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7L & Esoteric

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7L & Esoteric

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Rap group

As part of Boston's underground hip hop scene, deejay/producer 7L and rapper Esoteric have been creating thought-provoking lyrics and atypical beats since 1992; they stood out partly because they were one of the few white rap groups gaining any type of prominence at the time. The rap duo has released several CDs and singles that have kept fans wanting more. They have toured consistently around the United States, Canada, and Europe, where they are given celebrity status.

Met Through Radio Show
Rapper Esoteric was a radio deejay at Salem State College in Salem, Massachusetts. He had his own hip hop show, and deejay 7L would call in to make requests for songs that were considered seminal to the rap genre, but were not very popular. Both had a love of old-school rap from the late 1980s, and sometimes Esoteric would freestyle during his show. 7L thought the two should collaborate, and they have been partners since then.

7L & Esoteric first called themselves God Complex, and they released a single that became a modest hit in the Boston area. Though rap music was more prominent on the East and West Coasts of the United States, many of the main cities and metropolitan areas did have burgeoning underground rap scenes. Radio play was not a guarantee, but word-of-mouth and the borrowing of cassettes helped spread the word for those whose records were deemed worthy to be passed around. For 7L & Esoteric, word did spread, and soon other cities heard their debut, including Los Angeles, New York. The two followed with the LP release Rebel Alliance. Next came opportunities to perform live, and the group built a fan base.

Released First Effort
More releases followed, and the duo changed their name from God Complex to 7L & Esoteric. They became known for their complex, battle-ready lyrics, combined with original beats and samples from the most unlikely places. In an interview with Chris Faraone of the Boston Herald the duo claimed: "Our goal first and foremost has always been to release the type of music that we want to release when we want to release it without any questions. We just have a lot of fun making it." While many sampled either James Brown or George Clinton and Parliament (or Funkadelic), deejay 7L chose the cartoon Transformers's theme music as his sample for the single "Be Alert," which became a classic in the Boston area. They also released the single "Protocol."

7L & Esoteric continued touring, helping to place the Boston rap scene on the map. With stops in Canada, Europe, New York City, and Philadelphia, the duo continued entertaining their fans and reaching new ones. In fact, they had more fans in Europe than in the United States. 7L told Faraone, "We did a festival in the Czech Republic where there were 10 to 15,000 people there, and we were the headlining act." Esoteric stated in the same interview, "People over there are much more receptive. People over here are starting to get the idea, but in Europe it's a completely different animal." The EP release Speaking Real Words (1999) was soon followed by their debut release on the Direct label, The Soul Purpose (2001). The CD sold over 20,000 copies and was reissued in 2006, a feat unheard of for an underground record. Not completely satisfied with the final product, 7L & Esoteric moved to Brick Records, where they released Dangerous Connection in 2002.

Worked on Various Projects
Thought of as premier artists and pioneers in Boston, 7L & Esoteric received some attention from other major players in the rap industry, and began opening for a number of acts including Rakim, Redman, and Bahamadia. They signed with the Babygrande label during this time, releasing DC2: Bars of Death in 2004. In addition to releasing their own work, the duo collaborated either jointly or separately with several local Boston and Philadelphia rappers and groups including Virtuoso, Mr. Lif, Celph Titled, and Apathy. They were also part of the supergroup Army of the Pharoahs and have collaborated on several CDs with fellow members Virtuoso, Vinnie Paz, Celph Titled, Outerspace, and King Syze.

Despite gaining new success and performing in various clubs, stages, and arenas around the world, 7L & Esoteric began to feel burned out. They switched gears and traded in battle rhymes for more entertaining dance tracks with their 2006 release A New Dope. While some fans were alarmed, most were happy with the new disc. Esoteric spoke about the new direction with Justin Rizzio of the 215hiphop Web site: "With creative risks, there's gonna be people that want the old version. But people grow up just as artists do." 7L also told Rizzio, "I just wanted to do something different and I think when we started working on it, with some different aspects, it was just fun. That's something I haven't had in a while with music." The CD also included work with rapper Kool Keith of the rap group Ultramagnetic MCs, who happened to be a favorite of the two. In addition to working on 7L & Esoteric CDs, 7L has also been a sought-after producer in the Boston area. He has worked with groups Mobb Deep, Main Flow, and World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler John Cena. Esoteric released a solo CD, EgoClapper, on his own record label, Fly Casual Collective, but the two plan to continue to work together in the future.

Selected discography
Speaking Real Words, Direct, 1999; reissued, 2006.
The Soul Purpose, Landspeed, 2001.
Dangerous Connection, Brick, 2002.
DC2: Bars of Death, Babygrande, 2004.
A New Dope, Babygrande, 2006.

Sources
Periodicals
Boston Herald, December 6, 2000, p. O-47; July 23, 2004, p. PE-07; January 30, 2006, p. O-38.

