Obits: Esbe Da 6th Street Bully (February 8, 1981 – October 14, 2011)
Prior to this past weekend, I had the privilege of hanging with the League of Extraordinary Gz for a few days in Atlanta for A3C. The more interaction I saw with them, the more I felt like it wasn’t a crew of rappers with different mentalities. Instead, they worked and moved like a family. Everyone ate together, everyone partied together and everyone leaned on one another when it came time to tear things up on a stage.
My introduction to the League came sometime in 2010 when their manager Sais sent me a copy of Concealed Weapons Vol. 2 and the first thing that made me take them seriously as the “Wu-Tang Of Austin” was the lead single. “We Gon’ Make It” was blue collar, aggressive and catered to a select group of people who knew damn well their dreams weren’t going to be stopped regardless of outcomes or situations. While Reggie Coby batted in the lead off spot, Esbe Da 6th Street Bully’s clean up role put things in a different perspective.
He made mentions to fatherhood, how his hopes of becoming big outside of Austin was still going on despite the issues within. He made no qualms of being frail or sick. He cornered the track and shook the change out of it, refusing to let his voice be turned away from the door of success. Then the tape flowed into the other 8 members respective tracks and the crew was solidified.
Last Friday, medical complications took the life of an individual who had just a week prior came to Atlanta for A3C to continue the message echoed on by “We Gon’ Make It”. He was big, ferocious on the microphone and jumped like a madman when the Gz “Wake Yo Bitch Ass Up” followed his solo introduction, “Bully Basics”.
As an outsider who found his way inside, the death of Esbe hurt me. The League not only lost a brother, his children lost their father and a life with so much promise and so much potential finally being dusted off was no longer with us.
Take time out to respect the life of Octavis and respect the one you still have. He was a friend of mine in the short time I knew him and more than ever he’ll be on my conscious as I continue to walk the Earth. We’re gonna make it. We’re gonna make it.
RELATED: The League Of Extraordinary Gz – T.R.O.Y.
Brando
EIC of Day & A Dream, Brando has written for such publications as DJ Booth, Refined Hype & the Houston Press. Wrestling enthusiast, sneaker addict, sports junkie and certified cake eater. Follow him on Twitter: @_brandoc
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