Let’s do an album discussion like we used to back in the day!

Just copped off bandcamp, I'll be back once I've had a chance to listen

R.I.P. Loud But Wrong Guy
Dec 29th 2009 - Dec 17th 2017

I'll start off by making the disclosure that Aesop is in my top 10 and The Impossible Kid is one of my favorite albums of all time. Meaning that, obviously, there was little chance that I would actually dislike this record unless it was wildly different in quality than his past few. So if you have never been into Aesop, take my opinion with a grain of salt. After listening to this a couple times, it's probably my favorite album of the year (tied with Armand Hammer - Shrines). A few initial points:

- Aesop has aged like a fine wine. I would argue that in the last 10 years he has: (1) mastered his voice (2) tightened up his flow and (3) become a much better producer with a unique sound - there are obviously influences, but this stuff sounds like beats that could only be made by him, for him

- The beats are great. Never stagnant. There are so many great beat changes. I feel like this helps me not notice that in comparison to his most recent work, this record is on the longer side at 1 hour and 4 minutes. You can hear how much he loves the late 80s to early 90s in the knock of the drums, the use of scratches and vocal samples in the hooks, and it also feels extremely fresh, progressive, and at times kind of psychedelic.

- This level of longevity is not normal. I think the consensus Aesop Rock "classic" is Labor Days, which came out in 2001 and his debut (Music for Earthworms) came out in 1997. I like The Impossible Kid (2016), Skelethon (2012), and probably will end up liking this new album (2020) as much or more than I like Labor Days. The amount of talented emcees that have faded quality-wise during 97-2020 says it all. Even Malibu Kid, which I didn't like as much because I didn't think Tobacco's production fit that well, is still a good record.

- This record feels like a spaced-out sequel to The Impossible Kid. Although on my initial listens it is definitely much less immediately lyrically "accessible", there are lots of themes, such as being anti-social, isolation, looking at society from afar, and wondering just what the hell every else is on, etc, that are prevalent in both records. There is also the theme of travel. I could be wrong obviously, but a part of the concept seems to be traveling through the spirit world, or at least using that as a metaphor to travel through his psyche. The way Aesop describes past travel experiences on tracks like "Pizza Alley" and "Sleeper Car" is just crazy. He is also still extremely good at turning seemingly mundane things entertaining: like swatting flies ("Flies") or just back pain ("1 to 10"). The rapping is incredible here and I can't wait to dive more into the lyrics.

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https://93millionmilesabove.blogspot.com/
https://rateyourmusic.com/~Kosa12

>I'll start off by making the disclosure that Aesop is in my
>top 10 and The Impossible Kid is one of my favorite albums of
>all time. Meaning that, obviously, there was little chance
>that I would actually dislike this record unless it was wildly
>different in quality than his past few. So if you have never
>been into Aesop, take my opinion with a grain of salt. After
>listening to this a couple times, it's probably my favorite
>album of the year (tied with Armand Hammer - Shrines). A few
>initial points:
>
>- Aesop has aged like a fine wine. I would argue that in the
>last 10 years he has: (1) mastered his voice (2) tightened up
>his flow and (3) become a much better producer with a unique
>sound - there are obviously influences, but this stuff sounds
>like beats that could only be made by him, for him
>
>- The beats are great. Never stagnant. There are so many great
>beat changes. I feel like this helps me not notice that in
>comparison to his most recent work, this record is on the
>longer side at 1 hour and 4 minutes. You can hear how much he
>loves the late 80s to early 90s in the knock of the drums, the
>use of scratches and vocal samples in the hooks, and it also
>feels extremely fresh, progressive, and at times kind of
>psychedelic.
>
>- This level of longevity is not normal. I think the consensus
>Aesop Rock "classic" is Labor Days, which came out in 2001 and
>his debut (Music for Earthworms) came out in 1997. I like The
>Impossible Kid (2016), Skelethon (2012), and probably will end
>up liking this new album (2020) as much or more than I like
>Labor Days. The amount of talented emcees that have faded
>quality-wise during 97-2020 says it all. Even Malibu Kid,
>which I didn't like as much because I didn't think Tobacco's
>production fit that well, is still a good record.
>
>- This record feels like a spaced-out sequel to The Impossible
>Kid. Although on my initial listens it is definitely much less
>immediately lyrically "accessible", there are lots of themes,
>such as being anti-social, isolation, looking at society from
>afar, and wondering just what the hell every else is on, etc,
>that are prevalent in both records. There is also the theme of
>travel. I could be wrong obviously, but a part of the concept
>seems to be traveling through the spirit world, or at least
>using that as a metaphor to travel through his psyche. The way
>Aesop describes past travel experiences on tracks like "Pizza
>Alley" and "Sleeper Car" is just crazy. He is also still
>extremely good at turning seemingly mundane things
>entertaining: like swatting flies ("Flies") or just back pain
>("1 to 10"). The rapping is incredible here and I can't wait
>to dive more into the lyrics.
>

Great write up. Can't wait to hear the album.

