7L & Esoteric (7LES) are an American

underground hip hop Underground hip hop (also known as underground rap or simply underground) traditionally refers to hip hop music that is outside the general mainstream canon or counter-cultural in nature, usually with a heavy emphasis on emotion, lyricism, and/or ...

duo from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, known for battle rhymes and

boom bap Boom bap is a subgenre and music production style that was prominent in East Coast hip hop during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The term "boom bap" is an onomatopoeia that represents the sounds used for the ...

production. 7L is the duo's DJ/ producer and Esoteric is the MC. 7L & Esoteric are both prominent members of underground hip-hop collectives

Army of the Pharaohs AOTP logo ''(as seen on In Death Reborn)'' Army of the Pharaohs (most commonly abbreviated as AOTP or A.O.T.P.) is an American underground hip hop collective originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks founder Vi ...

and

Demigodz Demigodz are an American hip hop collective founded by Connecticut rappers Open Mic and Reflex. The group was originally named "The Nobility" but Open Mic renamed the group "The Demigodz" with inspiration from one of his own verses. The group ha ...

, as well as being 2/3 of

Czarface Czarface (; often stylized in all caps) is an American Hip hop music, hip hop Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in 2013 by underground hip hop duo 7L & Esoteric and Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck. They released their acclaimed debut album ...

along with

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

member

Inspectah Deck Jason Hunter (born July 6, 1970), better known by his stage name Inspectah Deck, is an American rapper and hip hop producer. He is a member of the groups Wu-Tang Clan and Czarface. He has acquired critical praise for his intricate lyricism, ...

History

''The Soul Purpose'', ''Dangerous Connection'' & ''DC2: Bars of Death'' (2000–2005)

7L & Esoteric released their debut LP ''The Soul Purpose'' in the summer of 2001. The single "Call Me E.S." charted at #83 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' hip-hop singles chart.

''Czarface'' & ''Every Hero Needs a Villain'' (2011–present)

In 2011, it was announced that 7L & Esoteric have formed a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

trio with

member

called

and that they were working on a self-titled debut album. The album was released on February 19, 2013. The album features

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s from

Roc Marciano Rahkeim Calief Meyer (born February 11, 1978), better known by his stage name Roc Marciano, is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his intricate internal rhymes and wordplay detailing mafioso and pimp themes over sample bas ...

, Oh No,

Ghostface Killah Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...

Action Bronson Ariyan Arslani (born December 2, 1983), professionally known as Action Bronson, is an American rapper and television presenter. Born and raised in Queens, he released his debut mixtape ''Bon Appetit ..... Bitch!!!!!'' in January 2011 and indepe ...

Cappadonna Darryl Hill (born September 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Cappadonna, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan and is a member of the hip hop group Theodore Unit together with Ghostface Killah. ...

and

Vinnie Paz Vincenzo Luviner ( Luvineri born October 5, 1977), better known as Vinnie Paz (formerly known as Ikon the Verbal Hologram), is an Italian-born American rapper and producer behind the Philadelphia underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. He ...

. The album's production comes from 7L, Spada4 and

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as '' ...

. In 2014, 7L produced the track ''The King's Curse'' on the

album Heavy Lies the Crown, their second album in 2014 (next to In Death Reborn). Esoteric has a verse on the track, which makes it the first appearance of the duo together since the Czarface album. Later that year, the duo appeared on a track called ''Hard Hats and Timbs'' from the EP ''Year of the Hyenas'' by Army of the Pharaohs rappers

Reef the Lost Cauze Sharif Talib Lacey, better known by his stage name Reef the Lost Cauze, is an American underground rapper based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cauze became well known on the underground circuit towards the late 1990s and more so in the early 200 ...

and

King Syze David Albaladejo (better known by his stage name King Syze) is an underground rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of Puerto Rican descent. He is a member of the underground hip hop supergroup Army of the Pharaohs (AOTP), having featured o ...

. The track features raps from Esoteric and production from 7L. A sequel to ''Czarface'' called ''

Every Hero Needs a Villain ''Every Hero Needs a Villain'' is the second studio album by American hip hop trio Czarface, which consists of rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck and underground hip hop duo 7L & Esoteric. The album was released on June 16, 2015, by Br ...

'' was released on June 16, 2015. The album's first single, "Deadly Class" (featuring

Meyhem Lauren James Rencher (born May 14, 1983), known professionally as Meyhem Lauren, is an American rapper from Queens, New York. He is a founding member of the Smart Crew collective. He has collaborated with the likes of DJ Muggs, The Alchemist, and Har ...

