A couple weeks after its release, UW-Eau Claire senior Nathan Ejuwa’s (EJ) breakout project “Ascension” is hardly an afterthought.

Even from Eau Claire, the Minneapolis native’s laundry list of features, including Rhymesayers Entertainment’s Dem Atlas, proves he’s not so far from home — it’s a collective of voices orchestrated by the lead of his charismatic flow.

The Spectator sat down with EJ to hear how the album has unfolded since it dropped. In just under an hour of music, the up-and-comer’s self-examining style suggests that  staring out at the city skyline long enough will turn up your own reflection. Now that’s ascension.

Zack Katz: Now that the dust has settled, give a little insight into reception and the timeliness of the album’s release.
Nathan Ejuwa: I came to this point where I don’t just release music anymore, it has to be for a reason — I have to be motivated to do it. So when I released this album I didn’t set a date, why should I set a date? When it’s right I’ll know. Since then I’ve gotten some feedback, positive for the most part. I really think that when it catches with the blogs and newspapers, that’s when I’ll see what I’m looking for. But right now, I’m just chillin’. Because I know it’ll speak for itself.

ZK: Are you pushing for more performances of this album? How is it coming to life in that sense?
EJ: The first time I performed it, I didn’t really give any indication it was material from my album, I just played them. People seemed to like them. The time for me to really start telling people more and get physical copies will be on the May 22nd at CMJ’s release show at Honey in Minneapolis. That should be a pretty interesting time because basically everyone who is featured will be there to perform with me. I know that show is gonna be crackin’.

ZK: Let’s talk about who you’re collaborating and pushing forward with.
EJ: My man Konstant Movement, Stephen Sutherland. That’s the homie right now. In this town, this “void of hip hop,” we gotta stick together and find something.

ZK: You mentioned new material, does that mean you’re already flipping the page? Are you settled or unsatisfied?
EJ: Absolutely man, I started working on this next project before Ascension was finished. So it’s always going, it’s always in my head.

ZK: If you’re constantly producing music, how do you find cut-offs for single cohesive projects such as Ascension? Are you conscious of the placement of material project by project, or does it just land where it falls?
EJ: At the beginning of the project, you don’t know. When you get that solid base of songs, you reach that point where it’s like ‘this is a description of my life for this amount of time, and I’ve reached a point where it needs to be solidified into one volume.’ When we were recording Ascension, we came up with a completely new song. So there’s no set equation, there’s no last time you can add a song until the release date.

ZK: When you’re writing something, sometimes the whole picture can form around inspiration from one word or idea. Is your writing process about growth from a single point or drawing from different places?
EJ: The writing process for me can sometimes be as simple as sitting down and listening to a beat until images come to my mind. A lot of the times I just freestyle, and sometimes I’ll reach a common theme. Sometimes it’s just born out of chicken scratch — just putting my thoughts on paper as fast as I can before I lose it. It could take days, it could take like a minute and a half. It just depends.

ZK: For those who have never heard of EJ, what do you have to say for your album?
EJ: This album Ascension speaks for itself … so listen to it.

—  The Spectator Staff