The story behind Heltah Skeltah’s ‘Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka’
Released back in 1996, we’re still trying to pronounce ‘Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka’ correctly. The song was the breakout track for duo Heltah Skeltah, and featured on the phenomenal Nocturnal album.
The track has a smoothness that encapsulates the era it was made. Drum beats roll through the background while Jahmal “Rock” Bush and Sean “Ruck” Price lay down lyrics, floating between menacing raps to almost sing-songy bars. It’s a big tune that has stood the test of hip hop time. But ‘Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka’ wasn’t an immediate hit.
In a 2021 interview, Jahmal “Rock” Bush explained that the track was originally a B-side to ‘Blah’ on the album. At the time (1995), Heltah Skeltah was part of a group called The Fab Five, alongside hip-hop trio, Originoo Gunn Clappaz. Together, they released ‘Blah’ as the primary single, with ‘Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka’ on side B.
“We hated that shit”, Rock said. He stressed that the majority of the Fab Five disliked the lead track too, but stuck with it. They all felt a sense of relief when ‘Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka’ took off instead. The track even made a surprise appearance at number 80 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
“Luckily, ‘Leflaur’ took all the attention off of [‘Blah’] because we never performed that shit”, Rock explained.
Dru-Ha, co-founder of Duck Down music, the label Heltah Skeltah was signed to, said that ‘Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka’ was a commercial hit even without having an immediate album behind it. When Nocturnal was released a year later, the song was the lead single despite being recorded earlier as part of the Fab Five.
Rock confirmed that this wasn’t the plan from the start. “That was just something we did. That wasn’t even supposed to be a single”, he said. He did acknowledge that releasing an album sooner after the track’s success would have been wise.
“Yeah, looking back, that was probably a mistake on our part. Because that’s like record business 101. You get a hit single, and then you drop an album”. Perhaps it was that the duo were too young and headstrong at the time, or perhaps it was simply that they wanted to capitalise on Heltah Skeltah’s potential more than Fab Five’s.
Dru-Ha agreed, musing that “If I could talk to those guys and myself as they made ‘Lafleur,’ there’s no way I wouldn’t have said we should do an album as Fab 5”.
And when it comes to the title of the track, what’s the meaning? Rock explained that it relates to… “Nothing. Don’t mean shit”.
“Don’t get it twisted”, he continued. “We got a lot of slang that we made up and it means some shit. Not that. That shit don’t mean nothing. You don’t hear that word at all amongst us”.
The combination of a surface-level title and an accidental hit that missed an opportunity in album timing makes ‘Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka’ all the more special. Everything about it feels organic. It captures a rawness in the group’s journey and unpredictability – and over two decades later that sensation still permeates through the beats.