Esh the Monolith

sh The Monolith
Hometown: Boston, MA by way of Providence, RI
Twitter: @ESHtheMonolith
Notable songs: “Soap Scum” and “Bored Games”
Sounds like: His enunciation and passive aggression screams Asher Roth, but he definitely takes inspiration from boom bap. You can also hear hints of Ratking and Earl Sweatshirt in the subject matter.
Why you need to know him: From his wordplay and delivery, you can tell he’s a witty dude with flexible vocal abilities, and he’s definitely different. His live show is probably an all-inclusive shitshow that we’d love to attend. - XXL Magazine

Currently being ranked in several noteworthy publications as one of the top new indie emcees, Esh The Monolith has released a new video with fellow Boston native and fuego producer, The Arcitype. Werewolves Anonymous is one of the lead singles off of the pairs’ recent collaborative EP, Nightworks. This song is ESH’s first release with Boston, MA based record label AR Classic Records.

Horror movie-esque flows, fierce delivery and lyricism of ghoulish tales is the best way to describe the basis of this track. Director Matt Watkins did an excellent job of bringing this video’s message to life. With custom edits and creative graphics throughout, it keeps the viewer (and, of course, listener) entertained. Plus, Esh’s t-shirt is winning everything. - The Source Magazine

I came across the single “The Third Tit” from ESH the Monolith and The Arcitype’s latest project Nightworks and decided the whole project deserved some shine as the single lead me to banging the album a couple times this morning. ESH flows superbly over some ill backdrops provided by ARC from the beginning to the last note of the Certified fresH Nightworks. I strongly advise fucking with this project and listen to some fucking rap music. - Kevin Nottingham

Hip-hop super villain MF Doom may have finally met his match with eccentric superhero Esh the Monolith, who describes himself on "Oddventures of Esh” as "Bruce Wayne on a budget... Luke Cage with a stomach.” With plenty of superhero references and samples, Esh re-imagines himself as a self-deprecating, booze guzzling, weed smoking superhero worthy of a team like Mystery Men. Still, he hits on a few other concepts and subjects, like his tagline spouting on "Slow Gunz,” his breakdown of all things paper on "Paper Pushers” or his examination of life as a youth in the modern age on "Tragic Pediatrics.” He also brings along his Labeless Illtelligence homies for a little more variety, although it’s label head Cas Uno whose unconventional flow is the best counterpoint to Esh’s tight but more straightforward style on "Anti Cymbal Monkey Movement” and weed anthem "Extinguished Gentlemen.” But Esh doesn’t just excel on the mic; he opts to lay down all of the production on The A.D.DVentures of an E.ccentric S.uper H.ero, giving the album a dark vibe with the boom-bap of banging drums, whether the beat is rough, rugged and raw or smooth and spacey. The result is a well-rounded album that’s a must for the collection of any underground hip-hop fan. - Exclaim Magazine

It’s fitting that the new LP from Boston-via-Rhode Island rapper Esh the Monolith and Brooklyn trio Grey Sky Appeal was conceived in a hotel room during a 2013 tour stop. Both acts have made the most of nomadic careers spent collaborating with peers in the post-blog-era rap underground, but “Balloon” feels like a reason to stick together. Placed between Outwrite’s dense lyrical bursts and Subtex’s elastic flow, Esh adds a more direct, punchier style, as when he packs his verse on “Flatbush” with throwaway nods to everything from “Friends” to “Gremlins” (“you’re better off trying to get a Mogwai wet”). The group’s chemistry on the mike allows producer Taj Campman space to create a sludgy, psyche-heavy soundtrack. Outwrite’s aggressive rhymes give way to ESH’s slow flow on the electro-grime of “Bender”; two tracks later, Subtex nimbly weaves through bouncy synths on “Spell on You.” Good as they are at meshing with different collaborators, Esh and GSA each may have found their new favorite. - Boston Globe

Before a single photograph is snapped for this article, while the subjects are still gathering on Green Street behind the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge on a warm Thursday evening, the story of the 2015 Boston Hip-Hop Fest is already coming into focus. Rite Hook, a 10-year veteran of the Boston scene, arrives together with newcomer Stiz Grimey of Chelsea, who says that he’s just spoken to Reks, who’s on his way. As they wait, producer the Arcitype chats with his longtime friend and collaborator, rapper Esh the Monolith, who stands next to Moe Pope, one-half of the group STL GLD along with Arc. Among the last to arrive is Avenue; as he walks up, he stops to greet Latrell James, the rapper-producer who laced the beat for “Friday” on Avenue’s most recent release, “The Chandelier View.“

