E.S.G., short for ‘Everyday Street Gangsta’ is a southern rapper born in Louisiana, but later moved to Houston, Texas and helped to cultivate the chopped and screwed sound. He was labeled one of the original freestyle kings because of his ability to improvise with just about anything. E.S.G. is an original member of Screwed Up Click, created by DJ Screw.

Born Cedric Hill, E.S.G.’s debut , LP Oceans of Funk, released in 1995, under Perrion Entertainment. Some of the more popular songs on this album would later be repackaged and joined with new songs that made it to his “sophomore” album Sailin’ Da South. This album was fairly popular, and one of the most notably songs from the album is none other than Swangin’ and Bangin’ which was later screwed by his close friend DJ Screw. Both the original and the screwed up version became staples here in Houston, and around the nation- this solidified his place in the Southern hip-hop landscape.

A few years later, the rapper spent time in jail after a home invasion led to to his partners untimely death. But what few people may not know is that he didn’t go to jail for the murder charge- it didn’t stick in court. He actually went to jail for a parole violation for selling drugs.

Sailin’ Da South was released and gained the artist much notoriety while he was locked up. When he was released, he began to record and release new music. Shortly after his release from jail, E.S.G. released his next album, Return of the Living Dead. In the early 2000’s, Hill partnered with Wreckshop Records recording and releasing a pair of albums: Shining N Grinding (1999) and City Under Siege (2000), as well as a chopped and screwed remix of each.

At this point, E.S.G. is considered one of the prominent rappers in Texas alongside other Texas legends, including Lil’ Keke, Fat Pat, U.G.K., and Lil’ Troy. With this much traction at the time, E.S.G. decided to build his own label, S.E.S. Records. The label’s first release was Boss Hogg Outlaws in 2001. He paired up with a Houston newcomer at the time, Slim Thug.

A little further down the line, Slim Thug & E.S.G fall out, Lil Flip as well. His initial fall out with Slim Thug stemmed from the idea that Slim Thug cut E.S.G. out of a business deal. The rapper speaks on the situation on his Family Business mixtape. There are always two sides to a story though- and some pieces we may never know. But now, all 3 seems to be on good terms, and have since then collaborated on projects together.

Now E.S.G has fallen back from the music scene, but he’s still revered as one of the southern hip-hop freestyle legends. He still making music- in fact, he just released a long with DJ Hawk and Lil Flip called Top Off.