ESG

The cult South Bronx group help Unit celebrate its second birthday

Unit

You’ve probably heard them and not even known it.

One of the world’s most sampled groups, ESG have nevertheless remained a cult phenomenon for three decades. They even wrote a song about it, called “Sample Credits Don’t Pay Our Bills,” in 1993.

Originally a quartet of four sisters, Renee, Valerie, Marie and Deborah Scroggins, they began to play music in the late ‘70s encouraged by their mother, who saw it as a way for her children to avoid gang life in the projects. They named themselves after their birthstones: Emerald, Sapphire and Gold, shortened to ESG.

With Renee on bass, Marie on congas, Renee on guitar and Valerie on drums—and all four providing vocals—they were inspired by James Brown, Motown, Latin and ’70s funk. Musically untrained, the group evolved a sparse, rhythm-centric sound in which James Brown-style vocal exclamations were repeated hypnotically over driving drum’n’bass lines.

ESG soon won over record-store proprietor and 99 Records label owner Ed Bahlman, who began booking them at punk clubs, where they were discovered and signed to the UK’s Factory Records. The result was 1981’s three-song single, You’re No Good, which included the title track as well as “UFO” and “Moody.”

“UFO” brought them fame and ultimately became one of the most sampled songs of hip-hop history, with the likes of Public Enemy and LL Cool J having a go at it, resulting in the aforementioned riposte, “Sample Credits Don’t Pay Our Bills.”

While ESG have never enjoyed commercial success, they did find acclaim across a broad spectrum of New York’s underground music community, including punk, no wave and the emerging dance music scene. They went from opening Manchester’s legendary Hacienda to closing Larry Levan’s equally historic Paradise Garage in New York, also playing with bands like The Clash and Gang of Four.

When 99 Records went bust in the mid-’80s, the group lay dormant for a number of years. But in the ’90s, a wave of sampling and name-dropping by the likes of the Beastie Boys brought ESG renewed interest.

They signed with England’s Soul Jazz imprint for 2000’s A South Bronx Story compilation and 2002’s Step Off, and now their brand-new album, Keep On Moving. With a new lineup that now includes Renee’s daughter Nicole and Valerie’s daughter Christelle, the new disc is an exercise in minimalism that shows the group remaining true to its roots. Bare-bones drum’n’bass patterns are punctuated by the occasional whistle or siren while lead singer Renee and the rest of the crew mouth off.

The three-day residency—ESG’s first-ever visit to Japan—comes as part of Daikanyama club Unit’s second anniversary. It’s the result of the efforts of Unit’s Shuichiro Sakaguchi, himself a musician (trumpeter with the group Double Famous) and fan of the group, who contacted them directly and invited them to perform.

Unit, July 12-14. See concert listings (popular) for details.

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