The Breezy Effect loves to bring readers new music and put the spotlight on rising talent. This time around we got the opportunity to bring you both. As I was fortunate enough to be able to review Off The Wall by newcomer Esso and kick a few words with him via an interview about: his career, the album, and hip-hop in general. The review is up first and the interview follows after the jump.
1. “Damn”
The production here is hot. There is a piano sound, a strong bass, and very smooth type of vibe going on. The hook is okay, fairly simple lyrics wise; but it works well within the context of the track. The verses on the other hand are seriously on point. Esso has a very clean and crisp delivery, well put together rhymes, and just does a great job of telling his story about past love and regret. Excellent start to the album in my opinion.
5. “Can’t Help It”
The production here is decent. Has a strong bass line, light instruments, and a very laid back and mellow feel to it. The light sounds and the bass seem to clash a little bit though. So lowering the bass just a tad, would make things blend a lot more smoothly. The hook needs work. The hook is vocals interlaced with rapping. The vocals fall flat and don’t really do anything for the song. So maybe just straight rapping on the hook would be a better approach. The verses are good, Esso delivers a few clever lines and works well with the beat. Overall, I’d say this song was just alright. Needs a little work in certain areas but is still worth a listen.
10. “Pole Class”
The production here is solid. There is bass, an occasional shout in the background, and a very up-tempo street vibe at work. The hook is solid, has some pretty interesting lyrics: “She say it’s her favorite work out. She be in a pole class everyday. No you can’t tip her but she act like it anyway. She even got a pole in the bedroom. You would lose your mind, if you seen what her legs do.” Clever way to approach the topic, right? The verses are good too, again Esso is on point with his delivery and his rhymes are well crafted. The stand out thing is that he was able to do a song about a very sexual theme without being too explicit or tacky with it. Final thought is, this is a decent track. Definitely more for the fellas though.
So this is a brief review of the album, didn’t want to bombard this piece too much, as it has the interview portion too. But on a final note, the album samples and is heavily influenced by Michael Jackson’s own Off The Wall album. Which I’m sure you got some idea of from the title and covers. You can download the album here. Click the jump for the interview.
Yea, the name started out as Solace which is like soothing or calm, and I thought that word described my personality a lot. I kinda flipped the name around a few times and ended up using the first 2 letters (S.O.) and that became ESSO. It's also the first and last letter of Basquiat's graffitti name (Samo) and he's one of my inspirations outside of music so that connection is there also.
New York is a HUGE stomping ground for up and coming rappers. There are just tons of rappers out there repping New York. What makes you stand out from the pack?
New York is always gonna be the Genesis of rap music, so you're gonna always have a lot of rappers coming from New York. It's like if you're in Hollywood, everyone's an aspiring actor. I think with me, I'm different in that I really want to be one of the people that pushed New York forward musically rather than just resting on the history that New York has created in rap music so far. I'm always conscious of the fact that there's a stereotype of the "New York Rapper" and I don't want to be defined by it. I want to just be a great artist period, not defined by a region. But New York is always going to be home and it's also responsible for a lot of the music that I grew up on, so it'll always be an influence and inspiration.
What is it about hip-hop that appeals to you so much that you decided to become a rapper?
I grew up in New York in the 90's. I grew up in Hip-Hop. It's how we talk, walk, dress, express ourselves and so many more things. Hip-Hop is our lifestyle, I just think I learned and taught myself how to speak in that language and I feel just like every other artist that I have a voice that needs to be heard and a story that needs to be told.
Did you have any influences growing up? If so, can you name a few?
Growing up I was listening to: Nas, Jay-Z, Biggie, 2pac, Outkast, Snoop, Eminem, Master P, Cash Money and more. I have a really diverse ear and I also grew up on people like: Michael Jackson, Prince, Al Jarreau, Earl Klugh, Heatwave, Earth Wind and Fire and that era also.
You have said that growing up in Harlem, caused you to be influenced by both the street life and cultural aspects of your surroundings. And as a result, you see things different then most people. Can you expand on that in relation to your career?
Yea, Harlem has always had this interesting dual life. On one hand, Harlem is the mecca of black culture and has a huge role in the creation of Black culture in America and around the world. On the other hand, Harlem is also well known for its hustler heritage, going all the way back to Bumpy Johnson and Frank Lucas to the AZ's, Rich Porter's and Alpo's of the world. So I think I've always been conscious of both worlds and have lived a little more in the middle of both worlds than a lot of artists that come out from Harlem.
Since 2006, you have dropped a couple of albums, been featured in The Source, appeared on BET/MTV, and so much more. Out of all that, is there one particular moment that was significant to you or that stands out from the rest? If so, why?
I think each moment is significant in its own way. Unsigned Hype in The Source was huge for me because it was my first nationwide look back in 2006, and it was literally 2 months after I had released my first mixtape. So that felt really good to accomplish. Now with XXL and the MTV rotation 3 years later those things mean just as much, because it shows that I've been consistent since the second that I stepped into the game, and that I'm making music that's worthy of a nationwide audience.
And with so many things already under your belt, what else would you like to accomplish in the future?
With all that said, I still don't feel like I've accomplished enough because I still haven't sold a record yet, and I never forget that. I'd be lying if I told you that I didn't want to sell a million records or win a Grammy or tour the world. Those are the things that I aspire to, so its hard to ever be too satisfied with the process of getting to that point.
From viewing the title and the covers for your album, Off The Wall, one can see that there is an obvious Michael Jackson influence at work. Can you please explain the Michael Jackson thing and how it relates to the album?
Off The Wall is a transitional project for me in my career. It marks my transition from being a New York rapper into becoming an artist. Off The Wall was a transitional project for Michael Jackson in his career as well. His transition was from Motown and The Jackson 5 into the "King of Pop." My Off The Wall project samples every song from MJ's Off The Wall album in the same order to create the sound scape for the project. That's why the covers look the way they do, that's why the "Don't Stop" video looks the way it does also. It's all inspired by the greatest artist in the history of music, who made the biggest transition in the history of music. What better way for me to signal the transition that I'm trying to make into the mainstream.
If you could pick one song that people just absolutely had to hear off of Off The Wall, what would it be and why?
It's hard to pick just one song, because I love every song on there for different reasons. I never really sit back and look at Off The Wall as a collection of individual songs. It's way more of an experience from beginning to end. My favorite song on there is probably "Girlfriend" just because of how good it feels musically, and because of how honest the story is that I'm telling throughout the song.
And how do you feel about the current state of hip-hop in general?
As far as the current state of Hip Hop, I think there are a lot of good things going on in Hip Hop and then there are some things that I don't agree with. I just continue to push and make the kind of music that I believe in, and hopefully everyone else approaches their own music the same way. I think the independent spirit is alive right now in a way that it probably hasn't been alive since the early 90's which is a good thing as well. The game always moves in cycles and era's. The new era is bubbling right now and getting ready for our spotlight.
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