:: Direct Records
The East hasn't seen white boys this funky since 3rd Bass. The mathematics: 7L providing all the scratchwork plus Vinyl Reanimators on beats plus Esoteric ripping the lyrics equals musical fatness.
The self-described Esoteradactyl is as aggressive as his namesake; swooping down from above and ripping into the microphone over pounding basslines. If you know them from Inspectah Deck's guest appearance on "Speaking Real Words" don't worry there's plenty more hardcore to go around. "Bound to Slay" with Big L's scratched hook set it off lovely, while "Def Rhymes" takes it a level that would snap necks as an instrumental alone. Confidence is not a problem for Eso - he brags that he can't raise you to his IQ because "you're afraid of heights".
Cameo appearances from Virtuoso on "Headswell" and "Be Alert" (also featuring Beyonder) only help to improve this EP more. On the latter, some straight from the old school samples of The Transformers and Kool Keith give the song an electro organic hip-hop feel unlike anything you've heard before. These songs round out this short EP nicely. Don't fear the Esoterrorism - embrace it. Esoteric is not just speaking real words, he's flipping linguistics.
Music Vibes: 8 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 7 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 7.5 of 10
Originally posted: February 28, 2000
source: www.OHHLA.com