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 | He's been called "the boy who invented rap."
He's been called Detroit's fastest rising star. He's also been called lazy and unenthusiastic and is said to
lack initiative. But that was by some square boss at a dullsville day job, so that hardly counts. "I'm
too good for this," our hero retorted to that slight. Ladies and gentleman, allow me to present the man in question -- the one, the only, esQuire! Coming straight outta metropolitan Detroit, the story begins a couple of years ago at a ballroom dance class at a local high school. At this point, esQuire, commonly called Q, had been rhyming sans beats for some time now. One night during the polka lesson, Q met Craig Le RoQ, super producer, and the world hasn't been the same since. Both sharing a love for the sublime and the obscure, Q and Le RoQ began building songs together with a foundation of old-school style, Stax samples, San Antonio sixties rock, bombshell beats, and wall o' sound production. To put it grandiloquently, musical history was begun and a star was born. Fame first knocked in 2001 with the release of esQuire's first single, "The Boy Who Invented Rap" b/w "Maximum Utmost." Released on Tokyo's Punka Music, a subsidiary of Escalator Records, which hosts several sparkling pop outfits including Yukari Fresh, Losfeld, and Le Hammond Inferno, the 7" quickly sold right out of the box. A guest rap on the Losfeld-produced track "Let's Get Right Down to the Real Nitty Gritty" quickly ensued and was released as a split Christmas 2001 single with Yukari Fresh and Cubismo Graphico holding up the flip side. "The Boy Who Invented Rap" was subsequently re-released on "Punka Compilation 1" on Punka Music in December 2001 and on "Spinout 3," a mix album on V2 Records by the renowned and fabulously named Mansfield in 2002. In June 2002, the 4 song 12" EP "Brandy and Xanax" was put out by Escalator Records. Moving across the other ocean, esQuire celebrated the release of a single on England's Rex Records, a subsidiary of XL Recordings, in Februrary 2003. The accompanying music video made its debut on MTV2 in Britain. A follow-up single is soon to be released. Back at home, the Motor City is no stranger to true entertainment, which is why esQuire's live show is already legendary in his hometown. Beginning with a bang opening for Canadian sex goddess Peaches in August 2001, Q quickly became one of Detroit's most sought after performers, because, quite simply, his show is the most! Featuring super producer Craig Le RoQ and DJ Dviant manning the decks, wild go-go dancers, the latest in hair and fashion, and of course, Q's switched-on vocalizations, this revue is fantastic fantastic. It couldn't get any better if Beck teamed up with Ann-Margret and Joey Heatherton on a Shindig television special. Man oh man. The heat is on and the lid is off -- watch out now! I have seen the future and it is Q-shaped. -Jerry Molina |