), was released on April 7, 2015.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Speaking Real Words EP'' – Direct Records / Landspeed 1999 *''

The Soul Purpose ''The Soul Purpose'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo 7L & Esoteric. It was released on July 24, 2001 via Direct Records. Recording sessions took place at Joe's Wax Museum, The Garden in Massachusetts, The Thingamajig Lab and Mis ...

'' – Direct Records / Landspeed 2001 *''

Dangerous Connection ''Dangerous Connection'' is the second studio album by American underground hip hop duo 7L & Esoteric. It was released on October 8, 2002 via Brick/Landspeed Records. Recording sessions took place at Boston Butta Beats and D-Son's Nicklindime Spo ...

– Brick Records 2002'' *'' DC2: Bars of Death'' – Babygrande Records 2004 *'' A New Dope'' – Babygrande Records 2006 *''Dope Not Hype'' (mixtape, limited pressing) – 2006 *'' 1212'' – Fly Casual Creative 2010

Compilations

*'' Rebel Alliance LP'' – Brick Records 1996 *'' DJ Revolution – R2K'' – 1999 *'' DJ Spinna presents – Urban Theory – Beat Suite'' – 2000 *'' Moment of Rarities'' – Babygrande Records 2005

Collaborations

– ''The Godz Must Be Crazy'' EP – 2002 (Ill Boogie) *Vinyl Thug Music (7L & Beyonder) – ''Vinyl Thug Music'' – 2003 *Vinyl Thug Music (7L & Beyonder) – ''Welcome to Shaftville U.S.A.'' – 2005 *

– '' The Torture Papers'' – 2006 (

Babygrande Records Babygrande Records is an American independent record label based in New York City, founded by Chuck Wilson. Babygrande is distributed by The Orchard and represented by the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood. History Babygrande Records wa ...

) *Army of the Pharaohs – ''

Ritual of Battle ''Ritual of Battle'' is the second studio album by underground hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs. Released on September 25, 2007 under Babygrande Records, the album features group members Vinnie Paz, Jus Allah, OuterSpace, Chief Kamac ...

'' – 2007 (Babygrande Records) *East Coast Avengers – ''Prison Planet'' – 2008 (Esoteric,

Tha Trademarc Marc Joseph Predka (born April 21, 1975), better known by his stage name Trademarc (formerly Tha Trademarc), is an American rapper. He first came to prominence when he and his younger first cousin, WWE wrestler John Cena, collaborated on the 20 ...

, DC The Midi Alien) *Army of the Pharaohs – ''

The Unholy Terror ''The Unholy Terror'' is the third studio album by underground hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs. The album was released on March 30, 2010. The album debuted in the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 179 selling 3,200 units in its first week ...

'' – 2010 (Babygrande/Enemy Soil) *Demigodz – ''

Killmatic ''KILLmatic'' is the second studio album by American hip hop collective Demigodz. It was released on March 5, 2013 via Dirty Version Records. Recording sessions took place at HeadQcourterz Studios in New York. Production was handled by Teddy R ...

'' – 2013 (Dirty Version) *Esoteric & Stu Bangas – ''Machete Mode'' – 2013 (Man Bites Dog) *Army of the Pharaohs – '' In Death Reborn'' – 2014 (Enemy Soil) *Army of the Pharaohs – '' Heavy Lies the Crown'' – 2014 (Enemy Soil) *Czarface – ''

'' (with

) – 2013 (Brick Records) *Czarface – ''

'' (with Inspectah Deck as Czarface) – 2015 (Brick Records) *Czarface – '' A Fistful of Peril'' (with Inspectah Deck as Czarface) – 2016 (Silver Age) *Czarface & MF DOOM – '' Czarface Meets Metal Face'' – 2018 (Get on Down) *Czarface &

– '' Czarface Meets Ghostface'' – 2019 (Silver Age) *Czarface – ''The Odd Czar Against Us'' – 2019 (Silver Age) *Czarface & MF DOOM – '' Super What?'' – 2021 (Silver Age) *Czarface – ''Czarmageddon!'' – 2022 (Silver Age) *Czarface – ''CZARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE'' – 2023 (Silver Age) *Stress Eater (Czarface &

Kool Keith Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), known professionally as Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer known for his surreal, abstract, and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both ...

) – ''Everybody Eats!'' – 2024 (Silver Age)

References

External links

Official 7L & Esoteric website

Official Esoteric Twitter Page

Official 7L Twitter Page
*
7L and Esoteric
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:7l and Esoteric American hip-hop duos East Coast hip-hop groups Musical duos from Massachusetts Musical groups established in 1993 Underground hip-hop groups Czarface members