New York City-based white hip-hop artist Aesop Rock (Ian Bavitz) debuted with
Music for the Earthworms (1998) and Appleseed (1999).
He then released one of
the most intense albums in the history of hip hop, Float (Mush, 2000).
Its raps
overflowed with eccentric arrangements and haunting textures.
Bluesy harmonica and guitar decorate I'll Be OK.
Psychedelic guitar and slow booming drums accompany
Commencement At The Obedience Academy.
The frantic conversation of Big Bang is punctured by an out-of-tune violin.
A cello and other rumbling instruments inhabit the underbelly of Basic Cable.
Spare A Match is drenched in the gloomy sounds of a xylophone and a bassoon.
A distant reverbed trumpet floats inside Fascination.
An entire string section flows through Oxygen.
No Splash swings between noir jazz and Middle-Eastern music.
Drawbridge walks on the tightrope of slightly cacophonous instruments.
Most of the time the beats are relatively irrelevant.
The most intriguing rhythm is to be found in Skip Town, that sounds like
a cross between garage-rock and reggae.
The upbeat Attention Span is propelled by marching-band trombones.
Aesop Rock distinguished himself among rappers of his generation for the unique way
of telling a story via metaphors and allegories, often shrouded in existential
paranoia, and delivered in a husky growl.
Unlike the other rappers of his generation, he was not an oracle but a
philosopher preaching to a generation of introverted dysfunctional kids.
Labor Days (2001) was not as revolutionary, and not as consistent, but
still boasted disorienting gems such as
No Regrets, a cabaret-tish polka-like rigmarole,
Daylight, a busy structure with atmospheric keyboards (and one of his
most friendly creations),
the hyper-atmospheric Bent Life,
and the theme song Labor.
It helped publicize producer Anthony "Blockhead" Simon, who had already
collaborated with Aesop Rock but blossomed on this album as a subtle beat
sculptor (Boombox, 9-5ers Anthem).
Bazooka Tooth (Def Jux, 2003),
divided into 15 instrumentals and 15 "accapellas",
is another feast of classy, creative
numbers that push the envelope of Aesop Rock's eccentric arrangements.
To start with,
Bazooka Tooth blends industrial music and African percussion.
Super Fluke lets jazz permeate the fractured contorted structure.
Dissonant samples of funky orchestra punctuate Cook It Up.
Videogames populate the heavy Greatest Pac-Man.
11:35 even boasts an opera singer.
Generally speaking, Aesop Rock had evolved towards
more sophisticated vocal presentations (No Jumper Cables, the multiple-personality Kill the Messenger and the catchy Freeze)
and beats (Easy, Limelighters, Babies With Guns).
And We're Famous is a duet with El-P that stands as an anthem of
alternative rap.
The seven-song EP Fast Cars, Danger, Fire And Knives (Definitive Jux, 2005) is a mediocre collection of trivial political rants.
Anthony "Blockhead" Simon has released the solo
Music by Cavelight (Ninja Tune, 2004).
Ian Bavitz got married and then relocated to San Francisco, where he
produced a 45-minute single, All Day.
For None Shall Pass (Def Jux, 2007) Blockhead concocted a repertory of
beats ranging from quasi-disco to classical hip-hop to rock to funk to
videogame-like noise, providing the ideal sonic balance to Bavitz's
elaborate storytelling. Compared with previous albums, the variety of musical
backgrounds is sharper and starker, ranging from the
rap-metal of Keep off the Lawn to the progressive-rock of
Catacomb Kids, from the stately fanfare of Getaway Car,
to the swamp-funk of Citronella.
Best are the numbers that blur borders:
the salsa, blues and jazz fusion of Bring Back Pluto,
the titillating organ and cartoonish voices of None Shall Pass,
the tapestry of bubbling noises and voices of The Harbor Is Yours,
the mixture of blues-rock guitar, lounge piano and cosmic electronics in No City.
How the inventive use of electronic sounds and digital manipulations can
enhance the storytelling is evident in pieces such as
Dark Heart News.
The artistic benefits of this hybrid aesthetic peak with the closer,
Coffee, a galvanized duet with
Mountain Goats' John Darnielle.
Aesop Rock produced Felt's A Tribute To Rosie Perez (2009), the third collaboration between Murs of the Living Legends crew and rapper Slug of Atmosphere.
Aesop Rock's self-produced Skelethon (2012) boasts the
fibrillating and polyrhythmic Zero Dark Thirty, and mostly
simpler narrative ventures like
Ruby '81 and ZZZ Top.
The Impossible Kid (Rhymesayers, 2016), another self-produced album,
was also his most personal and intimate yet, almost a memoir.
The songs are therefore real stories, and deeply felt stories, and the voice
reflects it. Get Out of the Car is emblematic of this more emotional
and self-analytical tone.
His production skills are still limited, but every now and then (Kirby)
they rise to the occasion.
Malibu Ken (2019) was a collaboration with Tobacco (producer Thomas Fec),
with the latter's crisp electronic ballets parroting the rapping (Acid King, Tuesday).
