''Closed Casket'' is the fourth studio album by

Esham Esham Attica Smith (born September 20, 1973), known mononymously as Esham, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. Emerging as one of the first ever hip hop artists from Detroit, Esham released his debut studio album, '' Boomin' Words fr ...

, released on November 22, 1994, and distributed by

Reel Life Productions Reel Life Productions, also known as Gothom Records, is an independent record label based in Detroit, Michigan most associated with the hip hop music, hip hop subgenre horrorcore. The label was founded in 1989 by James H. Smith and his younger br ...

Warlock Records Warlock Records is a record label based in New York City that was founded in 1985 by Adam Levy (born 1962), whose father was record producer Morris Levy. Artists that recorded for Warlock Records include Jungle Brothers, Royal House, Skinny Boys ...

Lyrics and music

Because of the Satanic themes of his earlier work, Esham had been accused of

Satanism Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religious figure, Satanism—as well as other religious ...

. Feeling that the lyrical content of his albums was being taken too seriously, Esham decided that after producing one final album with such material, he would no longer rap about the Devil. Jason Birchmeier noted that "the production improves upon past albums, not as reliant on samples and obviously more crafted".

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote "most fans taking a chronological approach to his catalog should be fairly numb to Esham's exploitative shock attempts. Yet if this is one of your first experiences with Esham the Unholy, this album should pack a punch with its dark nature."

Track listing

Personnel

*Esham - Performer *TNT - Guest Performer *Mastamind - Guest Performer *Producer: Esham *Executive Producer: James H. Smith *Engineer: Esham *Mastering: Esham *Programming: Esham

References

{{Authority control 1994 albums Albums produced by Esham Esham albums Reel Life Productions albums Warlock Records albums