Kosha Dillz

Even-Esh started rapping at the age of 17. For several years beginning in 1999, he was heavily involved with the freestyle battle rap scene at Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City. Other prominent participants were Mos Def, Immortal Technique and C-Rayz Walz. That same year, he attended an MF Doom concert at The Wetlands, and recalls, "That’s when I knew I loved the underground hip hop scene. That show and Braggin' Rights at Nuyorican Poets Café changed my life for sure." He originally went by Kosher Dill, saying, "I was Jewish and I wanted something cool." He changed his name to KD Flow when he was in the battle scene because he was "ashamed" of his MC name's Jewish association. After some substance abuse issues and a stint in jail, he became Kosha Dillz, coinciding with a decision to return to his Jewish identity. Kosha Dillz put out his first 12 inch, "Chainsaw Music," in 2005. In 2006, he appeared alongside Matisyahu on the song "Childhood" off the C-Rayz Walz album The Dropping. Two years later, C-Rayz contacted Kosha about collaborating. They released Freestyle vs. Written, an album on which Kosha rapped written verses, and Walz freestyled. Okayplayer stated that the album contains “witty, irreverent lyrics and candor.” 2009 saw the release of his debut solo LP, Beverly Dillz, recorded in Beverly Hills with local producer Belief. A lot of the LP was written "in socks on a couch." Okayplayer called the album “an interesting mix of danceable tracks and powerful rhyming” and "at times wildly original and entertaining." Kosha has toured and performed with a variety of artists, including Ghostface Killah, Snoop Dogg, Matisyahu, Cage the Elephant, C-Rayz Walz, Yak Ballz and Aesop Rock. He won the 2009 Hot 97 "Summer Jam" Rap Battle at Giants Stadium. He performed at Sundance in 2009 and South By Southwest in 2010. He performed in 2011 on the Yo Gabba Gabba! Live tour. Along with Snoop Dogg and Drake, Kosha has a playable character in the basketball video game NBA 2K11. His song "Cellular Phone" was featured in a Bud Light commercial that debuted during Super Bowl XLVI. He is currently at work on a documentary, Kosha Dillz Is Everywhere, about his life as an Israeli-American Jewish hip hop artist