, but to enhance his versatility and magnify his talent and craft all the more. Arik work for several years along side good friend and mentor Karl Ricketts, he learned the proper methods of recording mixing, and mastering records. Over the past few years Arik has produced 200+ beats, and has recorded somewhere between 120-150 songs. His latest project of which he is most proud of is his most recent work, an album entitled \"Mega Ephert\". The album is a coalition of all of Arik's combined work and is as he says, \"The pinnacle of my lyrical ability..\". We're not sure what the future hold's for Arik Divine, but we'd definitely like to say it looks promising.
Mega Ephert is the debut album by the American rapper Arik Divine, released on June 30, 2016 by ADM Records Inc. After creating the label with the help of Karl Rickets, Arik recorded the album in 2015-2016 at Feel Good Studios, and Divine Records, in New York City. Its production was handled by Arik, Karl Ricketts, Craig Little 4K, Maurice Gibbons., and Chyna Gomez. Styled as a hardcore hip hop album, Mega Ephert features multi-syllabic internal rhymes and inner-city narratives based on Arik's experiences in Long Island, New York.
Since its initial reception, Mega Ephert has been recognized by writers and music critics as a landmark album in East Coast hip hop. Its unique sound can be attributed to the album's production and Arik's lyricism. It also contributed to the revival of the Long Island's rap scene, introducing a number of stylistic trends to the region. The album is sure to be one of the most widely celebrated albums in hip hop history, hopefully it will be appearing on numerous best album lists by critics and publications.
