ESP
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ESP

Chicago, Illinois, United States | INDIE

Chicago, Illinois, United States | INDIE
Band Hip Hop

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Discography

Live From The Jumpspot - LP
Electric Flavour - Single

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Hailing from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Epitome & Soda-Pop (ESP) are an MC/Producer duo who’s deep-seated chemistry yields a refreshingly unconventional brand of hip-hop versatility. Before partnering up for their debut LP ”Live from the Jumpspot”, lyricist Epitome (pronounced Ep-It-Tome), Neel Sharma by birth, and Graeme Williams aka Soda-Pop discovered an undeniable compatibility while co-producing ”The Roaring 20s” (2005), the debut LP from Epitome’s mother group Diatribe, also from Chicago. Riding this momentum, the production team immediately returned to the studio with a boundless palette and a new dynamic: this time with Epitome serving as full-time lyricist and Soda undertaking all production and engineering responsibilities. The sum of these two talents, combined with a barrage of alcoholic beverages and wild aroma cigars, resulted in ESP’s debut record, “Live from the Jumpspot,” a collection of scatterbrained hip-hop follies as charming as they are diverse. Epitome, a journalism graduate from IU, offers an incomparable blend of fresh perspective and sophisticated wordplay through the course of his vivid stanzas. Listeners are rewarded with a first-class ticket through the inner workings of a retro-philosopher who can be as august and sincere as KRS-One, and as playful and witty as De La Soul’s Posdnous all in the same breath. Whether noodling over the implications of being invisible for a day, sharing his sentiments on the scrapes and bruises of growing up, or just reprimanding sucker MCs, Epitome is saying something you should hear and fervently absorb. Rounding out the equation is a rummage sale of thoughtful, schizophrenic beats crafted both creatively and sonically by producer/engineer Soda-Pop. Never a one-trick dog, Soda has found a personalized niche in blending odd-ball sample sources (from Gary Wright to the Grateful Dead), space-soaked synth textures, and the occasional live instrumentation to construct a sonic world of no boundaries for listeners to wander freely within. Production can sharply switch gears from a psychedelic head-nodder, to a riot-inducing thrasher, into a golden-era throwback joint in the blink of an eye, keeping the audience on it’s toes and truly offering a little something to fit the taste of any hip-hop lover.

When together, Epitome & Soda-Pop exhibit the creative marriage of their expansive influences, where Native Tongues infused verses collide with eclectic grooves that channel the likes of the Beastie Boys, Dan the Automator, and The Dust Brothers.