KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A few months ago, Lee Spight was delivering packages for UPS with one of his best friends listening to some of his favorite songs from rapper Rod Wave.
Fast forward to now, he is sharing a stage with Rod Wave, playing the same music he would listen to as the pianist on a nationwide tour.
“It’s hard not to trust God at this point,” Spight, known by his stage name EELmatic, said. “When something like this happens, he’s got you. When I departed with UPS I was without pay for a couple of weeks and maybe a couple of months. When I got hired the tour hadn’t started until the month after.”
Born into a big musical family in Buffalo, New York, EELmatic moved to Kansas halfway through his freshman year of high school and enrolled at Shawnee Mission West.
“My dad is a pastor. He was always musical. He plays guitar and sings. I have four other sisters. The two older ones who started off singing and I would start off playing behind them on the drums,” EELmatic said. “When I got to 13 or 14, our pianist at the church left so my dad was like, ‘If you learn 15-20 songs, I’ll put you on payroll.”
After high school, he attended Hutchinson Community College for two years to play football and later transferred to Southeastern Louisiana University.
“I started branching off and exploring my vocal ability,” he said. “[It] wasn’t something I used to do back then, but in my college years, being bored in your dormitory, what else is there to do besides record music?”
One day, EELmatic decided to quit his job at UPS and take a leap of faith for a better opportunity. He traveled to Dallas with a friend, Lay’Trion Jones, whose mom noticed he was doing an Instagram one-song-a-day challenge, and introduced him to another local singer/songwriter, Xyzsa.
“At the time, she had just graduated high school and had never toured in her life. I connected with her. We made a song. We did this at her house and her neighbor just so happened to be the CEO of Skyballer Productions,” EELmatic said. “He was actually getting Rod’s tour together, the band and what not and it was just God sent. Perfect timing. They sent me a song over, Green Light by Rod Wave without the piano part. I played that and sent it back over and they offered me a position. It was definitely all God.”
As it all fell into place, Spight felt like an overnight success story. He created a TikTok and put together a video showing himself listening to “Letter from Houston” by Rod Wave in a UPS truck. It then transitions to him in front of thousands of people performing the same song behind Rod Wave on stage.
His video went viral and as of Oct. 18 has over 1.1 million views on TikTok.
“I would spend the whole day with Letter from Houston, just because its relatable, while I’m out there delivering. I was with my driver helper, one of my best friends Harrison Johnson. We were just vibing out on our lunch break just recording,” EELmatic said. “The idea hit me, why not just show how fast your life can change and put it on video. So I got the idea to transition and I guess a lot of people got kinda inspired. It looks like an overnight success story, but to God be the glory.”
As his journey continued, his faith never waivered. While making a stop in Nashville, Tennessee, he visited one of his younger sisters, Jada, also a Shawnee Mission West grad, at Fisk University.
“She ended up singing for the production manager and he literally offered her a job there on the spot, so my little sister is also on tour with me,” he said. “That’s been a blessing in itself. You couldn’t convince me it wasn’t God how everything happened. I just don’t believe it was a coincidence.”
On Oct. 12, Rod Wave’s SoulFly Tour made a stop at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City, Missouri.
“It’s fun when you’re doing it in front of the world, but its different when you’re doing it in front of, what I consider family,” Spight said. “Friends and family, man. People who have been there through the highs and lows. It’s nothing like seeing them proud and making people happy.”
EELmatic plans to continue his musical journey and experiencing the industry. He hopes to be a part of more tours in the future, but for now is focused on SoulFly.
The tour continues through Oct. 23 with the final show in Seattle.
You can follow EELmatic along on his journey on TikTok and Instagram where you’ll see him experiment with different kinds of music and expressing himself.
“Especially in the gospel arena or Christian hip hop arena, in my opinion, you’ll get a one sided view,” EELmatic said. “With me, I’m just open about everything. I try to be as real as possible. In my music I don’t condone anything negative, but I’m also very transparent about the things that I go through. That’s what the word of God does.”
