Kamis, 29 April 2010

Aesop Rock Music

Aesop Rock music and lyrics redefined hip for many a listener, including myself.  When his classic album Float dropped, hip hop fans were exposed to a whole new style of lyrics never seen in the genre before. The single Daylight- perhaps Aesop's best known song to date- on Labor Days brought him to the forefront of underground rap.
Born Ian Matthias Bavitz in Long Island, Aesop Rock grew up in New York and studied painting at Boston College. While working as a waiter he released his first two albums: Music For Earthworms (1997) and the Appleseed EP (1999).The albums caught the eyes of many in the music community and Float held their interest for years to come. Production was a compilation between Aesop Rock and his friend Blockhead, though the latter's influence is much more recognizable on Float.
The next album was Labor Days and is considered by many to be Aesop's best album, both lyrically and musically. It wasn't until Bazooka Tooth that Aesop Rock music - not just lyrics- began to take form. Unfortunately, most of his fans found his music too heavily featured, making it difficult to discern his already complex rhymes. Still, tracks like "No Jumper Cables" caught on, and were released as a single.
Times changed, and the evolution of his music changed with it. In his early albums, there was a much heavier influence on jazz (as a result of working with Blockhead); Labor Days seemed to be more rock-infused than earlier albums, while Bazooka Tooth ushered in a whole new musical style for the Long Island rapper. The sounds were much more urban based with electronica overtones.
While those elements still remained important, in his album Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives Aesop took a back seat role in production, while still remaining at the forefront lyrically, both on the album and underground hip hop in general.
Aesop Rock music has always been important to hip hop, though he struggles to earn accolades for his production work- sort of a Kanye West in reverse. However, Ace did land a production commission for Nike, where he produced a 45 minute track for joggers. The music was conceptual and featured several landscapes for the listener to follow (reminiscent of Forest Crunk on the Daylight EP).
Aesop Rock music is unique in hip hop and should be given special attention by aficionados, both for the musical and lyrical concepts.

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