Czarface (Inspectah Deck&7L&Esoteric) - Every Hero Needs A Villain

CZARFACE – 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.

This time around the group is the same, but it’s fair to say that all three men have stepped up their game. “We knew how we felt about

the last album, but weren’t sure how it would be received by listeners,” explains MC Esoteric. “But people really responded to it, even

more than we had hoped. That gave us the confidence to really spread our wings and let loose on this one. The chemistry is even tighter

this time around. We know exactly what lanes we are cruising in and what weight class we are fighting in for Round 2.”

Inspectah Deck adds, “Czarface is like the Danger Room for the X-Men, I can use all my weapons on there. When I’m in Wu-Tang, I have

to come a certain way because we have a certain style of fan, when I’m here doing the Czarface projects, it allows me to actually be an

MC, it allows me to actually just spit...I love that. I love when i can just spit freely and just be an MC.”

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.

A1. Don The Armor

A2. Czartacus

A3. Lumberjack Match

A4. Nightcrawler (Feat. Method Man)

A5. World Premier (Feat. Large Professor)

B1. The Great (Czar Guitar)

B2. Red Alert

B3. Junkyard Dogs (Feat. Juju Of The Beatnuts)

B4. Sgt. Slaughter

C1. When Gods Go Mad (Feat. Gza)

C2. Ka-Bang! (Feat. Mf Doom)

C3. Deadly Class (Feat. Meyhem Lauren)

D1. Escape From Czarkham Asylum

D2. Sinister

D3. Good Villains Go Last (Feat. Ra The Rugged Man)