Kobe x Kanye
Kanye: But I’m the best…
Kobe: But are you a different animal and the same beast?
Kanye: What the fu*k does that mean Kobe Bryant?
Enjoy.
ESSO – Fuck It All (produced by Mike Mef) CDQ
MP3 Direct Download (via DJBooth.net) or via Mediafire
Son of SAMO drops 1/19/12 in conjunction with DJBooth.net. Look out for the “Fuck It All” official video as well as the Son of SAMO EP trailer coming soon.
ESSO, Sha Stimuli & Donwill (of Tanya Morgan) – Blank Slate
Donwill, ESSO and Sha link up for track 4 off Loyaly Digital Corp’s The Network compilation; which features artists that attended the SXSW and A3C festivals. Also, LDC teamed up with HipHopDX for a chance to win a pair of Beats By Dre. All you gotta do is download the album here and follow the instructions on the included .pdf. Good Luck.
DOWNLOAD: ESSO, Sha Stimuli & Donwill – Blank Slate
via 2dopeboyz
Fuzion Magazine x ESSO & Chase Kennedy [Interview]
Harlem born rapper Esso has been putting in work in the independent hip hop world for some years now. He started writing poems and rhymes at the age of 12, but it wasn’t until his hopes of becoming a professional baseball player fizzled that he began to take music seriously. Following the advice of a friend, while working in his studio, Esso taught himself how to record and mix on Pro Tools and has been making steady progress ever since, including several mix tapes and albums as well as Y and I Music, his independent label. On his current single, \”Summertime Fly\” Esso teams up with Chase Kennedy to bring a classic summer tune to bump in your ride with the windows down and the sound system up while on your way to the beach or a BBQ.
On the single, Kennedy goes from hype man to vocalist and showcases his talent as a singer. An Indiana native, Kennedy says he wanted to give people from his hometown something to be proud of musically. More of a visual artist until this point he declares, “Music is a manifestation of my art.” Just as many entertainers transcend genres within the industry and express their artistic abilities in many different ways, Chase Kennedy doesn’t want to be defined by one sound musically or restricted to one art form. He says, “[Esso] never treated me as just a hype man, he always treated me like I was my own artist.” The result is the emergence of a new found talent and the freedom to express it exponentially.
SMKA x DJBooth.net x Beat Thang – The Report
Check out this mixtape that ATL based producers SMKA dropped with the one and only DJBooth.net. Features music from some of your favorites including a Summertime classic re-imagined that I did for the mixtape “I Get Around” you’ll def recognize the sample when you hear it.Big shouts to Z over at DJBooth and SMKA for including me on the compilation.
DOWNLOAD HERE VIA DJBooth.net
Long Lost Big L interview
I’ve been a huge fan of Big L and his music since I first heard of him growing up in Harlem. From his albums to the incredible freestyles on Stretch & Bobbito in the 90′s, L is one of the lesser mentioned tragedies that Hip Hop has witnessed over the years. This interview definitely brought me back. I still get chills every time I walk past the Mural on Lenox
Webster Hall
Fair warning, May 12th is going to be RETARDED. We passed by Webster Hall last night after rehearsal to catch up with Sean Sharp and promote for the event next week. When they said they were going to put the video promo on the screen, they meant on THE SCREEN. That shit felt crazy to be there on stage and watch the crowd as it was playing over and over and over throughout the night.
Get your tickets for The Revolt HERE
The Revolt! Promo Video
Directed by Puma for The Program, LLC
The REVOLT! May 12th @ The Studio at Webster Hall
So yeah, all signs are pointing to this evening being pretty EPIC. Y&I Music, HRMI, Sean Sharp, TheWellVersed.com & YouHeardThatNew.com are all coming together for a night of live music at one of New York City’s best known venues: Webster Hall. I’ll be performing for the first time with my new band Bistro and the other acts on the bill are pretty incredible.
Get your tickets HERE
From The Bottom…
Starring ESSO & Chase F. Kennedy. Directed by Puma. #yandilife drops Tuesday, March 1st. Dont say we didnt warn you.
ESSO – Tonight RMX [MP3]
I heard this song and automatically had something to say. Maybe I’ve made some wrong decisions musically…maybe I’m not your favorite…maybe you don’t think of me at all. But the one thing that you can’t determine is that this has been my path, and I’ve carved it based on whatever I thought was right at the time. We all make mistakes, but the best of us learn from those mistakes and live the rest of their life as better people because of them. All of these thoughts are part of what the #YandIlife is all about. Do you believe?
Wise Words from ESSO (via Songzige.com)
Wise Words are words of advice from people working in the arts and entertainment industry. But they won’t just give me advice, they’ll also provide some to themselves. These words are from Harlem’s own, ESSO. Enjoy and learn something.
Photo taken by Mikey ISO
Don’t be afraid to be a Rebel.
Too many of us are scared to be different. It’s easy enough to adopt whatever the season’s uniform is and blend into what everyone else deems cool. It takes a different breed of Man or Woman to decide that they’re not like everybody else. We owe it to ourselves to be ourselves.
The road less travelled is the road less travelled for a good reason. It’s usually not paved as well. But generally the rewards at the end of it far outweigh the work that it takes to navigate it. Plus there’s way less traffic. Walk your own road, leave the first set of footprints. Dont be afraid to be a Rebel. New ideas are only introduced by the people who rebel against whatever is currently accepted.
