By Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer Published Aug 08, 2006 at 8:45 AM
Milwaukee's own Black Elephant, which had a track on the first OnMilwaukee music sampler CD last year, is on the cover of the national Unsigned Music Magazine in August (see photo above).

The group is interviewed by writer K.L. Hamlett inside the mag and the entire article can also be read online at the magazine's Web site.

In the introduction to the Q&A session with the group, Hamlett writes, "Black Elephant -– the premier hip-hop group in Milwaukee uses live instruments and mixes poetry, spoken word and rap to deliver rhyme after rhyme of pure verbal genius. The group is on the forefront of Milwaukee’s growing hip-hop scene, but most of all, this group is on the verge of breaking out into the big time."

Black Elephant plays to the hometown crowd, Saturday, Aug. 12 at 9 p.m. at the BBC. Chicago's Treologic also performs.
Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.

He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.

With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.

He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.

In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.

He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.