D.I.E.S.L.O: October 2011

R.I.P ESBE by SERTIFIED

RIP DA BULLY!!!!

Local rapper Octavis Berry who performed under the name Esbe the 6th St. Bully in the groups Dred Skott and League of Extraordinary Gz died of a pulmonary embolism in Austin Friday. He was 30.

Described by friends as a passionate wordsmith who carried a notebook with him continuously from the time he was a teenager, Berry first began to make noise on the local hip-hop scene in 2003 as half of the duo Dred Skott, alongside singer/producer Reggie Coby. Pushing a unique sound notable for Berry’s sharp-witted, rapid fire street rhymes laid over gritty beats drizzled with syrupy Southern soul, the group performed at venues like the 311 club and the Victory Grill.

Over the next several years, Dred Skott became well established in a tight knit hip-hop community where artists frequently shared time on each other’s sets. At a party in 2008 Berry broached the idea of recording a mixtape with like-minded Austin hip-hop crews, Da C.O.D. and Southbound. They would call themselves The League of Extraordinary Gz , he joked. From that first mixtape, the League (LOEGz) grew into an eight-man collective, self-described as an Austin hip-hop supergroup. Within that group Berry’s aspirations began to take off. Shortly after releasing the mixtape the group landed a spot on the Texas Hip-hop showcase at SXSW 2009. They shared a bill with Houston heavyweights Paul Wall and Chamillionaire.

Their well-received performance opened doors. Soon afterward, they were invited to join Houston’s Swisha House crew and other Lone Star luminaries on MTV2’s Texas Day. They found themselves mixing it up with childhood heroes like Devin the Dude. The buzz behind the group continued to grow and in May of 2011, following another successful SXSW appearance the LOEGz hit the road on a two-month tour of the Western United States with Alabama rapper Jackie Chain. By the end of the summer they were back on the road this time with the stridently political NYC-based rap crew Dead Prez. They were also invited to perform at the influential AC3 hip-hop festival in Atlanta.

As artists the LOEGz were beginning to hit their stride, but Berry was beginning to struggle with health problems. While on tour with Dead Prez in August he came down with a cold from which he never seemed to fully recover. He complained of shortness of breath and a racing heart. When the group returned to Austin in late August, Berry, who had no health insurance, went to the emergency room. He was treated for bronchitis and an asthma attack, given antibiotics and an asthma pump and discharged. A few weeks later, struggling with the same symptoms he returned to the emergency room, and once more was released.

On his way to Atlanta for the AC3 Festival in early October, Berry stopped over in Baton Rouge to spend a few days with friends. While there his symptoms returned and he went to an emergency room for treatment. He continued on to Atlanta a few days later where the group put in another well received performance.

The group returned from Atlanta last week. On Thursday, Berry, who was still struggling with shortness of breath, decided he would stop by the emergency room at Brackenridge one last time as he was heading over that way to drop off the rental car from their trip. His friends never heard from him again. Coby called the hospital in the evening to find that his friend had been discharged. Attempting to walk back to his home in East Austin that evening Berry collapsed. The hospital called Berry’s mother Saturday morning to let her know her son had passed away.

“He was a good guy. A passionate and compassionate individual. He wanted to teach people, so they could learn from his mistakes,” says Coby.

“Tavis was the truth. Anything he went through he wanted people to learn from that. We had a song on the ‘Dred Skott For President’ album about suicide, and I remember that conversation about how somebody’s gonna need this. So many people have told me how that song affected them. He was such a good dude. We had so much to do and so many ideas.”

In addition to being an acclaimed local rapper, Berry was a loving father to his four children ages 13, 11, 10 and 8. At the time of his death, he was in the process of finishing up a musical project with Dred Skott so he could take a few months off to spend with his girlfriend who was pregnant with his fifth child.

Visitation: Thursday, October 20, 2011 @ 6-8PM @ Cook-Walden/Capitol Parks Funeral Home 14501 North Interstate 35, Pflugerville, TX 78660

Celebration of Life: Friday, October 21, 2011 10AM @ David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, 2211 E. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, Austin, TX 78702

Gathering of friends: 3 to 6 p.m. at the Victory Grill, 1104 East Eleventh Street, Austin TX 78702. Donations will be collected for a fund for Berry’s children.