LI's hip-hop Element

Element of Truth wants to put Strong Island back on the hip-hop map.

"It's one of my main focuses," says the rapper from Copiague. "Our area has a strong hip-hop culture, and it's being overlooked and dismissed as something suburban. There's a lot of talent out here. I consider myself one of the torch carriers for that."

That fire to succeed is evident on his new "Truth Unspoken" album, due out later this month. "I touched on every kind of subject," he says. "And I tried to talk about as many things as I could to make it more relatable. I tried a lot of different formulas because I think that the more versatility that you show, the better you are as an artist."

Element goes from the hard-hitting "Family Reunion," where he gives his detail-oriented rhymes a more old-school delivery, to the rock-leaning "1000 Lies," which is built around a sample from 3 Doors Down's "Here Without You," to the dramatic current hip-hop of "Living for Today" that recalls the passion of Nas and features some great vocals from Sam B on the hook.

"It has a lot of ups and downs," says Element, who has been rapping for 16 years, since he was 12. "I put a lot of work into it. It's hard to put out a solid independent album. I'm hoping people will embrace the music and like it and, like every artist, I hope it gets heard by someone who can take it to the next level and bring it a better opportunity."

Element of Truth is offering a sampler of songs from his "Truth Unspoken" album at his website elementoftruth.net.

Contact The Long Island Sound at glenn.gamboa@newsday.com or follow @ndmusic on Twitter.