I'm still mad that The Impossible Kid got swiped out of my car when it got broken into in front of a nightclub a few years back lol.

btw, did you see when LL Cool J was asked about his favorite current emcees doing it, he mentioned Aesop Rock right after Lupe? Those were the only 2 he mentioned specifically by name before trailing off with the typical "oh there's a lot of guys.. a lot of guys" response.

>
>btw, did you see when LL Cool J was asked about his favorite
>current emcees doing it, he mentioned Aesop Rock right after
>Lupe? Those were the only 2 he mentioned specifically by name
>before trailing off with the typical "oh there's a lot of
>guys.. a lot of guys" response.
>

I did see that. Honestly those two are on another level and it was nice to hear someone like LL recognize that. I think these MCs regardless if they’re “lyricists” or not understand what it is.

He's tweeted about it various times. It's good to see great artists appreciate each other.

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https://93millionmilesabove.blogspot.com/
https://rateyourmusic.com/~Kosa12

is in my top 10 songs of the year. It's a masterclass in songwriting and MC'ing.

Album will most likely end up being my AOTY.

Skelethon - The Impossible Kid - Spirit World Field Guide

is one hell of a three album run.

http://islasoul.bandcamp.com

I prefer None Shall Pass to all of them, honestly.

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I check for: Serengeti, Zeroh, Open Mike Eagle, Jeremiah Jae, Moka Only.

...front to back, agreed. So dope, creative and all that...

Integrity is the Cornerstone of Artistry...

These last three feel like a trilogy due to the production being handled by him and the content.

He's become a really skilled producer, but for some reason, I don't always love his productions. Usually think half is great, and the other half is okay, but elevated by how well he rides his own beats.

Listening to his newest, I felt like the beats got stronger the more it went. In general, I tend to like his Stranger Things synth type songs more than his looser, rockier/funkier productions.

----
I check for: Serengeti, Zeroh, Open Mike Eagle, Jeremiah Jae, Moka Only.

Love the album, but he slays that one.

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www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/

but the beats are real good and Aes "sounds" great, as usual.

I'm still a new-ish Aes fan. The Impossible Kid was the first album that - to me - was easily digestible lyrically and it made me go back and start to dive deeper into the other two recent releases (Skelethon, None Shall Pass), each of which had tracks I liked solely off the production and Aes' presence alone.

This is a pretty good album "guide" that helped me get an understand of the overall themes of the tracks, which in turn makes it easier to dissect the individual lines https://floodmagazine.com/82725/aesop-rock-spirit-world-field-guide-track-by-track/

Thanks for posting

Aesop keeps getting better.

His production keeps improving and this one definitely has nice beat changes and layers that keeps it interesting for the full 21 tracks.

Lyrically, what more can you say? This guy is head and shoulders above everyone other than Lupe when it comes to writing.

His flow also keeps getting tighter.

Not sure if I like it more than The Impossible Kid yet.

I don't know man, still digesting it. Huge fan from way back of Aes. The themes are kinda overly corny. Not taking away from dukes skill,and great production, but this project might be a bit too nerdy for me...damn, I stay rooting for Aes, let me listen again..

Integrity is the Cornerstone of Artistry...

But this album is wild. Need to let it sit and digest for a bit longer, but his flow is just off the hook. He's getting better and better with each album. Production is as good as he's done. Just need to get deeper into the lyrics.

http://www.last.fm/user/_CondoM_/

It kicked its way into my top 10 of 2020 right fast

one of the best album of the year (in a really good year for hiphop releases)

i don't know what to says as its a lot to digest

God-level MCing, dope production and amazing flows
highly recommended

May be his best album yet

Between that and this album, it has been a great year for Aesop.

Can't think of too many artists whose later work eclipses their earlier stuff in a way in which I almost don't even consider the old work at all (even crazier because the breakout material is supposed to be the seminal work!).

I don't know if that speaks to the fact that maybe his earlier work just wasn't truly that good (I myself never truly loved Labor Days/Float as full albums but they had their moments and I always appreciated what he was doing as far as having an original sound/approach) or if this dude truly is just getting better in every way (technical rapping/mastering his own voice, writing-wise, production, even the hard to quantify taste shit that often will make dope artists begin to slip a bit as they hit middle age).

I need to listen to this new one more. At first glimpse, it checks the boxes in all the aforementioned categories but I don't know if the songs necessarily grab me in the same way that the ones on the previous two albums did. I'm used to digging in and letting his work grow on me, and I'm definitely down for the ride with this one.

www.twitter.com/seandammit