I have to understand that I’ve chosen to be a rebel in this life and accept it. I’ve chosen to create my own path and I walk it every day. I have to live with the ups and downs of that decision. The perks and setbacks. The highlights and downfalls.
ESSO is a Rapper and Songwriter from Harlem, NY. He’s been named Unsigned Hype by The Source Magazine, featured in XXL Magazine & Beyond Race Magazine’s 50 Artists to watch in 2010, and he’s released 2 videos that were added to rotation on MTVJams.
ESSO has also performed across the country in New York, Las Vegas and Washington DC, played at CMJ in 2008, and played South By Southwest. Up next, he’ll be releasing the Californication EP in November of 2010 and Ascension in early-mid 2011.
If ESSO wasn’t doing music, he’d wish to be in the MLB playing for the Yankees. But instead for now, he’s a playable character in the Streetball mode of the recently released NBA2K11 video game. So go ahead and dunk on or dunk with him. Then, follow ESSO on Twitter and check out his website.
via Songizge.com
ESSO x CMJ
So as many of you know this week in NYC is the CMJ Music Marathon. I’ll be performing on Saturday Afternoon as part of the Saturday Afternoon Matinee presended by ILLRoots.com, Sickamore & Shameless Management. As you can already tell, the bill is INCREDIBLE, so you don’t want to miss this one…
LA 2010 Photo Journal
I think this is something that I’m gonna do every time that I go out of town. I did it briefly with the Lexington trip in August, and since I spent pretty much all of September in LA, I thought it would be cool to share some of the stuff that I saw that I thought was worth taking a picture of. Photo credits for all of these go to me and my Blackberry…LOL. If they use that as an ad campaign I want in!
Just in case you were wondering…
I know I’ve been a little bit quiet since the release of The Anti-Socialite but don’t worry I’ve been back in the studio over the last 2 months working on a lot of new music that you’ll start hearing pretty soon. Me and Rena1ssance been cooking up some incredible records so far, and I’m getting ready to head out to LA and work with Woody in September. If you follow me on Twitter then you know I’ve been talking about something called #DemolitionMan which was just a side project that I did for fun…but the more I listen to it the more I think we may put out some form of it so that you can hear it.
Also in the not so distant future, expect to see more posts on here about the rest of the Y&I collective: Tory 2.0, Rena1ssance, Chase Kennedy & Puma. It’s not all music with us, and I want to start to show you what the rest of the family is about. BEAR WITNESS TO THE Y&I TAKEOVER!!!
ESSO x Peter Parker [Interview]
I sat down with the homie Peter Parker a month or so back after the release of The Anti-Socialite and we talked music, New York and a lot of other things. Check out the interview below and def be on the look out for more Y&I/Peter Parker collabs coming soon. Big shouts to Zeke the Freak as well, whatup my dude!
ESSO X Live Band
This past Thursday I performed Heads Will Roll for the first time with a live band. The energy was crazy and it was definitely a good feeling. Big shouts to David E Beats x The White House Band for letting me rock out with them during their set for their EP Release Party!
A few pics from the performance (video shot by the one and only PUMA coming real soon):
ESSO X All Hip Hop Radio
I stopped by AllHipHop Radio with my homie Will 2 B. We talked about my current project “The Anti-Socialite” and I dropped a few freestyles while LIVE in studio. Will tried to challenge me with a faster track but he had no idea what he was in for when he dropped the instrumental. Check out the interview & freestyles below
Source: GOOM Radio
ESSO x Cream World Magazine!
I’m featured in the latest issue of Cream World Magazine! The one with Amber rose on the cover.
The issue hits Canadian newsstands this month!
ESSO, Donny Goines, Skyzoo, Torae & Poca The Papergirl on BET’s “The Deal”
I’m currently featured on BET “The Deal” where I discussed NY’s return to Hip Hop prominence along with Donny Goines, Skyzoo, Torae and Poca The Papergirl.
Will New York ever become the center of Hip Hop again?
Find out about the convo by watching the video Here
ESSO X SoundCheck Live Party
Catch me live at the SoundCheck Live XII One year Anniversary at Santos Party House.
If you would like to schedule an interview with me prior to the event, please email: iampragency@gmail.com, indicating your outlet and the format of the interview requested (video interview, phoner or face-to-face).
Time: Doors Open at 7PM, Show starts at 7:30PM
Location: Santos Party House, 96 Lafayette St, (Between White and Walker St)
A,C,E,J,M,N,R,Z or 6 Train to Canal St
About SoundCheck Live XII
The concert series is a platform was built to express, as well as experience, the Arts in all genres of music (Hip Hop, Rock, Pop, R&B, Funk, Alternative etc.). Founded by Hip Hop Producer and Promoter Brey King, every month you can experience music at its best with Hostess/Actress/Dancer/Radio Personality Mo Brown Suga and of course SoundCheck’s very own “Youngest DJ in charge” DJ Gully.
RSVP Details:
For a $5 entry fee instead of $12, RSVP: Soundcheck@santospartyhouse.com (place what date you’ll attend in the subject line please).
