“Welcome to my wonderful world of word wizardry,
Where my verbs literally turn symphonies into a place
Where the sun doesn’t go
The beast sweeps the street for bundles of dough”
MC Eso (Max McKinnon) certainly has a way with words, and I was fortunate to exchange some with him regarding his new album, the world of hip-hop and… errr… weed. Eso is of course one half Sydney duo Bliss n Eso, who recently dropped the stellar album Flying Colours. The album is a showcase of hip-hop poetry on some of the finest beats I’ve ever heard, and so the question presents itself; what came first, the beats or the rhymes?
“Funny you say that, because when we first started that was exactly the bloody question [we’d ask ourselves],” Eso laughs. “We were wishing and dreaming that Public Enemy or Ice Cube would come over here and somehow teach us to do it. The formula that we use is we have to have the beat first, if I write a happy track and all of a sudden I’ve got these dark beats it doesn’t really mix, so we make sure we’ve got the beat we want and then make the topic go around.”
It’s not all work for BnE, though, as the boys like to mess around while they’re in the studio, and Eso is known not only for as a word wizard, but as a herbal medicine man. It has taken two albums for Eso to make it happen, but he has finally got his partner in crime Bliss to puff on the herb. Bliss spent the first 27 years of his life free from Mary Jane’s loving embrace, but finally caved in during their latest album.
Eso had told Bliss on several occasions; “listen to me, all of your friends are telling you to have a little toke and listen to a little bit of music, you’ll enjoy it.” Even Bliss’ American friends (Bliss originally hails from the US) had told him; “your music is like the best shit to smoke to,” but Bliss was still reluctant to hit the weed. Eso had to wait until they went platinum to try it out! You can hear evidence of it through the interludes on Flying Colours, which were all recorded stoned at 3am. The boys also managed to write a tribute song to the legendary passtime, apropriately titled Choof Choof Train as a bonus track for the album.
A sign of their intense creativity is the crooner track $5 Steaks. ”[It] was a 4 o’clock in the morning thing,” Eso explains. “We were both in the booth. We just finished doing another track and were still up for doing another. We were really bored of all the beats we were working with so Noam (Dishon) our producer/engineer threw on something we could freestyle to regardless of how weird it was. It [was] kind of Jewish wedding music.” The boys promptly recorded the whole track off the top of their heads.
Speaking with Eso about the future, it’s clear they have grand plans for the group and hip-hop in general. “Actually we have big plans”, Eso says with tongue in cheek enthusiasm. “Bliss n Eso TV! I’m gonna put a bid up there between Channel V and MTV and Video Hits and I guarantee it’ll be the best show ever because we’ll just showcase all Australian MCs. The top 10 freestyles in the parking lot of the week, the top 10 live acts around the country.” The boys can dream big can’t they? Regardless, they’re aiming to change the face of hip-hop in Australia, to show it as more than a means of expression, that it’s a culture growing and changing the face of music.
All jokes aside, what does the future hold for Bliss n Eso? “We’ve got some clothing coming out. Shoes, jackets, fitted hats, frisbies, all kinds of shit. It’s out now through a mate’s company called Big Undie. So keep your eyes open for BnE gear stomping through a hood near you.” You can also catch the boys on their Flying Colours Tour at the following locations, proudly supported by inthemix. As you can see from the long list below, the boys never sleep. So grab some mates and bear witness to the freshest crew in Australian hip-hop at one of the shows!
Flying Colours is out now through Elusive. Bliss n Eso tour Australia throughout September, October and November.
Thu 4th Sep – The Pub, Bendigo – Motley & Mind Over Matter
Fri 5th Sep – Prince of Wales, Melbourne – Motley & Mind Over Matter
Sat 6th Sep – Karova Lounge, Ballarat – Motley & Mind Over Matter
Fri 12th Sep – Roi Bar, Albury – Motley & Mind Over Matter
Sat 13th Sep – Westernport Hotel, Phillip Island – Motley& Mind Over Matter
Fri 19th Sep – Hoey Moey, Coffs Harbour – Mind Over Matter & Choose Mics
Sat 20th Sep – Yamba Bowling Club, Yamba – Mind Over Matter & Choose Mics
Thu 25th Sep – Tomba’s Nightclub, Toowoomba – Motley & Mind Over Matter & Choose Mics
Fri 26th Sep – The Zoo, Brisbane – Motley & Mind Over Matter & Choose Mics
Sat 27th Sep – Sands Tavern, Sunshine Coast – Motley & Mind Over Matter & Choose Mics
Thu 2nd Oct – Great Northern, Byron Bay – Motley & Mind Over Matter & Choose Mics
Fri 10th Oct – Cambridge, Newcastle – Motley & Mind Over Matter
Sat 11th Oct – Woodport Inn, Erina – Motley & Mind Over Matter
Fri 17th Oct – Enmore Theatre, Sydney – Downsyde, Phrase & Flagrant, Motley & Mind Over Matter
Fri 24th Oct – Bombay Rock, Townsville – Phrase & Flagrant & Choose Mics
Sat 25th Oct – Cadence Nightclub, Cairns – Phrase & Flagrant & Choose Mics
Thu 30th Oct – Players Bar, Mandurah – Phrase & Flagrant, Bentman & Sipn
Fri 31st Oct – Settlers Tavern, Margaret River – Phrase & Flagrant, Bentman & Sipn
Sat 1st Nov – Capitol, Perth – Phrase & Flagrant, Bentman & Sipn
Sat 8th Nov – The Gov, Adelaide – Motley & Mind Over Matter
Fri 14th Nov – UNI Bar, Hobart – Motley & mdusu&dameza
Sat 15th Nov – Batman, Fawkner – Motley & mdusu&dameza
Sun 16th Nov – YouthArk, Hobart – Motley & mdusu&dameza
