Hamline cross country and track and field alum Ellis Richardson (’12), known as Ellis Cleve on the microphone, performed before the Pipers football game on Saturday and afterwards shared his thoughts on the turnout, discussed his career ambition and reminisced about being apart of the three-peat conference championship cross country squad (2009-2011).

“Ellis…means more to Hamline University than we all know. His music, his culture, everything he does…this dude means more to Hamline than anyone else,” senior track and field athlete Jack Micholic said. “He is the real reason why we go to Hamline.

With a little rapping and a little singing, Cleve appeared to keep the crowd entertained and engage as he got some of the audience to move their body to beat of his tunes. During his final two songs, he struggled to get the mob near the Klas lawn to go inside the stadium as they continued to jam to his music he stated, “the football team needs you, it’s time to go inside.”

Senior SAAC representative Paige Walters said she was content with his performance.

“He did a really good job. He kept the party going and kept the people here,” Walters said.

After his performance, Cleve stayed to watch some of the game and mingled with familiar faces. He also made time to chat with The Oracle for a Question and Answer session.

Q & A with Ellis Richardson a.k.a Ellis Cleve:

The Oracle: What’s it like as a Hamline alum to come back and perform before the night football game between Hamline and Macalester?

Cleve: “It was great being back at Hamline, I’ve been here for a while. It was great to feel the school spirit. We didn’t really have night [football] games when I was here. I was also running cross country so I wasn’t really able to come to most of the games, so its cool to be here, be with everybody and kind of get everybody excited about the game, it was fun.”

O: When did you know you’d be performing in front of Hamline University?

C: “When did I find out I was going to be performing here? I probably found out I was going to be playing here four days [before the event]. I didn’t know that I was going to be playing here. Jack Micholic calls me up and he says ‘hey, can you come and perform on Saturday?’ Yeah, I can. I will, it’s exciting, it’s fun, but I got to figure some stuff out before I get over there. I didn’t have much time, it was kind of off the cuff, but it was fun, real fun.”

O: What’s your reaction with tonight’s turnout and the number of people who came?

C: “It was great, it was fun. At first people weren’t there, but of course people came for the free pizza, so that was good. But yeah, I love it, it was fun. It was outside and I don’t perform outside a lot so that was fun and people were excited to be there, so it was a good time.

“Great feeling, great to be back at Hamline University.”

O: How long have you been rapping?

C: “I’ve been singing and rapping for a while. I did in high school and as a kid I used to sing a lot. I kind of consider myself more as a singer who likes to rap. I’ve been singing and rapping for a while, since I was a teenager, probably.”

O: Where does the inspiration for your music come from?

C: “My inspiration is just to make people feel good. I want something that’s authentic, something that people like and I feel like people like music that is relatable and is authentic, so if I’m doing something just because everyone else is doing something, just because it’s popular at the moment, uhh, you don’t have to be popular at the moment. But is it good music? Is it authentic music? Is it something that somebody is going to connect to? I don’t know, probably not; so I like to make music that makes me feel good, that makes other people feel good and recognize it’s real.”

O : What brought you to Hamline University as a student?

C: “Hamline, what brought me to Hamline was pretty much running. I ran cross country and track here. We had some success, it was fun. Shout out to [Cross Country and Track and Field] Coach [Paul] Schmaedeke, he’s a big reason why I’m here. Coach Schmaedeke does great things for the university and I’m so proud of what they all done and I’m proud to be apart of Hamline Track and Field and Hamline Cross Country.”

O: What’s your most prized achievement as an athlete at Hamline University?

C: “I’m really proud of Cross Country we were back-to-back-to-back conference champions. That was super fun, it was great to have the opportunity to run with the people I ran with. Especially, the guys in my grade, my year, Jack Deichert (’12), Devin Monson (’12). You know we three-peated. That was really fun. It was fun being all-conference, it was fun being all-regional. All that, it was great times, great times with the guys. And there’s no regrets, you can’t complain about that.”

O: Do you still keep in contact with some of your former teammates?

C: “I still see the guys frequently. I still get to go on runs with them, try to keep in shape. But those are my guys, always. Hamline love, we stay together.”

O: What piece of advice would you give to current Hamline athletes?

C: “One piece of advice I’d give to Hamline athletes is to enjoy your time here, work hard when you’re here, you only got four years to really do athletics and just have fun. Do your thing.”

O: What’s your career plan, is music now your focus?

C: “You know I love music, I love to make music and that’s a huge part of what I’m trying to do. I would love to keep making music, I perform a lot at Honey, in Minneapolis, Northeast Minneapolis. It’s a nice place, I’ll be there again on October 25th, so if you’re interested October 25th I’m there. I play with a full band. The band couldn’t be here tonight, they didn’t have enough notice, but I play with a full band and its going to be real fun, it’s great, it’s a great time.

Also, I’m becoming a teacher right now so I’m in a classroom right now and I teach second grade so that’s fun.”

O: What are your final thoughts after tonight?

C: “Great feeling, great to be back at Hamline University. I thank you guys for the support. I thank you for supporting me. My name is Ellis Cleve: I’m a musician, I’m a poet, I’m a teacher, I’m a friend, I’m a son, all that. I can be your friend if you want to, so follow me [on Twitter] @ThatBoyCleve. Thanks a lot.”