Humility is not the first word that comes to mind when considering The Kid Espi, especially when he grabs a microphone at a moment’s notice, eagerly taking the stage in front of a crowd, no matter the size. He towers behind the mic, 6 feet, 4 inches of hulking lyricism, rhymes coursing effortlessly from his mouth. Bounding about, arms swaying back and forth, up and down, he engages the audience. “Raise your hands,” he shouts triumphantly as the energy level in the room practically sizzles, causing him to ratchet it up another notch. Humble? This emcee? Not a chance.
Offstage, The Kid Espi’s alter-ego, Jacob Espinoza, is more Clark Kent than Superman. He’s polite and chatty, as easy-going as Eugene, the city he frequently unleashes his hip-hop stylings on. And he’s definitely humble.
“I have so much to learn,” said Espinoza, a senior at the University majoring in advertising. “It’s hard being an artist. It’s totally a roller coaster: You’ll do a great show and you’ll have a bunch of people going, ‘Oh, you did a great job. I really love your stuff.’ And then you’ll do another show and nobody’s there, and you’ll realize you’re just another rapper that nobody’s ever heard of.”
That’s just humble talk, though. People have heard of The Kid Espi and, more specifically, Garden Entertainment, the hip-hop collaborative he performs with across the state. The group recently released “Healthy Portions,” a compilation of individual and group songs that highlight each member’s talents.
“We’re pretty much just a bunch of guys working together. Our common goal is to succeed with hip-hop, to take advantage of every opportunity we have,” Espinoza said. The other members – JG, Middle and Amsterdam – bring a strength to the group that allows it to grow in some facet. JG, for example, is the president of the Hip-Hop Congress at Willamette University. He uses his connections to bring in bigger hip-hop groups that Garden Entertainment opens for. In April, the group is scheduled to open for the Blue Scholars.
In the past, the problem with the Eugene hip-hop community stemmed from emcees working independently, said Kenny Wilson, a member of local group The Animal Farm who’s been active in the hip-hop community for more than a decade. There was no collaboration, so the artists were having a difficult time moving forward.
“Now we’re pooling our connections in order to reach out to other groups in the market,” said Wilson, who’s taken on a mentor-type role within the community, helping young artists book shows at venues like John Henry’s and Taboo.
“Kenny and Gabe [of local hip-hop group The pHormula] have both helped me out tremendously in growing within Eugene’s local hip-hop scene,” Espinoza said. “They’ve included me in some of the biggest local hip-hop events that have gone down in the last year, and I have really learned a lot from their work ethic.”
That work ethic is evident in Espinoza’s growth as an artist.
“In high school, I was introduced to underground hip-hop. Some of the rappers, what they do with lyrics and the stories they tell, really affected me,” he said. “I think some of the best authors of our generation are emcees.”
Though Espinoza tried to emulate this conscious hip-hop way of writing, form doesn’t always follow function. His first experience with recording came when his friend, James, built a studio in his home.
“The songs I was making were garbage; they were terrible. Most of my friends were like, ‘Jake, why are you doing this? Stop, this is terrible,’” Espinoza said. “I mean, it was the first time I recorded, so I didn’t take seriously. It’s like the first time I shot at basketball – I rarely made it.”
He kept hacking away, gradually improving.
“It was just a natural progression. I’m not sure when I first thought I was good – I don’t think I’m that good right now, actually,” he said, laughing. “But I’m definitely getting better.”
After his first show, a solo performance at the Campbell Club co-op in Eugene, Espinoza figured out what kind of artist he was going to be. Before, he wanted to tackle only conscious hip hop, low-energy beats. But after that show, when he first tasted the rush that comes with performing in front of a crowd, he wanted it high energy, all the time.
“I don’t mind doing intimate environments where people are just hanging out listening. But, I’m pretty good at working with the audience. I like the interaction of it. I like making it a thing with everyone there involved instead of people just watching me act dumb on stage.
“If you have a bunch of people with their hands in the air, there’s this complete energy in the room. Man, I don’t even know how to describe it.”
“Kid Espi is definitely high energy,” Wilson said. “He has a good on-stage persona.”
That energy and drive has proved useful: Garden Entertainment is booking as many shows as it can in the coming months. The group will play in front of 50 people like it did in Salem last Friday, or 400 people like its show in Bend opening up for Sweatshop Union a few weeks ago.
But Garden Entertainment’s biggest crowd was definitely the cage fight it opened for in Coos Bay. “There were like 3,000 people there, and some of them weren’t too thrilled a hip-hop group was opening the fight,” Espinoza said. “They were like, ‘Make the rappers fight!’”
Espinoza was, of course, too humble to jump in the ring.
[email protected]