7L & Esoteric

Infobox musical artist
Name = 7L & Esoteric


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Origin = Boston, Massachusetts
Genre = Hip-Hop
Years_active = 1992 – Present
Label = Babygrande Records
Associated_acts = Army of the Pharaohs, Jedi Mind Tricks, Beyonder
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Current_members = 7L (George Andrinopoulos)
Esoteric (Seamus Ryan)
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7L & Esoteric (7LES) are a Boston-based hip-hop duo, notorious for battle rhymes and boom-bap production. The duo formed in 1992 when Esoteric (known at the time as Seamus the God Awful) 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 with Esoteric as the MC and 7L as the DJ.

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 Beyonger, 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,” Fact|date=June 2007 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. Fact|date=June 2007 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.

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 even World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler John Cena.

Esoteric has recently embarked on a solo venture, presenting his debut Egoclapper in which he took both the rhyming and production duties. 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.

On May 8th, 2008, Esoteric released another solo venture, entitled Esoteric Vs. Japan - "Pterodactyl Takes Tokyo". This release featured Esoteric rhyming over beats sampled from Japanese music and films.

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," will be released October 7th, 2008, on underground rap label, Brick Records. [ http://www.myspace.com/brickrecords ] The album's lead single, "Kill Bill O'Reilly," is quickly gaining notoriety for it's abrasive lyrics, condoning the murder of right wing American television/radio host, Bill O'Reilly, and former guest commentator, Michelle Malkin.

Esoteric has also stated that "Saving Seamus Ryan" will be released in the near future.

Battle History

At the 1999 Super Bowl MC Battle, Esoteric lost in a preliminary round to Sage Francis. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVQGAdFRxts YouTube - Esoteric vs. Sage Francis ] ]

Discography

*"Speaking Real Words EP" - 1999
*"The Soul Purpose" - 2001
*"Dangerous Connection - 2002
*"DC2: Bars of Death" - 2004
*"Moment of Rarities" - 2006
*"MC Esoteric - Too Much Posse" - February 13rd, 2006
*"A New Dope" - June 27th, 2006
*"MC Esoteric - Egoclapper" - October 23rd, 2007
*"MC Esoteric - Esoteric Vs. Japan - "Pterodactyl Takes Tokyo" - May 6th, 2008
*"MC Esoteric - Saving Seamus Ryan" - TBA

Collaborations

*"7L & Beyonder - Vinyl Thug Music" - 2003 (7L with Beyonder)
*"Vinyl Thug Music - Welcome to Shaftville U.S.A." - 2005 (7L with Beyonder)
*"Army of the Pharaohs - The Torture Papers - 2006 (Babygrande Records)
*"Army of the Pharaohs - Ritual of Battle - 2007 (Babygrande Records)
*"East Coast Avengers - Prison Planet - 2008 (Esoteric, Trademarc, DC The Midi Alien)

References

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/7lesoteric Official 7L & Esoteric MySpace] with online merchandise store
* [http://www.7l-esoteric.com/ Official 7L & Esoteric site]
* [http://demigodz.com/ Official Demigodz site]
*AMG Artist|sql=11:ukud6jao71e0|artist=7L and Esoteric
* [http://www.discogs.com/artist/7L+%26+Esoteric 7L and Esoteric] at Discogs
* [http://the-soul-purpose.4t.com/ Unofficial Soul Purpose Fanlisting]
* [http://www.cream.cz/?rozhovor=esoteric-it-takes-years-of-dedication&preview=1 Esoteric interviewed by Cream Mag]
* [http://artofrhyme.com/interviews/artist/Esoteric/64/ Esoteric about Egoclapper and AOTP by ArtOfRhyme.com]