Substance Abuse 'Overproof' album

As opposed to groups who either force change or resist it, the hip-hop group Substance Abuse embraces a natural progression. The trio creates earnest hip-hop music, combining equal measures of intelligence, clarity, innovation, and polish to evoke the unpretentious consciousness of the Golden Age era, while avoiding corny retro posturing. After gaining much acclaim for their collaboration with MF Doom on the infectious "Profitless Thoughts," Substance Abuse is ready to drop their long awaited full length, "Overproof," a term signifying "more than ample evidence" of S.A.'s eminent dopeness.

Group members Eso Tre and Subz grew up together in Los Angeles, where they became hip-hop fans at an early age. In high school, the duo could often be found in the audience at the legendary Unity events that have since come to define the progressive LA hip-hop scene of the early 90’s. Inspired by those shows emphasis on positive expression through creative art, the friends began working on their own music.

Substance Abuse’s first release was a 1998 EP with Santa Barbara's mic.edu called Brand New Crime on Rocketship Records. The project received extensive college radio airplay and critical praise, and led to the filming of a video for the track “Spontaneous Egos”, directed by independent filmmaker Jesse Felsot. The clip became a favorite of underground West Coast video shows and is currently available for viewing online at Sputnik7 (www.sputnik7.com). This was followed by the filming of the video for “Night on the Town” featuring Kool Keith, which can be viewed at www.threshrecs.com

Throughout the next year, Eso Tre and Subz bolstered their reputations as crowd movers with a series of performances sharing the stage with mic legends such as Souls of Mischief and Aceyalone. In turn, the group's lyrical prowess earned them a slot on Sway and Tech's Wake-Up Show, where they premiered the lead track from their debut single, "What the Fuck You Rhymin' For?" Finally, S.A. was named in URB magazine’s “Next 100” last year as a new group to watch.

“The name doesn’t have anything to do with getting faded,” explains MC Eso, who adds that their name is commonly misunderstood. “Abuse is a word which correlates with excess, and we are excessively concerned with interjecting substance in the music.”

Overproof includes contributions from Saafir, Kool Keith, Motion Man, Kutmasta Kurt, P.E.A.C.E., Rasco, Thes-One, and MF Doom.

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Substance Abuse - Overproof