Es – You Want A Piece Of Me? [LP]

Masterfully crafted with a nod to the golden age of rap and consistent throughout, the album You Want A Piece of Me? from Toronto-based emcee Es is sharp, smart, and lyrical rap at its finest. The man has an effortless flow, a fine-tuned ear for beats, (provided exclusively by producer J Pal for this LP), and charisma to spare. The ten tracks that make up this set are are both personal and paint pictures of larger themes as well.

The song “Home” is a deep, thought-provoking track about the importance of having a home that is not only a physical structure but also within oneself and how that strengthens you. He makes it clear through his words and his tone that this song isn’t strictly about him; it’s about how important having a true home in your heart is to living a good and spiritually healthy life.

“The Come Up Story” is not only a recollection of Es‘ early life and journey to becoming a hip hop artist, it’s a story about hip hop culture that each listener can gain from. Es shows his technical skills by delivering each bar with ease. The delivery on this track is outstanding with lots of thought put into telling a personal yet widely relatable story. Title track “You Want a Piece of Me?” toes a similar line as it finds the Canadian wordsmith trying to make sense of the memories, events, and values that have molded him into the man that he is today. The track demonstrates a depth of thought that is always deserving of respect and the no-frills, drum-break-only production is the perfect backdrop for the “remembering the times” vibe of the song.

Other high lights on the album include the aptly titled spitkicker track “Attack” (featuring a guest verse from Elzhi), and the moniker clarifying “Say My Name Right“. For the record, “Es” is pronounced just like the letter “S”.

You Want A Piece Of Me? is a very solid, if not quite excellent, entry into Es’ growing discography. The man knows what it takes to put together a good album, and he’s hoping that audiences will appreciate it for what it is: an album about his life and what he believes to be important in life. I appreciate the fact that this album feels deeply personal to Es – it’s as if he’s revealing something very private to us, his listeners, yet it flows like a tried & true “freestyling over beats” type tape that’s easy to sink into after you press “play”. Dope work indeed.

You can show your support by streaming and/or buying the single from your favorite online music service below as well as by checking out more from Es when you connect with him online via the links listed.

7/10 – Very Good

This is an album where the reviewer really enjoys the majority of the tracks and still finds it compelling even after multiple listens. Listeners will probably be listening to this album fairly regularly for at least a month or until something the same or better comes along. Even after that, the listener will most likely revisit the album a few times during the year. 

Stream & buy Es’ music on…
( Amazon | Apple_Music | Bandcamp | Deezer | Spotify | Tidal | YouTube_Music )

Connect with Es on…
( Facebook | Instagram | Official_Site | Soundcloud | Twitter | YouTube )