7L & Esoteric

7L & Esoteric formed in 1992 when Esoteric, the emcee of the group, deejayed a Hip Hop show at a college radio station north of Boston. 7L, a DJ / producer who listened to the show contacted Esoteric in interest of collaborating. Through the duo's understanding of the often under-appreciated golden age of Hip Hop (1985-89), a bond was formed. Their first release, under the name God Complex, was named "one of the most innovative records of 1996" in CMJ. Receiving tremendous response from NY, LA, Canada, and Europe, God Complex's label, Brick Records, moved onward, releasing the Rebel Alliance LP, a compilation of Boston talent that debuted the duo as 7L & Esoteric.

Soon after this was released, a 7L & Esoteric 12" came out with updated versions of their Rebel Alliance songs "Protocol" and "Be Alert." "Be Alert" was immediately deemed an underground classic nationwide due to it's innovative sampling of the 80's cartoon "Transfo rmers," and brought them to New York's Stretch & Bobbito radio show. 7L & Esoteric followed that up in 1998 with the chart topping "Def Rhymes" peaking at #1 in both Gavin and Hits. The single made quite an impact, getting press in the Source and turning up on Sway & Tech's Wake Up Show weekly, resulting in Eminem and Jay-Z rocking lyrics over the tracks.

After the group's collaboration with Wu-Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck, they released their debut lp, The Soul Purpose in the summer of 2001. Anchored by gritty beats and battle-ready lyricism, the album recieved the Boston Music Award for "Best Hip-Hop Album," and led to the duo touring the United States and Europe.

Upon return, they recorded and released their second full-length in the fall of 2002 entitled Dangerous Connection. The sophomore cd featured 7LES at the top of their game, collaborating with underground legends like J-Live, Jedi Mind Tricks, Kut Masta Kurt, and more. Esoteric has lended his vocals to two Jedi Mind Tricks albums and the Demigodz ep, while 7L had been busy establishing himself as a producer doing tracks for an eclectic list of artists including Tragedy Khadafi & Havoc (Mobb Deep), Shabazz the Disciple, Outerspace, Main Flow, and WWE Wrestler John Cena. He recently released Vinyl Thug Music, a CD-only lp with production partner Beyonder.

That brings us to spring of 2004 and the third official full-length release from 7L & Esoteric: DC2: Bars Of Death. This album shows the maturity of the pair that has given us twelve straight years of raw Hip-Hop. 7L handles all the production save one J-Zone-produced banger and Esoteric shows why he is one of the most consistent and talented writers in the game today. The duo is supported by lyrical appearances from Army Of The Pharoahs (Vinnie Paz, Outerspace & King Syze), Demigodz (Apathy Celph-Titled, & Rise), MainFlow, & Boston vets Beyonder, KT & Uno The Prophet. Sit back, relax, and remember why you got into rap in the first place...7L & Esoteric proudly present DC2: Bars Of Death.

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, All Music Guide