7L & Esoteric

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7L & Esoteric
Origin	Boston, MA
Years active	1992 – Present
Genres	Hip-Hop
Labels	Babygrande Records
Members	7L Esoteric

7L & Esoteric (7LES) 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, known at the time as God Complex, released their first single in 1996 to critical acclaim. This lead to the release of the Rebel Alliance LP, a compilation of Boston talent that featured 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 7LES put out their first 12” with re-mastered versions of their Rebel Alliance songs “Protocol” and “Be Alert.” The latter of which become a nationwide underground hit and featured the now infamous sampling of the ’80s “Transformers” cartoon. Continuing their wave of success the duo then dropped the “Def Rhymes” single which got them press in the Source. “Def Rhymes” was also featured on their critically acclaimed EP, Speaking Real Words, released in 1999. The album also featured Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck on the title track, which garnered the pair even more attention.

Rising stars in underground scene they released their debut LP The Soul Purpose in the summer of 2001. Anchored by gritty beats and insane battle lyrics, the album received the Boston Music Award for “Best Hip-Hop Album,” 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. Their sophomore effort featured 7LES at the top of their game and is considered their premier release.

After taking a break from recording the duo released their third LP DC2: Bars of Death in the spring of 2004. The album received overall positive reviews and was lauded by long-time fans.

7L & Esoteric are both prominent members of the underground hip-hop supergroups the Demigodz and Army of the Pharaohs. Their work also features a long list of collaborations with artists such as Boston's rising star Pat Dipanfilo and Jedi Mind Tricks, Apathy, Celph Titled, Outerspace, and even World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler John Cena.

Their fourth LP entitled A New Dope was released on June 27.

[edit] Discography

Speaking Real Words EP - 1999
Soul Purpose LP - 2001
Dangerous Connection LP - 2002
DC2: Bars of Death LP - 2004
Moment of Rarities LP - 2006
A New Dope LP - 2006 (released June 27)
Saving Seamus Ryan - 2007 (not yet released)

[edit] Collaborations

7L & Beyonder - Vinyl Thug Music - 2003 (7L with Beyonder)
Vinyl Thug Music - Welcome to Shaftville U.S.A. - 2005 (7L with Beyonder)
Moment of Rarities: A Collection of Previously Unreleased Material - 2005 (7L and / or Esoteric collaborations)
Esoteric - Too Much Posse - 2005 (Esoteric collaborations)
Army of the Pharaohs - The Torture Papers"" - 2006 (Babygrande Records)
You Can't See Me - John Cena and Tha Trademarc - 2005 (Columbia Records) (WWE)