Al Elliott

Adolphus Alexander Elliott Jr (born September 29, 1972), is a poet, performer and educator, known on stage as Thed Weller.

Elliott is the brother of comedian and former news anchor Eunice Elliott and began rapping while still a student at Dunbar Elementary School, finding that he didn't stutter when he rapped. He adopted his long-time stage name, originally styled as "The Bessemer Dweller", and later shortened to "The Dweller," after a telemarketer misread it as "Thed Weller". He began using that name for spoken word appearances, and later dropped the previous iterations.

He graduated from Jess Lanier High School in Bessemer and completed a master's degree in child development at UAB in 2000. He is currently on faculty at Phillips Academy. He conducts his cultural projects under the name of "Ellication Labs".

References

• Shirell, Nichole (April 27, 2017) "It Is Written! A Candid Conversation With Thed Weller" The Odyssey