More eccentric wordplay from ESH the Monolith

Naturally complicated
By CHRIS CONTI  |  February 12, 2013

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ESH the Monolith excels in the art of wordplay, slyly slinging pop culture references and rewind-that-back double entendres and metaphors drawn up for the purpose of next-level braggadocio. The Eccentric Super Hero, aka Tyler Edwards, is a master craftsman on the microphone, honing and sharpening his skills on each successive release dating back to his self-produced 2008 full-length The A.D.Dventures of an E.ccentric S.uper H.ero and time spent as co-founder of Labeless Illtelligence. Onstage he's a natural-born ham, and rest assured any video featuring ESH the Monolith will be certified bananas ("Bored Games," "Bonafide Napoleon Complex," etc.) . Get to Firehouse 13 next Friday and catch the Monolith's return to Providence, and in the meantime visit  eshthemonolith.bandcamp.com for plenty of name-your-price downloads from his quality-stacked catalog.

Edwards recently relocated to Allston, Massachusetts with his girlfriend. He has kept busy out there in the booth and on the live circuit, collaborating with numerous Boston-based producers and performing at area bars and clubs. In December he and Cambridge producer The Arcitype teamed for a six-track EP titled Nightworks, which featured ESH and expert Brooklyn-via-Edgewood wordsmith Romen Rok on the killer cut "The Third Tit" (the rap world needs a full album with these two yahoos spouting off together). Look no further than the first single (and video), "Bonafide Napoleon Complex," as a testament to this dude's slick-witted lunacy with a couplet like, "Temperament of a raccoon with rabies/Gave your lady pearls? Well she's wearin' my babies." Wow. In 2011 we were treated to The Invisible EP with local turntablist Dox Ellis, who also produced the '12 single "A Song About Nothing" (with Boston rhymer Andrew Milicia), where ESH boasts being "in the lab more than Bunsen and beaker."

I had ESH tackle a quick Q&A while digging out from the weekend blizzard:

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO LEAVE RHODE ISLAND? I just felt stagnant in my life and music. I love Providence — my family is there and some of my best friends live there, but I wanted to try to make a mark where nobody knew me personally. I feel like I'm doing that in Boston, and it's making me realize I could do it anywhere I choose to. The scene is great — it's just big enough so that people are less protective of their spot. I felt welcomed with open arms. Providence and Boston have some incredible talent and I'm proud to rep for both cities.

WHAT IS YOUR IDEAL SETTING OR MENTAL MINDSTATE WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING LYRICS? When I'm writing I'm high almost 100 percent of the time, but not high as fuck (if I get too stoned I just want to marinate). I'll usually have a drink or two as well. I prefer to be alone. I'm so wrapped up in my thoughts that I find it super distracting and aggravating when people are trying to talk to me. My lady sometimes will walk into the studio and try to talk to me while I'm writing, but I don't hear a word she says. She hates that.

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  Topics: Music Features , Firehouse 13, Firehouse 13, LABELESS ILLTELLIGENCE,  More more >
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