Online
"Artist Interview: Esoteric," WERS.org, http://www.wers.org/articles/?id=179 (January 16, 2008).
"Esoteric—Egoclapper," Six Shot, http://www.sixshot.com/interviews/9711/ (January 16, 2008).
"7L & Esoteric," All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com (January 16, 2008).
"7L and Esoteric," Houston Press, http://www.houstonpress.com/2006-07-20/music/7l-and-esoteric/ (January 16, 2008).
7L & Esoteric Official Web site, http://www.7l-esoteric.com (January 16, 2008).
"7L & Esoteric," 215hiphop, http://215hiphop.com/interviews/7l-esoteric/#more-41 (January 16, 2008).
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:

7L & Esoteric

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  • Genres: Rap

Biography

7L & Esoteric first came together in 1992 after 7L heard Esoteric DJing at a local college radio station in Boston, MA. Esoteric's sets were mostly hip-hop-based, but on occasion he would fuse his own material into his playlists. After hearing Eso's material, 7L contacted him in the hopes of forming an artistic collaboration. And collaborate they did. Reverting back to the standard hip-hop formula for success -- one DJ, one MC -- they immediately started to build on a common love for hip-hop born of 1986-1989. The pair headlined shows in smaller venues throughout Boston, New York, and Philadelphia as well as opening for some hip-hop heavyweights like Bahamadia, Rakim, Redman, and Company Flow.

The duo released their first single under the name God Complex in 1996. The single was immediately dubbed one of the best rap singles of 1996, receiving huge responses from Los Angeles, New York, Canada, and the overseas markets. Soon after, the Rebel Alliance LP was released. Calling together their fellow MCs and DJs from their hometown (including Virtuoso, Mr. Lif, Tony Infamous, and Force Five), Rebel Alliance was a compilation showcasing the talent and skills held in the scene that raised them. As soon as Rebel Alliance was in the stores, 7L & Esoteric followed up with a 12" featuring the tracks "Be Alert," "Protocol," and yet another collaboration with Virtuoso, "Touch the Mic." While "Be Alert" received attention thanks to the sampling of the Transformers cartoon show, "Protocol" was garnering intense recognition for Esoteric's nonstop lyricism. Source magazine even went so far as to label "Protocol" one of the five best hip-hop tracks of the '90s. Their next single, released on Direct Records, earned the group praise from coast to coast. "Def Rhymes" was exactly what the title implied, while "Headswell" brought back the now-expected pairing of Eso and Virtuoso.

While waiting to release their debut, the duo put out the EP Speaking Real Words, but the pressure that Direct put on them to finish their first full-length, The Soul Purpose, left 7L & Esoteric with an album that they felt wasn't mixed completely and bad feelings toward the label, so they moved to Brick Records for 2002's Dangerous Connection. The success that followed led the group to move to Babygrande, which, with more resources, could give them the marketing and support they were looking for. In 2004 DC2: Bars of Death, the sequel to Dangerous Connection, came out, and though the friends were receiving a fair amount of attention and acclaim, they were also feeling tired and constrained. 7L began working on solo material (he released Flow Season with MC Main Flow in September 2006), and Esoteric began making beats, and in 2005 Babygrande issued Moment of Rarities, an album of previously unreleased tracks.

Although it appeared that a breakup, or least a "hiatus," was on the horizon, 2006 saw the duo back in the studio working on new songs, and in June A New Dope, whose beats -- which came from both 7L and Esoteric-- were more similar to Kraftwerk or Fatboy Slim than DJ Premier, came out. ~ Emilie Litzell & Marisa Brown, Rovi
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

7L & Esoteric

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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012)
7L & Esoteric
Origin Boston, Massachusetts
Genres Hip-Hop, Political hip-hop
Years active 1992–present
Labels Babygrande
Associated acts East Coast Avengers
Army of the Pharaohs
Jedi Mind Tricks
Celph Titled
Demigodz
Inspectah Deck
Beyonder
Main Flow
Mr. Lif
Members
7L (George Andrinopoulos)
Esoteric (Seamus Ryan)

7L & Esoteric (7LES) are a Boston-based hip-hop duo, notorious for battle rhymes and boom-bap production. 7L is the duo's DJ/Producer and Esoteric the emcee.[1]

Contents

History

The duo formed in 1992 when Esoteric DJed a hip hop show at a college radio station north of Boston. 7L, a DJ and producer who listened to the show, contacted Esoteric in the interest of collaborating. The two found they shared a common love of the golden age of hip-hop and decided to form a group.

After performing for some time in the Boston underground, the duo, with MC Karma known at the time as God Complex, released their first single in 1996. This led to the release of the Rebel Alliance LP, featuring acts such as Virtuoso, Mr. Lif, Tony Infamous and Force Five. Also at this time the two dropped the God Complex moniker becoming simply 7L & Esoteric.

Soon after, 7L & Esoteric put out their first 12” with re-mastered versions of their Rebel Alliance songs “Protocol” and “Be Alert.” "Be Alert", the B-side on the record, began to receive significant radio play, due to its unique sampling of the Transformers TV theme song. The track, which was produced by Beyonder, became very popular in the underground scene.

