Local Acid Rap legend ESHAM performed a rare local show on June 26, 2015 at
the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac and Motorcityblog was on the scene to catch his
performance.
A couple dozen fans were already lined up before doors opened, eager for his performance that night. Esham has a very loyal following and the Crofoot filled up nicely with people eager to catch the evenings entertainment. Many fans in the crowd donned hats and shirts emblazoned with Esham's Reel Life Productions logo displaying the Devil and the Moon.
After MCB's pre-show interview with Esham concluded, he headed straight to the merchandise booth to meet
with his fans. He was happy to pose for pictures and sign autographs for hours. The night
was extra special because it marked the advance release of his new album Dichotomy which isn't being released until July 31st.
Between the CD release and Esham being present to meet them, the flow of fans
never ceased.
Before Esham began his set, a video screen above the stage projected a montage of images behind his name. The screen and it's eye candy would accompany Esham's live set for the rest of the evening. Esham started his live set with the track Sleepwalker off his new album. It was the
first time fans heard the track and the excitement and energy from them was
hopping right from the start. It went from brand new to the old school as Esham
laid down a portion of his song "Word After Word" off his 1989
debut LP "Boomin
Esham was backed by his DJ Filthy Rockwell and performed a few more tracks off his new album throughout the evening as well as 26 years worth of career spanning tracks. There may have been newer tracks in the set, but Esham would offset the new with old school tracks off the Boomin
Esham also brought out opening act Mastamind from his group Natas to join him on several tracks. Mastamind joined Esham on the track "Charlie Manson" from his Dead Flowerz album as well as other songs including classic Natas tracks. This was as close to a Natas reunion as the fans were going to get due to the unfortunate passing of fellow Natas member Terry "TNT" Jones in 2014. The crowd's energy level never let up as the evening approached the end of Esham's 90 minute set. They sang along to "Fuck da World" off the Natas album Doubelievengod and were still ready for more as the closing song "FUQERRBDY" was performed from the last Natas album of the same name.
For your viewing pleasure, our review concludes with this live footage from Esham's set courtesy of Ambervillain Films.