Features : Mr. Esq teams up with Madchild for new single ‘Rich Problems’

It’s been a long and winding journey for British Columbia’s Mr. Esq to get to where he is today.

The Victoria-based rapper and hip-hop artist was introduced to the realities of life in a troubled area at a young age, then got into drug distribution and more before getting a 10-year prison sentence. He suffered the loss of an infant son along the way.

But while that rough time during his formative years once threatened his music career, now those experiences are a driving force behind it.

“I eventually gravitated towards telling my story and about the shoes I’ve walked in, the path I took as a young man,” Mr. Esq says. “For me that was tough but I think using my history as a deterrent for the next generation is important. People don’t need to make the same mistakes I did growing up. That’s the reason I’m putting the music out.”

Mr. Esq’s music is emotional, poetic and conscientious – with a definite West Coast vibe. His biggest influence has been 2Pac and the way he crafted rhyme schemes.

“I listened to that West Coast music growing up and when I started writing poetry, it’s not to a beat, you’re writing out your thoughts and if it rhymes it rhymes, if it doesn’t it doesn’t,” he says. “The main thing is it’s your real, pure thoughts. That’s what he did, just put it all out there and it turned out the whole world loved it.”

Mr. Esq recorded 10 songs within a couple weeks for his 2018 debut album Letter to Judgement. A few years later, he’s released 17 albums and 35 music videos and done countless features.

“I left people no choice but to notice me,” he says.

His latest single is “Rich Problems,” which features Madchild, an artist Mr. Esq has known for a long time. When he came for a visit in Victoria, Madchild pulled up in a Mercedes G-Wagon and the song was born.

“I was like you got rich problems do you?” Mr. Esq says. “It was more just a fun record that we wanted to collaborate on. We recorded it a year ago but there’s a time and place for everything and right now it couldn’t be better with his latest release with Tom MacDonald, ‘Fire Emojis,’ that’s getting a lot of attention and the follow-up music video for ‘Rich Problems’ is going to be crazy.”

The single will go on Mr. Esq’s next album, which is currently being mixed and mastered by former Death Row Records producer Chris “The Glove” Taylor. The project will be the first studio release from Mr. Esq with a label – he’s signed with Predominant Studios.

“It’s a reintroduction of myself, an emotional roller coaster putting myself out there,” he says. “I’m talking about a lot of different things, from abusive relationships, sexual abuse, the pandemic, vaccinations, Black Lives Matter, Indigenous issues. They wanted 16 songs and I gave them 20. I think you’re going to hear a lot of different things and it’s not just for hip hop heads or West Coast music fans or guys who like straight up rap music with bars about whatever. I think it’s a good contrast of different topics. At the end of the day it’s my heart and soul going into it.”

Mr. Esq also has a special song just in time for Mother’s Day. It’s a dedication to his mom and is appropriately titled “A Mother’s Day.” It’s set to release on that holiday.

To listen to Mr. Esq’s music, or to follow him on social media, please visit the following links:

https://www.instagram.com/harrison_mr.esq/

https://www.facebook.com/harrison.mresq.7

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3PFvR6hD2fa1pCuV4cHHpC

https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/mr-esq/1376354174

https://www.youtube.com/c/MrESQ

www.predominantstudiosinc.com