UG Rap Community

This collection serves as a finishing bridge between Esoteric s string of solo releases and the upcoming 7L & Esoteric full length 1212. So Eso took a slight break from his diligent recording schedule with 7L (their first official group endeavour since 2006 s A New Dope) and assembled this 25 track grab bag of goodies. Alongside all new never released tracks stand alternative mixes, original versions and edits that offer the listener a rare glimpse into the creative, always expanding and prolific mind of Esoteric, highlighting his work ethic as a producer and arranger.

7l & Esoteric plan to release their first new LP in four years with 1212, dropping October 12th. As you can see above, guests will include Ill Bill, Celph Titled, Alchemist, Evidence, Inspectah Deck, Sadat X, Vinnie Paz, Statik Selektah, and Reef The Lost Cauze. Eso drops knowledge about the LP here.

Over here at the 7L & Esoteric company store we swear by authenticity and being up front with our patrons. We've given you a lot of music over the past 14-15 years. Some even give us credit for starting a few trends here and there; both positive and negative. But this is 1212.

1212 is not about that. 1212 is about being honest with yourself and accepting your shortcomings. 1212 is about loosening your grip and extending a hand.

If you define "cool" as feeling vulnerable and perhaps crestfallen,

1212 will make you feel like the Fonz.

1212 is about confronting your demons. It is also about eating those demons, puking them up and then throwing them in a fiery pit of agony and death.

1212 is about snatching authority by the neck and collapsing it's windpipe. It is also about taking the closest weapon and beating your opponent to a bloody pulp.

1212 is about a rap group, plain and simple. Your rap group.

1212 sums up everything WE (your rap group) want out of a rap album: hell, aggression, and truth. Sartre's hell is other people, our hell is other rap guys.

Still, we brought some of said rap guys along for 1212: Inspectah Deck, Sadat X, ILL Bill, Evidence, Alchemist, Celph Titled, Vinnie Paz, Reef the Lost Cauze, Statik Selektah, and even good ol' 7L.

That's right ya'll, 7L is back for the first 7LES album in 4 years... and he's making sure Eso isn't rapping about his dog(s?!) or his baby or irrelevant personal non-boom bash ish.

You guys wanna hype up 1212 as your rap group's "darkest album yet?" You wanna start a buzz for 1212 as 7LES' "bringin' it back to the essence" album?

Well go ahead, so do we! Get ready for 1212.

We, much like you, have come to save the game and crush the BS on the radio and the social networks and the planet and the...

7L & Esoteric. 1212.

Back To The Future... From The Future.

7LES + INSPECTAH DECK = CZARFACE
02/21/12

COMING THIS SUMMER! Wu-Tang Clan’s Rebel INS aka Inspectah Deck joins forces with 7l & Esoteric for a full length collaborative album! Dirty drums, ugly samples and lethal lyricism- CZARFACE. Features and beats from DJ Premier, Large Professor, Action Bronson, Mr. Muthafucking eXquire, and Roc Marciano. Check the press release here:

With his illustrious career spanning nearly two-decades now, it would be easy for Inspectah Deck to sit back and rest on his laurels; after all, he has helped create some of the best hip-hop music ever recorded. Despite his low-key persona, Deck carved out his own unique space in the Wu-Tang Clan, thanks to his stand-out verses from “C.R.E.A.M.,” “Protect Ya Neck” and his otherworldly verse on “Triumph” among many. Likewise, who could forget Deck’s contributions on Ghostface’s Ironman (“Assassination Day”), his many appearances on Raekwon’s OBFCL, GZA’s Liquid Swords (“Cold World”) or his collaborations with Gang Starr (“Above The Clouds”) and Big Pun (“Tres Leches” which also featured Mobb Deep’s Prodigy).

Throughout Deck’s career, whether it was beside his fellow Wu-Tang brethren or in a solo-capacity, he is as adamant today about his culture and pushing the creative envelope as he was before Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers became an epic masterpiece; hence the formation of CZARFACE, a new collaborative project with underground icons 7L & Esoteric. With rap fans again craving more substance and less polish, Deck realizes there is a tangible shift taking place- “The industry doesn’t need another well packaged, put together “act,” instead fans are once again gravitating to the seasoned vets and newcomers that are still true to the game.”

With a working history that dates back nearly as far as Wu-Tang’s, 7L & Esoteric are undisputedly Boston and underground hip-hop royalty. CZARFACE offered the duo an opportunity to pick up where they left off over a decade ago with Inspectah Deck, as he joined them on the title track to their revered Speaking Real Words EP (1999). Deck says “Speaking Real Words is one of the many reasons we are now CZARFACE. After doing that song, it was only right we collaborated on a project to cater to the millions of fans that still support hip-hop from the underground.”

With guest appearances from Action Bronson, Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire, Roc Marciano & Large Professor, additional beats from DJ Premier, plus album art by Lamour Supreme from Mishka NYC (www.mishkanyc.com/home), you can expect nothing less then top notch production and rewind worthy lyricism from CZARFACE. “We are CZARFACE because they know our faces and they know us for being dope rhyme suppliers, like Tony Montana we are known for our balls and our word; lyrically we will conquer the world and everything in it” states Deck. Esoteric explains further, “CZARFACE is a vigilante, anti-hero character who serves as the face of the project, and his focus is on annihilating the media darlings that the mainstream caters to.”