Unsigned Artists Section (ESSO)

ESSO

The streets of Harlem, NY have been home to some of the greatest artists and most influential figures in the history of Black culture. From the stomping grounds of Malcolm X, Langston Hughes, Big L and The Diplomats comes ESSO, the leader of the second Harlem Renaissance.

An Avid writer since age 12, ESSO credits his older cousin with first introducing him to the microphone. “My cousin Kev was a DJ at the time, and we would be in his room fuckin around and he would just throw on beats. I been on the mic since I was about 13 years old, that’s why it feels natural now.”

A professional Baseball prospect in College, ESSO truly dedicated himself to his music after Howard University ended their Baseball program in the spring of 2002. "That was a tough time for me. I was getting some attention from the Phillies and a couple other teams, and then just like that it was gone." But a true hustler never relies on one hustle, and ESSO had a couple more tricks up his sleeve. "My girl at the time was a student at Georgetown, and she told me they had studios in their library. I started hitting the studio whenever she would go to the library. That got my hunger for the music right back to where it needed to be."

After graduating Howard University in 2004, ESSO returned to New York and began working towards being heard. He linked up with friend and producer Disco D, whose credits include “The Ski Mask Way” on 50 Cent’s multi-platinum album The Massacre and "City of Gods" on AZ's album AWOL. While working with Disco, ESSO realized that he was going to have to build up his name on his own. He began to perform on any stage that would let him. ”Once the response was good, I knew I wasn’t just feeling myself. That gave me confidence to really put myself out there. I always knew I was nice, but now people that had never met me before were telling me the same thing.”

He immediately began working on his mixtape History in the Making, a mixture of original songs, remixes and freestyles that showcases his unique blend of lyricism, storytelling ability, insight and songwriting skill. Hosted by Sickamore, a well respected name among the mixtape elite, History in the Making is about the future. “Our generation should be making the best music because we came up looking up to some of the best to ever do it. Every new wave should be taking the game to a new height. I just want to bring that feeling back, like you’re watching Nas and BIG in 94, or Jay in 96, or Pac with Death Row.” A 15 song offering, HITM is sure to establish ESSO as one of the next up in the great tradition of New York artists.

Most recently, ESSO’s music was played during The Cipha Sounds Experience on SHADE45 (Sirius Satellite Radio). ESSO will be featured on 3 tracks of an upcoming mixtape release from AllHipHop.com, and has previously appeared on DJ Junior Tec’s mixtapes Sirius Radio 11 and Sirius Radio 12. ESSO, was profiled in the Artist Spotlight section of the October issue of Exposure Magazine and was recently interviewed for HipHop.org. With lots of press, shows and mixtape appearances locked and loaded for early 2006, ESSO is ready to make history one day at a time.