A gloomy, post-industrial Detroit helped Esham to formulate a career based on discussing the darker aspects of life. During adolescence Esham attended Detroit's Osborn High School during the school year, while spending his summers stealing car radios for his father in Long Island, New York, not far from the Amityville Horror house in Amityville. Proof, of d12, also attended Osborn High School. The anti-organized religion tones in many of his albums were bold considering the overwhelming Christian community in Detroit. Esham pioneered in-depth rhymes detailing accounts of all kinds of mayhem including death, suicide, murder,racism,poverty, illicit drug use, drug dealing and mental illness among countless other topics many considered to be too horrific for a recording album. In fact, lyrics from Esham and his group Natas were linked to a 1992 teenage suicide in Tennessee. Anti-Abortionists protested his 1993 solo album, KKKill the Fetus to the point that his life was threatened. While Esham has been most revered for his innovative concepts and controversial subject matter, it has been his comprehensive work behind the boards as his own producer that has served as the backbone of his music career. Each and every Esham album has been almost exclusively self-produced. Advanced production techniques were developed early in his adolescence and afforded him the opportunity to explore and eventually build a multitude of lush soundscapes and backdrops for all of his albums. His production resume includes work with Kool Keith, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Kid Rock, MC Breed, Dayton Family, George Clinton and countless projects with local Michigan talent including Dice, Lavel, Insane Clown Posse and Twiztid among others. Throughout his career, Esham, along with his brother James Smith, cemented their reputation as self-made men and independent pioneers with their own record label, Reel Life Productions/Gothom which garnered a cult army of fans who call themselves, “suicidalists”. In 1999, Esham linked up with Scott Santos of Overture Records with hopes of reaching new levels of independent success. While the music eventually flourished and a massive distribution deal was signed with indie giant TVT Records, the business end soured with Santos and spurred Esham's move to Psychopathic Records in 2002. After a brief stint with Psychopathic, Esham opted to leave in favor of resurrecting his Reel Life Productions/Gothom imprint. 2006 has been an especially productive year including the release of a new Natas album “N of tha World” distributed through Sony Red as well as the independent release of a $100 box set sold exclusively through his website. Currently, Esham can be found hosting his own radio show “The Bomb Ass Podcast” on iTunes and switchpod.com. He is also working on his 23rd solo album to be named Sacrifical Lambs slated for a 2nd Quarter 2007 release. Contact info@acidrap.com for any questions
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Natas is an Detroit horrorcore/acid rap group. It is composed of three members, Esham, TnT, and Mastamind. Since their inception in 1992 they have created a cult following and achieved legendary status in Detroit. The group temporarily disbanded in 2002, only to return for a reunion album (N of tha World) in 2006. There are currently no plans for future albums.
Albums
* Life After death (1992) Reel Life
* Blaz4me (1993) Reel Life
* Doubelievengod (1995) Reel Life
* Multikillionaire (1997) Reel Life/Gothom
* Wicket World Wide (1999) Gothom/Overcore/TvT
* Godlike (2002) Number 6
* N of tha World (2006) Reel Life/Gothom/Warlock
