Medicative Rhetoric: Eyedea and Abilities
Eyedea and Abilities hit the battle scene in 1997, a couple of high school friends from Minneapolis. A decade later they have been to the top, their most notable victories coming in 1999 and 2000 at Scribble Jam and Blaze-Battle Chicago.
Having done it all by 2001, they switched gears and released their first album, the introspective and cohesive First Born, through the Minneapolis-based Rhymesayers Entertainment. The album was not what some E&A followers may have expected, but it revealed greater substance to the duo than their battle raps suggested. Backed up by moody beats from Abilities, Eyedea rapped about life and the state of hip hop, but not always in his fast-flowing battle style.
After First Born, both artists put energy into other projects, such as Eyedea’s 2002 release under the moniker Oliver Hart entitled The Many Faces of Oliver Hart. How Eye One The Write Too Think, which he wrote, rapped on and produced single handedly. During that time, DJ Abilities contributed to El-P’s “Fantastic Damage” and joined forces with I Self Divine to form Semi Official; the group released The Anti-Album in 2003.
Eyedea and Abilities resurfaced in 2004 with the release E&A. The album saw the duo once again change direction, focusing more on the music and what they were doing. It is a very different album than First Born and perhaps a little more upbeat. Since that release they have spent time in the studio, on the road and on their respective side projects. E&A frequently play the Minneapolis club scene, making it to Duluth from time to time.
[words by guest contributor Ryan Dunn]