CZARFACE

Czarface unites the Boston underground hip-hop duo 7L & Esoteric with Wu-Tang Clan MC Inspectah Deck. The partnership surfaced in 2013 through a self-titled debut and has since yielded frequent full-lengths and singles whose comic-book-derived artwork frames explosive lyrics and production rooted in hip-hop’s late-’80s/early-’90s golden era. Later projects encompass 2016’s A Fistful of Peril, the 2019 collaboration Czarface Meets Ghostface with Ghostface Killah, and two joint albums with MF Doom: 2018’s Czarface Meets Metal Face and 2021’s Super What?. Songs contributed to the Marvel film Venom: Let There Be Carnage preceded the 2022 release Czarmageddon!, followed by Czartificial Intelligence in 2023.

Their shared history reaches back to 1999, when Inspectah Deck appeared on 7L & Esoteric’s single “Speaking Real Words.” Deck returned for the track “12th Chamber” on the duo’s 2010 album 1212. After extended discussions about a full-length project, Brick Records issued the self-titled Czarface debut in 2013; the record revolved around the fictional hero Czarface, portrayed as a defender of hip-hop, and carried comic-style artwork by Lamour Supreme recalling DC Comics illustrator Jack Kirby. Guests included Action Bronson, Vinnie Paz, Ghostface Killah and Cappadonna of Wu-Tang, while 7L and Spada4 handled most beats and DJ Premier supplied one track. Underground listeners responded strongly, prompting the limited 7" single “Czardi Gras (It’s Raw Again).”

The 2015 follow-up Every Hero Needs a Villain preserved the thematic and sonic direction, adding crunchy guitar riffs and guest verses from MF Doom, Large Professor, Ju-Ju of the Beatnuts, and Wu-Tang’s Method Man and GZA. Marvel subsequently commissioned material for the Black Panther web series, prompting the trio to record their third album, A Fistful of Peril, released in late 2016. First Weapon Drawn arrived in 2017 and departed from prior releases by featuring narration alone. The 2018 reunion Czarface Meets Metal Face with MF Doom also included Open Mike Eagle, Vinnie Paz, and Blacastan.

The long-planned full-length with Ghostface Killah, Czarface Meets Ghostface, appeared in 2019. Record Store Day brought the instrumental Double Dose of Danger packaged with a 20-page comic, while Black Friday Record Store Day saw the release of The Odd Czar Against Us. Another MF Doom session took place in April 2020 but was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic until May 2021, when Super What? emerged as the late rapper’s first posthumous album. The instrumental Czar Noir followed two months later, and the EP Music from Venom: Let There Be Carnage appeared that November. In 2022 the graphic novel A Czar Is Born was published, with select editions bundled with an exclusive 7" EP; the same year saw Czarmageddon!, featuring Kool Keith and Frankie Pulitzer, which became the group’s second Billboard 200 entry after their initial MF Doom collaboration. Virgin-distributed Czartificial Intelligence arrived in 2023 with guest verses from Kool Keith, Logic, and Godfather Don.