At first glance, these women may seem like the average American women. but don’t let appearance fool you, with simple casual wear these group of feisty women carry a whole lot of funk up their sleeve. These group of women are the ESG.

Since their start of their music career, ESG has affected post-punk, no wave, dance-punk, hip-hop and various styles of dance music such as house. They fell in late into the 70′s and early 80′s no wave and post-punk scene, but their music became a playlist staple during the 70′s and early 80′s dance clubs, such as the Paradise Garage and the Music Box.

The group ESG which is acronym for Emerald, Sapphire and Gold, is art-funk ensemble that were formed in the South Bronx, New York. The band originally consisted of the four Scroggins sisters -Deborah (bass, vocals), Marie (congas, vocals), Renee (vocals, guitar) and Valerie (drums) and friends David Miles (guitar) and Leroy Glover (bass). A later incarnation of the band consisted of Deborah Scroggins, Maria Scroggins (congas, vocals), Renee Scroggins (guitar, vocals), and Valerie Scroggins (drums).

ESG can be said as one of the most sampled groups in hip hop history and one of the most adamant opponents of sampling around (in the ’80s, they released a record called Sample Credits Don’t Pay Our Bills). 20 years ago, they played alongside the Clash and Larry Levan. They came out of the Bronx at the same moment hip hop was taking shape. Today, their name is largely unknown to the same heads that nod to their beats once they’ve been re-worked by producers and extrapolated by DJs.

ESG – Moody (Remix):

ESG – Dance:

ESG – You Make No Sense (Live):