Regional hip-hop acts to visit Ushuaia

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Their sound may not be digital, but it is definitely underground.

Since 1992, the groups have traveled the East Coast as well as Europe, but hip-hop duo 7L and Esoteric will be playing at Ushuaia on Friday night.

“They are the top of the line in the Boston acts,” said Sean Smith, CEO of Queen City Entertainment. “These are the kinds of shows that I do want to bring here, and we want to bring solid acts like this so we have kids coming to our shows.”

The duo first formed in the outskirts of Boston in 1992 when the group emcee Esoteric deejayed at a college radio station. At the time 7L was a DJ and producer who heard the show, and from there the two started working together. In 1996, they released their first piece of work, which was well received in places such as Los Angeles, New York and parts of Europe.

Besides garnering respect across the pond, they have also been commended in America by people such as Eminem and Jay-Z. In 1998, after they had released the single “Def Rhymes.” The song recieved so much praise that the duo was mentioned in Source Magazine. It was then on a hip-hop radio show where Slim Shady and Shawn Carter came up with lyrics while hearing the actual track.

In addition to being praised by some of the industry’s best known names, they have worked with a couple as well. In 2001, they collaborated with the Wu-Tang Clan’s Inspectah Deck on their debut LP “The Soul Purpose.” The album won the Boston Music Award for “Best Hip-Hop Album.”

Smith and Ushuaia owner Alexander Gray have collaborated over the past few years to bring hip-hop acts to the Orono area. Some of these acts included headliners such as Talib Kweli, Juelz Santana and the Pharcyde. According to Smith, some of these acts have sold out while others have received crowds around 50 people.

Outside of the duo, others that will be there, including Bangor native Cojaxx. After a six-year stint in Pensacola, Florida, the emcee moved back to Maine. Cojaxx has toured with names like Digital Underground and Slick Rick.

For those interested, the show will start at 9 p.m. Friday.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 15th, 2005, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.