Aesop Rock

Aesop Rock (born Ian Bavitz) is an avantgarde hip hop musician (rapper and producer) whose albums have been critically acclaimed for their originality and depth. Aesop's style blends a varying tone and delivery with subject matter that focuses on intricate sequences of widely varying imagery, metaphor and pop culture references, while including the occasional touchstones of traditional hip hop storytelling and self-promotion. As a result of this unorthodox style, Aesop has become a controversial topic among hip hop enthusiasts.

Related Topics:
Hip hop - Rapper - Producer - Metaphor - Pop culture

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A New York City-based emcee, Aesop initially did records for the Mush record label while working as a waiter in the city. Mush released his first major album, Float with guest appearances from Cannibal Ox, Slug and Dose One. Production was done by Blockhead and Aesop himself. Lyrics included "I'm a sovereignty columnist, fathering doom documents, a cursed version of a certain Virgin Mary womb occupant".

Related Topics:
New York City - Mush - Float - Cannibal Ox - Slug - Dose One - Blockhead

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Shortly after releasing Float, Aesop Rock signed to Def Jux where he released Labor Days, an album dedicated to the discussion of labor in American society and the concept of "wage slaves." This album was most known for its single, Daylight with an unmistakable chorus: "All I ever wanted was to pick apart the day, put the pieces back together my way". Because of its popularity, Daylight was re-released in 2002 as a 7-track EP, including a re-written remix of the song, Nightlight, whose lyrics stand in stark opposition to the original's.

Related Topics:
Def Jux - Labor Days - American

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Labor Days was followed up by Bazooka Tooth in 2003 (see 2003 in music), his most recent full-length album. This time around, production was mostly done by Aesop and El-P, president and CEO of Definitive Jux. Guest appearances include Party Fun Action Committee, El-P, Mr. Lif (all Definitive Jux labelmates) and Camp Lo. With this release Aesop hit a higher level of recognition, releasing a single and music video (No Jumper Cables) and then another shortly after (Freeze).

Related Topics:
Bazooka Tooth - 2003 - 2003 in music - El-P - Party Fun Action Committee - Mr. Lif - Camp Lo

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While the album has a more mainstream sound, shown by songs such as Limelighters, it retains Aesop's intense and inventive lyrics. Examples from Freeze: "you should have shot yourself in the foot while it was in your mouth" and "before you kick your feet up, I married and divorced Mother Nature after sweet-talking that old hag out of a pre-nup". At another point, Aesop interrupts the song 11:35 with a sudden minute-long rap, performed almost a cappella over a minimal beat: "I got one - Jack for Jill, Jill won't, Jack will. Jill didn't, then did, Jack fell" Bazooka Tooth was criticized by fans of Labor Days and Float that Aesop seems to have lost his compassion found in his first two albums and has replaced it with a more confrontational and traditional style. El-P says that Aesop smokes four packs of cigarettes a day, and (on the Revenge of the Robots Tour DVD) Aesop Rock has seemingly confirmed this, saying that smoking cigarettes will "make your voice dope".

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In February of 2005, Aesop Rock released his new EP, Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives. The first pressing of the EP includes an 88 page booklet with lyrics from every release from Float until this EP (the lyric booklet is titled The Living Human Curiosity Sideshow); further pressings of the album come without the booklet. In addition, a limited number of albums were available direct from his label with Aesop Rock's graffiti tag on them. In response to demands from his fans, Aesop did less producing on the EP. The EP has three songs produced by Blockhead, three produced by Aesop, and one produced by Rob Sonic. As of Summer 2005, he is on tour.

Related Topics:
Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives - Graffiti

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