Czarface "Every Hero Needs a Villain"

Wu-Tang founding MC Inspectah Deck and veteran Boston duo 7L & Esoteric — isn't concerned with the glitz and the B.S. that modern consumer culture is pushing. And neither are the group's fans. In 2013, the trio appeared relatively unassumingly with their self-titled debut, which was chiefly produced by DJ 7L and included guests ranging from Ghostface Killah and Cappadonna to Vinnie Paz, Action Bronson and Roc Marciano. The soon-to-be acclaimed group found out quickly that there was a groundswell of hip-hop fanatics thirsting for the lunchpail, lyrics-above-all-else rap they fell in love with in the '90s. Several pressings of the album on CD, 2-LP and even cassette later, they are back and ready to up the ante. The fighting analogy — whether drawn from pugilism or '80s wrestling, both which figure into Every Hero Needs A Villain — is an apt one, considering the unrelenting lyrical attacks that Deck and Esoteric unleash on track after track, each trying to one-up the previous verse. Best of all, it is friendly camaraderie, based around a loose theme of renegade mutant MC talents running wild. DJ 7L explains, 'All three of us are influenced by comics, sci-fi movies, TV, wrestling. Czarface encompasses all of that, and it helps with the visuals as well.' On the production side, 7L shows yet again — as he did with the group's debut — that he remains a formidable yet underappreciated musical force, constantly providing hard, funky and alternatingly ominous backdrops for the assembled MCs to use as lyrical luge paths.