Esham facts for kids

Esham Attica Smith (born September 20, 1973), known simply as Esham, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He was one of the first hip hop artists to gain attention from Detroit.

Esham released his first album, Boomin' Words from Hell, in 1989 when he was just 16 years old. Since then, he has released many albums. He is well-known for his unique style of hip hop called horrorcore. In 1992, he helped start the horrorcore group Natas. Esham and his brother, James Smith, also created their own record label called Reel Life Productions.

Esham was a big influence on other Detroit hip hop artists, like Insane Clown Posse. His music often mixes hip hop beats with sounds from rock music. Esham calls his special music style "acid rap".

Esham's Music Journey

Starting Out

Esham grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and also spent summers in New York with his grandmother. He learned to play the piano, guitar, and trombone in high school. He listened to many different artists, including Sugar Hill Gang, Run-DMC, Ozzy Osbourne, and Kiss.

Esham started writing his own song lyrics. His older brother, James H. Smith, encouraged him to become a hip hop artist. In second grade, Esham met Champtown, who also wanted to be a rapper. They performed together at local open mic events.

Esham released his first album, Boomin' Words from Hell, in 1989. In 1990, Esham and his brother James started their own record label, Reel Life Productions. They re-released his first album with new artwork. It was sometimes hard for Esham to find fans. Some people thought his dark lyrics were just for shock. Also, some hip hop fans didn't like his music because it had heavy metal influences.

In 1991, Esham met Joseph Bruce from the group Inner City Posse. Joseph liked Esham's music and gave him a copy of his group's music. This started a friendship and working relationship between them.

After releasing two shorter music collections, Esham created a double album called Judgement Day. Its two parts, Day and Night, came out separately on April 9, 1992.

Natas and More Albums

While at Osborn High School, Esham met Mastamind. Mastamind gave Esham a demo tape of his music. This led Esham, Mastamind, and Esham's friend TNT to form the group Natas. In November 1992, Natas released their first album, Life After Death.

Esham also worked with Insane Clown Posse. In 1992, he helped produce songs and rapped on their first album, Carnival of Carnage.

On November 22, 1994, Esham released his album Closed Casket. His album Dead Flowerz, released in May 1996, was popular on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Gothom Records

In June 1997, Esham changed the name of his record label from Reel Life Productions to Gothom Records. He released the album Bruce Wayne: Gothom City 1987, which also appeared on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Gothom Records later made a deal with Overcore, which was part of Overture Music. This company then worked with TVT Records. In June 2001, Gothom released the album Spankmaster by Kool Keith, which Esham helped with. Gothom also released Esham's own album, Tongues. This album did very well on several music charts, including the Top Independent Albums chart and the Billboard'' 200 chart.

Working with Psychopathic Records

In 2002, Esham joined Psychopathic Records. He released a collection of songs called Acid Rain. He also announced that he would be exploring new themes in his music, moving away from some of the horror themes.

On November 18, 2003, Esham released his ninth album, Repentance. This album was successful on several charts, including the Top Heatseekers chart and the Top Independent Albums chart.

In 2005, Esham teamed up with Insane Clown Posse and Lavel to release the Soopa Villainz album, Furious.

Esham's next album on Psychopathic, A-1 Yola, was his most successful on the Billboard 200 chart. It also charted high on the Top Heatseekers, Independent Albums, Top Rap Albums, and Top R&B charts. After this album, Esham left Psychopathic Records in 2005 to restart his own labels, Reel Life and Gothom.

Recent Years

Esham released his twelfth album, Suspended Animation, on August 3, 2010. This was followed by the album DMT Sessions in 2011. He also directed a documentary called Death of an Indie Label in 2011. This film was about his experiences in the music industry.

In 2012, MTV reported on a past disagreement between Esham, Eminem, and Insane Clown Posse. However, in 2015, Esham and Insane Clown Posse became friends again. Esham even performed at their Juggalo Day "Ringmaster" Show in 2016.

Esham's Music Style

Esham's music is known for mixing hip hop beats with lyrics that are sometimes compared to death metal music. Esham himself has described his style as being like "modern-day blues [or] heavy metal." The group Insane Clown Posse has often said that Esham's music was a big influence on their own songs.

Selected Albums

Studio albums

• Boomin' Words from Hell (1989)
• Judgement Day (1992)
• Closed Casket (1994)
• Dead Flowerz (1996)
• Bruce Wayne: Gothom City 1987 (1997)
• Mail Dominance (1999)
• Tongues (2001)
• Repentance (2003)
• A-1 Yola (2005)
• Sacrificial Lambz (2008)
• Suspended Animation (2010)
• DMT Sessions (2011)
• Venus Flytrap (2012)
• Dichotomy (2015)
• Scribble (2017)
• Dead of Winter (2018)
• She Loves Me (2020)
• She Loves Me Not (2020)
• Psyops (2021)
• Purgatory (2023)