Watching the scene unfold, it can be easy to forget that Boston’s hip-hop community hasn’t always been this tightly knit. Case in point: The festival hasn’t been held since 2006, and, in the ensuing years, other attempts at creating Boston-centric rap events usually featured headliners from out of town. In reviving the festival, promoter Ned “Leedz” Wellbery has assembled one of the strongest local lineups in recent memory: the aforementioned artists, plus Edo G., Slaine, Dutch Rebelle, Akrobatik, SPNDA, Termanology, Cam Meekins, and dance crew the Floorlords. The festival reflects the common refrain heard in conversation with many of the artists themselves: Boston hip-hop hasn’t been this diverse, this united, or simply this good in a long time.

“In 2015, it feels like a whole new golden era, because everybody is putting out so much dope music,” says Akrobatik, who performed his first show at the Middle East as a 20-year-old in 1996. Alongside the likes of Mr. Lif, 7L & Esoteric, and Virtuoso, the Cambridge native was a key force in Boston’s late-1990s hip-hop renaissance, back when his promotional campaign consisted of his business partner driving around the city eight hours a day, bumping his music.

Reks arrived on the scene shortly after Akrobatik, earning his stripes in freestyle competitions at open-mike events. Compared to that era, he sees a greater camaraderie among today’s young Boston artists. “I see a growth of individuals becoming more accessible to each other, and recognizing you ain’t gotta be a one-man army,” says the rapper, who toured Europe with Akrobatik, Edo G, SPNDA, and Termanology earlier this year. “I think my issues, why I burned a lot of bridges early on, is because I didn’t have anyone guiding me and showing me the way. That’s why now, as an artist, if I have an opportunity to assist you, I’m not holding back anything to help your career.”

While working among themselves, Boston’s hip-hop artists have found support from musicians and fans outside their immediate circle. “People here are down with each other’s music, even if it’s way different from what they are doing,” says Esh, who moved to Boston from Providence six years ago. A lyricist who often plays instruments live at his shows, he’s been happy to find himself sharing concert bills across genres in recent years. “We’re not just making beats that run for three minutes and rapping over them. We are really trying to push the envelope with what you can do in rap music, and I think people are going to notice that about Boston — we are doing some progressive stuff, some weirdo stuff.”

“I think the scene is the best it’s ever been,” adds Rite Hook. The 29-year-old has been a constant presence here for a decade now, but admits that the past two years have seen the local fanbase open up to his style: a cocktail of dark autobiographical raps and sung vocals. “I think people in general are more open to creativity and not just the traditional lane of hip-hop. Everyone works with each other, there’s a lot of talent, and there’s a unity I haven’t ever seen before.”

As performers have become more comfortable and audiences have become more receptive, musical ambitions have become more sophisticated. Recent albums such as Dutch Rebelle’s “Rebelle Diaries,” Avenue’s “The Chandelier View,” and Latrell James’s “Twelve” exemplify the shift away from hastily assembled mixtapes toward high-quality free releases that are deeply personal and conceptual, with original production. “Everybody is catering to where they came from, and everyone is being true to themselves and their character,” says Avenue “We used to feel like people owed us something, rather than us owing them quality music.”

For all the progress made within city limits, the artists admit that there are still issues to be addressed. Some, such as the dearth of venues open to hip-hop shows, are fixable within the community; others are not. “It’s really hard to fight the idea that everybody from the outside has of Boston,” says Esh. “When they got the state tax cut for movies, they started doing a lot more movies here, and I feel that perpetuated the Boston stereotype. That’s what people see in national media — they see the Red Sox or Patriots or knucklehead bros and [expletive] like that, and that’s what people think Boston is.”

Others feel the lack of a major superstar who emerged from the region has kept industry eyes away from the city’s burgeoning talent. “It’s like a city where your team hasn’t made the playoffs, and people don’t consider you a basketball city until you make a deep run,” says Millyz. “I think that’s what it takes: Somebody’s got to make the playoffs.”

Whoever that person might be, you are likely to find him on the Middle East stage Saturday night.

BOSTON HIP-HOP FEST

With Slaine, Edo G, Akrobatik, Rite Hook, Dutch Rebelle, Avenue, Latrell James, SPNDA, Termanology, the Floorlords, Reks, Cam Meekins, STL GLD, Esh & Arc - The Boston Globe