The story makes the man, and in every hardship overcome is born strength; Esscay wears his struggles as a badge of honour, a tireless performer hell bent on perfecting not only his art but also himself. With a unique and heartfelt sound that matches his varied upbringing, Esscay brings to every stage and session a sense of immediacy and unrelenting passion that few can parallel.
Equipped with an incredibly versatile flow,acute social conscience, and a knack for storytelling and song structure that is the foundation of his craft,Esscay's natural swagger is quite simply the truth - a fresh and positive alternative to the current standard of domestic rap music. Despite its natural beauty, Esscay's hometown of Byron Bay is not the easiest place to grow up for local youth, far less so without the stability of a standard nuclear family. In many ways his early forays into the realm of hiphop provided Esscay with a degree of salvation from those external factors that sought to undermine his progress and the momentum has been maintained ever since. Teaming with super-producer and childhood friend Styaiz Fuego (Chamillionaire), and moving to Melbourne to further his creative involvements, Esscay hasn't looked back, and is now embarking on the next stage of his career with a relish deserving of someone who has overcome the struggle. The same struggle that has overwhelmed many of those he came up with. Prior to his life altering move from Byron to Melbourne in 2003, Esscay created a strong local buzz early in his career, winning the Hip-Hop/Urban and Best Young Artist categories at the 2002 North Coast Music Awards for his independant single "Elevate". Since arriving in Melbourne, Esscay has blessed as variety of stages, collaborating with established artists such as 1200 Techniques, Cristian Alexanda and Weapon X & Ken Hell, to rocking huge crowds solo at the Australian Groove Dance Titles and the halftime show of the 2007 NBL Melbourne Tigers Semi-Final home game. The young performer has also played to a host of clubs, bars and festival in support of his street release 'Training Day', which in turn garnered an impressive 50,000 tracks downloads from the free mixtape's online hub during a 6 month campaign, in addition to achieving high rotation spins on urban radio across the country.
The sound is unique ,born of an inner struggle, mixed percentage, and a culturally diverse formative landscape; never afraid to shy away from big issues. Esscay continues to challenge traditional conceptions of domestic hip hop with his straight agead assault on so many of the issues that others would be reticent to consider. It is this very conviction that looks set to underpin his success, a success which few would dare suggest was not deserved in the highest order
