Steven Ellison (born October 7, 1983), better known by his stage name Flying Lotus, is an experimental multi-genre music producer, electronic musician, DJ and rapper from Los Angeles, California.

Lotus first gained fame in 2006, when he saw an advertisement on Adult Swim asking for song submissions. He had already begun experimenting with beats, so he sent in a few songs under the name “Flying Lotus” — a lucid dreaming inspired moniker. Adult Swim accepted his songs, and soon his instrumentals were being used all over the channel; everything from theme songs to advertisements.

After his sudden rise to fame, Lotus began interning at Stones Throw Records, the label home to rap legend MF DOOM and Lotus’s biggest inspiration, prestigious producer J Dilla. Lotus began living out of the label’s offices and his grandmothers couch, and he started to work on his debut album, 1983.

In 2007, Lotus signed with Warp Records, and shortly after he released Reset EP.

In 2010, Lotus released his critically acclaimed 3rd studio album: Cosmogramma. This album won the Dance/Electronica Album category in the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards. Lotus’s jazz influence shined through on this release, and it put a new focus on lyrical message. The album was the first of Lotus to have live instrumentation, and started his long friendship with Thundercat.

In 2012, a mysterious rapper named Captain Murphy released a 15 track mixtape: Duality. For several weeks, the identity of Murphy was unknown (some guessed Tyler, The Creator or Earl Sweatshirt), before he revealed himself to be none other than Flying Lotus himself. This marks the first time Lotus ever rapped in a song.

On October 7, 2014, Lotus released his fifth studio album You’re Dead!. It featured appearances from Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Thundercat, and his own alias, Captain Murphy.

After a 5-year hiatus, FlyLo returned with Flamagra on May 17, 2019. The project featured guest appearances from Anderson .Paak, David Lynch, Denzel Curry, George Clinton, Little Dragon, Shabazz Palaces, Solange, Thundercat, Tierra Whack, and Toro y Moi.

Lotus has 6 studio albums, 2 mixtapes and 6 EPs:

1983 (2006)
Reset EP (2007)
Los Angeles (2008)
L.A. EP 1 X 3 (2008)
L.A. EP 3 X 3 (2009)
Pattern + Grid World (2010)
Cosmogramma (2010)
Until The Quiet Comes (2012)
Duality (2012)
You’re Dead! (2014)
Flamagra (2019)