Esiah

Esiah logo

Esiah (born May 26, 1983 in Cape Coast , Ghana ; real name Theophilus Esiah Ambolley ) is a German rapper and songwriter . He is based in Hamburg . He used to be called Cazino (CAZ) .

life and career

Previous life and beginnings

Esiah was born in Cape Coast , Ghana , to a Navy soldier . His parents separated early, which is why he was raised by his paternal grandmother in the first years of his life, next to the boarding school, where he spent a lot of time.

When he was 10 he came to Germany and lived with his German stepmother and father who worked as a DJ . His father introduced him to the world of soul , reggae and disco music.

In his youth he discovered his fascination for the hip-hop culture through artists like Nas , Mobb Deep and especially through Rakim .

Esiah began to write his first rhymes and founded his first group R&B in the Grindelviertel . He got to know his band members at the African Heritage (a cultural school for African young people led by the South African gospel musician Audrey Motaung ). After almost two years, the group broke up.

Two years later he founded his second music group No Question in Mümmelmannsberg with four other members . The band received support from the Lass' 1000 Steine ​​rollen foundation , which organized its first appearances in the Hamburg market hall . This paved the way for him and his group into the underground hip-hop scene in Hamburg.

The third group called Cazino followed four years later, which he founded together with three other members in the Horn district . During this time Cazino joined forces with the group Deuce Clan and founded FL ( Foreign Legion ). Through a cooperation with the hip-hop clothing label Black Bomb, they received help from some members of the Brothers Keepers for one of their appearances as the opening act in Heidelberg . After more than four years, the Cazino group also disbanded .

2006-2014: Cazino (CAZ)

Esiah continued to carry the name Cazino (CAZ) and appeared in the music video by the artist Bootsy Collins together with Smudo from the Fantastischen Vier , Massive Töne and a few other hip-hop artists. He was also seen in a music video from Massiv .

With Zeitlos Records and the support of the producer T.octic , some songs were created that were very much influenced by experiences and emotions and in 2006 the double EP The Faith in Me . With Volkan Horn , one of the co-founders of Cazino and the producer Down N 'Out , Esiah released the song Horn 22119 , dedicated to his neighborhood , which can be heard on the double EP The Faith in Me .

In 2009 he released the album Cazino on the record labels Zeitlos Records and Sony . Through the collaboration with the producers Down N 'Out , T-Town and Jan Zapanta , songs such as Strasse , Hope , Zusamm' DIE and Pain were created , which was the last single with a music video to emerge from the album in 2010. The music video pain made it to number 2 in the Yavido hotlist ranking in 2012 .

With OZ-Music Esiah produced an album with the name If nothing works . The single of the same name was released and the music video landed first on Yavido's chart list and stayed there for two months. Furthermore, the music videos Modern Slaves and Removal emerged from this album.

As a thank you for the support of his fans, he released two promotional videos called Horizon and Scars of Time in 2013 and 2014 . At the same time, his song Emblem was published on the Big Mama compilation by Hamburg disc jockey DJ Sting . In addition, the music video emblem was voted number 1 on the Yavido hotlist. Emblem should be the title of his next album, which never appeared.

Esiah was hired as a model by the Thug Life label . The shoots took place in Berlin. Esiah decided, due to artistic differences, not to continue the project. Based on one of his photos that were circulating on the Internet, he was invited by an agent to the casting of the film All Eyez on Me to play the US rapper Tupac Shakur in a biography adaptation . Due to family circumstances, he did not accept the offer.

Esiah withdrew and wrote lyrics for other artists on the side.

Since 2018: Esiah

After a three-year artistic hiatus, he returns under his maiden name Esiah. His style is a combination of conscious rap paired with street rap, with the focus more on the narrative and not on the use of swear words. He calls this style fusion .

Esiah works with producer Eric Barclay and Believe Germany sales .

In 2018 he dedicated his first single Sag es Laut (HH) to his hometown Hamburg, where he spent his youth and began his career. The accompanying music video, shot by the director Micfer , was recorded in different parts of the city and is intended to represent the diversity of the city.

The single Chilla (Esiah Dynasty) followed in 2019 , with a guest contribution by the French opera singer Uly E. Neuens . A music video was created for this song with the Elbpicturez media agency .

In April 2020 his single Oldschool was released , which was created in collaboration with Cristiano de Brito . See Esiah's homage to the golden age of hip hop and to all of the great artists who shaped hip hop. Here, too, the music video was created in collaboration with Elbpicturez .

Discography

year	title	Initial release	producer	Label	annotation
2006	Faith in me	2006 as Cazino	Toctic		Double XP
2009	Cazino	2009 as Cazino	Down N 'Out , T-Town and Jan Zapenta	Zeitlos Records and Sony	album
2011	When nothing works anymore	2011 as Cazino	Oz Music		Album, music video When all else fails, place 1 and pain place 2 on Yavido Hotlist Ranking
2012	emblem	2012 as Cazino	DJ Sting		Combilation, Featuring DJ Sting, 1st place on Yavido Hotlist Ranking
2012	Rap (remix)	2012 as Cazino	Murda Beatz		Murda-Beatz Featuring Cazino
2013	Horizon	2013 as Cazino	Oz Music		Single, Featuring M
2013	When I grow up (scars of time)	2013 as Cazino	Oz Music		Single, Featuring Begavi
2013	Headwind	2013 as Cazino	LECA Digital		Single, Featuring Begavi
2013	today	2013 as Cazino	LECA Digital		single
2014	Be happy	2014 as Cazino	Idref	Extreme function movement	Idref Featuring Esiah
2014	Voice of your heart	2014 as Cazino	LECA Digital		Single Featuring Michael Quintin
2018	Say it out loud (HH)	January 14, 2018	Eric Barclay	Fusion Recordz	single
2019	Chilla (Esiah Dynasty)	20th December 2019	Eric Barclay	Fusion Recordz	Single, Featuring Uly E. Neuens
2019	Cypher	20th December 2019	Phil Da Beat		Phil Da Beat Featuring Esiah
2020	Old school	April 24, 2020	Eric Barclay	Fusion Recordz	Single, Featuring Cristiano de Brito

Web links and sources

• Esiah's music videos and streaming on Youtube and Spotify
• Esiah on the social media channels Instagram and Facebook
• Cazino interview on rap.de
• Cazino on Facebook