The duo then dropped the “Def Rhymes” single which got them press in the Source. “Def Rhymes” was also featured on the EP, Speaking Real Words, released in 1999. The album also featured Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck on the title track.

They released their debut LP The Soul Purpose in the summer of 2001. The album received the Boston Music Award for “Best Hip-Hop Album,”[citation needed] and led to the duo touring the United States and Europe. Upon their return, they recorded and released their second LP in the fall of 2002 entitled Dangerous Connection.

After taking a break from recording the duo released their third LP DC2: Bars of Death in the spring of 2004 with Babygrande Records. The album received overall positive reviews and was lauded by long-time fans.[citation needed] In 2006, "Moment of Rarities" was also released with Babygrande. This CD was a collection of previously unreleased tracks. Esoteric has stated that this CD was put out to fulfill contractual obligations with Babygrande Records.

"Too Much Posse" was released in 2006, under Esoteric's own label, Fly Casual. This CD was a collection of songs where Esoteric rapped alongside other artists. It also contained a few previously unreleased remixes and freestyles. Later in 2006 "A New Dope" was released, taking the duo in a new direction with more a more electro influenced sound and the production shared between both 7L and Esoteric. The album featured Kool Keith on the track "Daisy Cutta".

7L & Esoteric are both prominent members of the underground hip-hop groups the Demigodz and Army of the Pharaohs. Their work also features a long list of collaborations with artists such as Jedi Mind Tricks, Apathy, Celph Titled, Outerspace, and John Cena.

Esoteric solo venture

Esoteric has recently embarked on a solo venture. In October 2007 he presented his debut Egoclapper on his own label Fly Casual Records, in which he took both the rhyming and production duties. A Limited Edition version was also available, packaged with bonus cd Esoteric Vs Gary Numan: Pterodactyl Tubeway. This featured Esoteric both rhyming and producing beats heavily sampling 80's Electro icon Gary Numan.

He has also sparked some comedic video entertainment with his Youtube series Pterovision which serves as a bi-weekly broadcast to the 7LES fan base. The series was initially released as a build up to the release of Egoclapper.

On May 8, 2008, Esoteric released another solo venture, entitled Esoteric vs. Japan - Pterodactyl Takes Tokyo. This release featured Esoteric rhyming over beats sampled from Japanese music, TV and films, such as Godzilla, Gaiking, Force 5, Shogun Warriors[disambiguation needed ] and Rodan.

Esoteric's latest project is a collaboration with rapper Trademarc and producer DC the Midi Alien. Together they form the group East Coast Avengers. Their debut album, Prison Planet, was released October 7, 2008, on underground rap label Brick Records.[2] The album's lead single, "Kill Bill O'Reilly," quickly gained notoriety for its abrasive lyrics, and condonement of the murder of the right wing American television/radio host, Bill O'Reilly, and former guest commentator, Michelle Malkin. Following responses by Malkin another single was released, "Dear Michelle". MySpace, owned by O'Reilly's employers Fox, has censored the songs and taken down related graphics as they were deemed too offensive.

On 10 February 2009 Esoteric released his first solo instrumental album, Serve or Suffer.

Esoteric released Saving Seamus Ryan on September 22, 2009. Featuring appearances by Main Flow, K-Flay, Qwill, and Masta Ace. The Track list is a Story, so it should be listened to from beginning to end. The CD came with a "short story" bundled. This is basically the lyrics with some extra content. The story goes from saying goodbye to his dog Max, in the first track (Studio Time/Goodbye) To Eso getting shot and robbed. Developing the story into him joining up with Indie Solo, An odd character who speaks like Harrison Ford, Hunting down Benny Macko. In an interview, Esoteric said he would like to work on a new album with 7L for release after "Saving Seamus Ryan".[3]

MC Esoteric also recently appeared on a episode of the show "SuperFetch" on the Animal Planet. The episode featured his dog "Logan" being trained to do special tricks for a music video Esoteric was working on.

Discography

Studio Albums

Compilations

Solo Albums

Esoteric

  • Too Much Posse - 2006
  • Egoclapper - 2007
  • Esoteric Vs. Gary Numan - Pterodactyl Tubeway - 2007
  • Esoteric Vs. Japan - "Pterodactyl Takes Tokyo" - 2008
  • Serve or Suffer - 2009
  • Saving Seamus Ryan - 2009
  • Fly Casualties - 2010
  • Boston Pharaoh - 2011 [4]

Collaborations

Ket one

References

  1. ^ http://www.hiphopug.com/1/post/2010/12/hhug-interview-with-esoteric-7les-1212.html
  2. ^ Brick Records on MySpace
  3. ^ http://artofrhyme.com/interviews/artist/Esoteric/107/
  4. ^ http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.13956/title.mc-esoteric-teams-with-army-of-the-pharaohs-for-boston-pharoah

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

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Mentioned in

A New Dope (2006 Album by 7L & Esoteric)
Skitzofreniks (Rap Band, '90s, 2000s)
Army of the Pharaohs (Rap Band, '90s, 2000s)
The Soul Purpose (2001 Album by 7L & Esoteric)
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