ESQ: The New Look of Hip-Hop

From the moment you see him you know that ESQ is not your average rap artist. His impeccable style could easily land him in the pages of GQ Magazine and his cool confidence radiates through his pictures and videos. You don’t have to meet him to see the star quality he easily embodies, and it leaves you wondering, “who is ESQ?”

A professional recording artist, music producer, hip-hop street and ballroom dancer, script writer, actor, speaker, entrepreneur, graphic designer, and published children’s book author and illustrator, ESQ does it ALL but his passion is clearly for music, which he does extremely well. His sound, a mix of funk, 80’s hip-hop and jazz infused with a modern bounce, promotes what ESQ calls “Ageless booty-shaking.” Definitely an artist that crosses genres and age groups, ESQ’s music is a seamless blend of old school instrumentation meets new school flow.

The beats and tracks are not the only thing that set ESQ apart from other rap artists. His lyrical content speaks to a different type of hip-hop fan. It’s motivational, fun and has a general feel-good quality to it. ESQ says that his goal is for his music to be freeing, “My music is not anger music. I want my fans to have fun and be random with me while pushing forward towards their own sense of self. Growing up doesn’t mean prove how serious you can appear.” This sense of light-hearted maturity permeates through his lyrics that are still true to hip-hop without the sex, drugs and violence so prevalent in the culture. It brings us back to the glory days of hip-hop when it was about getting a party started and jamming with your friends while still giving his audience the ego and “cool” that is an important part of the music. You can’t have hip-hop without the swag and ESQ definitely brings the swag, boasting “My sound is vampiric, they all gonna bite cuz they all wanna feel it” in “Can’t Stop Me Now.”

Even when he represents the “struggle” that is at the core of hip-hop culture, you can still bounce to it so you don’t focus on the struggle, you focus on the how to positively navigate through the struggle like in his latest single, “I Don’t Know,” produced by Grammy-nominated production team The Internz. ESQ describes how he fakes being wealthy to get the girl admitting that in reality he’s struggling to make ends meet. The concept of the song is universal. The lyrics flow nicely over the 80’s inspired track that makes you forget that you’re struggling even though the idea is in the forefront with a chorus that almost happily claims, “I gotta fake it, until I make it. When will I make it? I don’t know.” The idea to take something that could be so depressing and turn it into an almost joyful record is genius. The honesty behind the lyrics, admitting to “fake it” in an industry that challenges you to constantly “keep it real” but rarely does is very Kanye-esque a la “All Falls Down” and it reminds us that life’s struggles don’t have to be taken so seriously as we all experience them at some point.

Raised in a single-parent home by his mother in Kansas City, Missouri, ESQ brings originality and creativity to the genre with everything from his suit-wearing, clean style to his well-thought out lyrics and cross-genre tracks. His musical influences are obviously present and include James Brown, Andre 3000, Kanye West, Prince, Michael Jackson, The Beastie Boys and the Black Keys. He’s been compared to fellow hometown native, Janelle Monae dubbed her male counterpart and the comparison is pretty accurate given his musical range and the presence of funk in his music. However, ESQ stands out with a style all his own.

He first began performing at the age of 10 when he was bullied into performing at his school’s talent show and instead of flopping like his bullies wanted; he owned the stage and found his place. Living by the advice his mom gave him to “Never become a victim of your circumstances. No one can make me feel or believe anything unless I let them; so In turn, I never let the hardships of my surroundings tell me who I am or what I’ll be.” ESQ has worked diligently to push himself to grow artistically and intellectually, graduating from Rockhurst University with a B.A. in English and Theatre Arts. He wants his fans to have fun with him and says that the underlying theme in his music is about finding personal freedom, “Discovering your own sense and definition of ‘cool’ from within and not from someone else’s ideas or judgment.”

ESQ counts every opportunity he gets to do music, promote his music and share his music as an accomplishment. He has an appreciation for every interview, performance and studio session. The energy and love from his fans when he performs is a driving force behind his artistry and performing in front of 25,000 people at Kansas City’s “Red, White and Boom” concert was a definite milestone. He also is thankful for the opportunity to work with hit-makers, The Internz, who have become his musical mentors.

The future of ESQ is bright and there are many opportunities for him developing and coming down the pipeline. He is constantly in the studio learning new instruments and developing his art. Currently, he’s working on a musical LP tentatively titled, The Anti-Mannequin Movement and is thinking of releasing an experimental mixtape. Regardless of the direction in which ESQ decides to go, if he brings his unique sound and distinctive artistic vision he won’t fail. The music speaks for itself.

When asked if he had any last words, he answered with a cool “#musicnonstop.” Let’s hope that ESQ continues to push the envelope and redefine the rap artist of the 21st century with music, non-stop.

You can find out more about ESQ at www.TheOnlyESQ.com and follow him on twitter: @theonlyESQ. You can also purchase his music on iTunes.

By Ivonne Lucia