''Closed Casket'' is the fourth studio album by

Esham Esham is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. Esham released his debut studio album, '' Boomin' Words from Hell'', in 1989. Since then, he has gone on to release 15 studio albums in total and is best known as a representative of the hip ...

, released on November 22, 1994, and distributed by

Reel Life Productions Reel Life Productions, also known as Gothom Records, is an independent record label based in Detroit, Michigan most associated with the hip hop subgenre horrorcore. The label was founded in 1989 by James H. Smith and his younger brother, rapper E ...

Warlock Records Warlock Records is a record label based in New York City that was founded in 1985 by Adam Levy (born 1962), whose father was record producer Morris Levy. Artists that recorded for Warlock Records include Jungle Brothers, Royal House, Skinny Boys ...

Lyrics and music

Because of the Satanic themes of his earlier work, Esham had been accused of

Satanism Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few hi ...

. Feeling that the lyrical content of his albums was being taken too seriously, Esham decided that after producing one final album with such material, he would no longer rap about the Devil. Jason Birchmeier noted that "the production improves upon past albums, not as reliant on samples and obviously more crafted".

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote "most fans taking a chronological approach to his catalog should be fairly numb to Esham's exploitative shock attempts. Yet if this is one of your first experiences with Esham the Unholy, this album should pack a punch with its dark nature."

Track listing

Personnel

*Esham - Performer *TNT - Guest Performer *Mastamind - Guest Performer *Producer: Esham *Executive Producer: James H. Smith *Engineer: Esham *Mastering: Esham *Programming: Esham

References

{{Authority control 1994 albums Albums produced by Esham Esham albums Reel Life Productions albums Warlock Records albums