On rare occasions, an artist captures an audience’s attention and holds it gently in their grasp, enchanting them with every note. This was the case at the 2023 Top 60 Masters Awards Ceremony, where gone r0gue, also known as Elaine Tejeda, graced the stage and left an indelible mark on the collective soul of the attendees.
Hailing from the cultural mosaic of the Bronx, gone r0gue embodies the unyielding spirit and vibrant creativity of her neighborhood. Her music is a tapestry woven with threads of lived experiences, raw emotion, and an innate ability to connect with her audience.
Elaine Tejeda – gone r0gue.
gone r0gue’s performance at the ceremony was electric, leaving the audience in awe of her angelic yet fiery voice. Her delivery of “Escape,” her timeless masterpiece, carried echoes of the city’s symphony – the gritty clatter of the subway, the whispers through the Botanical gardens, and the rhythms of generations that have walked its streets.
Her presentation of an unreleased original, “Unrecited,” resonated in the theater of the Museum of Art and Design in New York like a sacred utterance. This song, drenched in the heartache of unrealized love, bridged the gap between Soul and Pop with a seamlessness that belies the complexity of such a fusion.
Beyond her mesmerizing voice and confessional story-telling, gone r0gue’s authenticity casts the longest shadow. Her repertoire is laden with narratives of love, coming of age, and betrayal. She doesn’t just skim the surface of these experiences but plunges deep, extracting their essence and delivering it with poignant honesty.
A singer-songwriter who has made her mark enhancing records in the Hip-Hop, Pop, and R&B realms, gone r0gue’s performances are known for forging a connection with each member of her audience through her art. She doesn’t just perform; she converses with every gesture, every look, and every vibrato, engaging in a silent dialogue with her listeners.
gone r0gue’s versatility and willingness to traverse the boundaries of musical categorization have been featured and credited in various works. Her voice adapts, chameleon-like, yet never loses the signature warmth and depth that have become her hallmark.
As gone r0gue takes her next steps on her artistic journey, the world watches with bated breath.
If “Unrecited” is any indication, we stand on the precipice of a new era in music, where the lines between genres are not blurred but altogether transcended. In gone r0gue’s universe, the soul of Pop, the introspection of R&B, and the vitality of hip-hop are not just passing influences but intrinsic elements that, when combined, create a soundscape that is uniquely hers.
She’s taken on new endeavors in her industry, supporting a collective, The Uptown Melody, founded and spearheaded by fellow artist, Ayanna Williams. The collective highlights Uptown artists through live music events and artist development.
Her music is available on different platforms online like Spotify and Apple Music, an opportunity for those who have already experienced the sheer magnetism of gone r0gue live to relive the magic and for the uninitiated to be transported.
Viviana Puello
Editor-in-Chief
