7L & Esoteric
| 7L & Esoteric | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Genres | Hip-Hop, Political hip-hop |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels |
Babygrande Records Fly Casual Creative Brick Records |
| Associated acts |
East Coast Avengers Army of the Pharaohs Demigodz Czarface Apathy Celph Titled Vinnie Paz DJ Premier Mr. Lif |
| Members | 7L (George Andrinopoulos) Esoteric (Seamus Ryan) |
7L & Esoteric (7LES) are an underground hip-hop duo from Boston, Massachusetts, known for battle rhymes and boom bap 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 and Demigodz, as well as being 2/3 of Czarface along with Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck.
The duo formed in 1993 when Esoteric 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.
After performing for some time in the Boston/Cambridge underground, the duo released their first single in 1996 as God Complex with MC Karma. The B-side, "Secret Wars", gained a lot of attention as Esoteric paid tribute to the heroes of Marvel Comics in rhyme form. This led to the release of the Rebel Alliance LP, featuring acts such as Virtuoso, Mr. Lif, and Force Five. Also at this time, the two dropped the God Complex moniker and became known as 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 Beyonder, became very popular in the underground scene, leading the duo to several European tours, major label interest, and becoming one of the first New England hip-hop acts to appear on the Stretch & Bobbito WKCR radio show in NYC and get spins on the Wake Up Show with MTV's Sway & King Tech. URB Magazine chose 7L & Esoteric for their "Next 100" issue in 1997.
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