Bliss N Eso
| Bliss n Eso | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | Australian hip hop |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels |
Obese Illusive |
| Website | blissneso.com |
| Members | MC Bliss MC Eso DJ Izm |
Bliss n Eso are an Australian hip hop trio based in Sydney, and were originally known as Bliss n' Esoterikizm for their debut EP The Arrival. Bliss n Eso are currently signed to Melbourne record label Illusive Sounds, and are managed and booked by label co-founders Adam Jankie and Matt Gudinski. Bliss n Eso have released five studio albums which include two number 1 debuts on the ARIA Charts. They have also won an ARIA Award for Best Urban Release for their 2008 album Flying Colours. One of the members, Eso, released a single entitled "Sunny Days".
The trio consists of American MC Bliss (Jonathan Notley), Australian MC Eso (Max MacKinnon), and DJ Izm (Tarik Ejjamai) who is Arab, of Moroccan heritage. The three have been friends (and have rapped together) since they were in high school. Notley moved to Australia in 1992 when he was thirteen and met MacKinnon at the Glenaeon Steiner School in Sydney.
"When I got to Australia, I met Eso (MacKinnon) and he was the only guy at my school into hip-hop. It was so scarce you'd be lucky to find a hip-hop record in a store let alone a whole section." - Jonathan "Bliss" Notley
"Back then hip hop was basically non-existent; there was no urban or hip-hop section in the CD stores. You'd be lucky to find a couple of albums like a Public Enemy album or something if you went to the CD stores. So I guess that's one of the reasons why Max, who's Eso, and I kinda bonded at high school, I think, because he was really the only other guy in the school who was into hip-hop." - Jonathan "Bliss" Notley
MacKinnon later moved to Mosman High School in NSW, where he met Ejjamai. The group initially went by the name of Bliss n Esoterikizm, but that proved to be too much of a mouthful for most people, and thus was shortened.
In 2000 they issued their first release, the EP The Arrival, under the name Bliss n Esoterikizm, which was followed by a mixtape CD. They released their debut album, Flowers in the Pavement, on Obese Records in 2004. Bliss n Eso were the winners in the Hip Hop category at the 2003 Music Oz Awards and nominees for Artist of the Year in 2004.
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