'5 Questions With': ESSO
"When I say everything inspires me, it’s not a joke. I grew up on, R’n’B, grime, hip-hop, Nigerian juju, gospel, rock; literally everything."
Re-introducing himself after his dazzling recent effort ‘Exquisite’, West-London’s ESSO is back with a soulful 90s-inspired rap cut on the fast-paced nature of life with ‘Nikes’. The up-and-coming wordsmith forges a link between the past and the present on his new self-produced offering. Combining nostalgic soul samples with his cool characteristic delivery, on ‘Nikes‘ ESSO sonically captures his affinity for old school R’n’B jams.
Since breaking onto the scene with his debut EP 23:23 back in 2018, ESSO hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. Harnessing his exceptional proficiencies for singing and rapping alike, he continues to establish his path as a creative chameleon in amongst the blossoming roster of alternative artists currently pushing the boundaries of musical sub-culture in the UK. Below, we catch up with ESSO to talk his creative process, his musical influences and fittingly, his general disdain for Nike resellers.
Read the full interview below…
Words & Interview by Tahirah Thomas
EQ: Hey Esso! Where are you from and what kind of music inspires you to create?
ESSO: I’m from Hayes, West London - born and bred. When I say everything inspires me, it’s not a joke. I grew up on, R’n’B, grime, hip-hop, Nigerian juju, gospel, rock; literally everything. I learned the drums and guitar when I was younger and that opened me up to different sounds I wasn’t used to, like jazz and alternative rock. Nowadays, I still try to keep an open mind and take in different types of music, you never know what’s gonna set off a lightbulb. Plus, there’s a lot of talent in my area and London in general so, seeing people I know doing their thing inspires me too.
EQ: Your new song “Nikes” has a very soulful, 90’s hip-hop feel beat-wise. Do you produce your own music? If you do, can you tell us a bit more about the process of building your beats?
E: That feel was definitely what I was going for; all that soulful stuff is my bag. I only have one song out that I didn’t produce myself (hold tight Outhouse). So yeah, I’m a hands-on guy when it comes to my work and my process varies from song to song. Sometimes a melody might come to me out of the blue, I’ll voice record it on my phone, then try to build a beat around it. Other times, I’ll play around with different synths and samples and just see what I can whip up.
“Sometimes you don’t clock the meaning behind a track until you hear it back. With the line “young man steady running round town, no dirt on my Nikes”, I wrote that in a literal sense.”
- ESSO
EQ: Tell us more about the symbolism of Nikes – why you named the song that? On the surface it seems like you’re just spittin’ about being a suave guy, but is there any deeper meaning to the lyricism on the track?
E: To me, Nikes is a stream-of-consciousness type of track. I didn’t set out with any theme or motif that I wanted to centre; I was just flexing my production skill. I wasn’t trying to be too serious with it, but sometimes you don’t clock the meaning behind a track until you hear it back. With the line “young man steady running round town, no dirt on my Nikes”, I wrote that in a literal sense. On reflection; I now think it captures how fast-paced life can be.
EQ: We have to ask – what’s your go-to Nike shoe, and why?
E: In terms of go-to, my Shox TL and Air Forces stay in rotation; versatility and comfort-wise they’re up there. I can’t lie though; I get tired of the whole raffle system buying trainers nowadays. The resellers market almost forces this exclusivity that’s dead.
EQ: We agree– resellers are not it. What’s on the cards for ESSO for the rest of 2021? Do you have anything planned with regards to more music yet?
E: Most definitely. There’s a lot more to come from me this year. New tracks, new production, new collabs and if all goes well, we could be looking at a project later this year. So yeah, keep it locked.
Youtube/ ESSO
Stream ‘Nikes’ HERE
Follow ESSO on socials:
Instagram: @essonogas
Twitter: @essonogas
