Aesop Rock

Aesop Rock (born Ian Matthias Bavitz, 1976) is an American hip hop artist (rapper and producer). Aesop's style blends a varying tone and delivery with lyrics that contain intricate sequences of widely varying imagery, metaphors, puns, absurdism, and pop culture references, while including the occasional touchstones of traditional hip hop storytelling and self-promotion.

Music

A Long Island, New York-born MC, Aesop initially recorded and released two self-financed records, Music for Earthworms (1997), featuring underground legend Percee P on two tracks, and the Appleseed EP (1999), while also working as a waiter. Although they are no longer available except as bootlegs, these two independent releases are widely sought after in the underground scene.

After moving to the Mush label, Aesop released his first major album, Float (2000), with guest appearances from Vast Aire, Slug, and Dose One. Production was split between Blockhead and Aesop himself, with one track by Omega One.

Shortly after releasing Float, Aesop Rock signed to Manhattan-based label Definitive Jux (usually called 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 well known for its single "Daylight." Because of its popularity, Daylight was re-released in 2002 as a 7-track EP, including an "alternative" new version of the song, "Night Light," whose paraphrased lyrics simultaneously refer back to, and stand in stark opposition to, the original's.

Labor Days was followed up by Bazooka Tooth in 2003. For the first time, production was mostly handled by Aesop himself, with three tracks from longtime collaborator Blockhead and one from close friend and Definitive Jux label CEO El-P. Guest appearances include Party Fun Action Committee, El-P, and Mr. Lif (all Definitive Jux labelmates) and Camp Lo. With this release Aesop hit a higher level of recognition, releasing "No Jumper Cables" as a single and music video, then another single, "Freeze," shortly after.

The album presented a change in Aesop's sound, displaying for the most part a messy, discordant production style similar to that of El-P. It retained Aesop's intense and inventive lyrical style: one track, the acid-themed "The Greatest Pac-Man Victory in History", features an extended section comprised entirely of words beginning "L", "S" or "D", in that order, to continually spell out the initials of the drug. Notable lyrical phrases from "Freeze" include: "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 for abandoning the compassion found in those earlier albums in favour of a more confrontational and traditional style; this seems to be reflected in the more intense production, which lost a lot of its jazzy, abstract sound from Float and Labor Days.

In the summer of 2004, Aesop Rock appeared on the Evil Nine Single "Crooked" from the Album You Can Be Special Too, on Marine Parade records.

In February 2005, Aesop Rock released a new EP, Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives. The first pressing of the EP included an 88 page booklet with lyrics from every release from Float until this EP (the lyric booklet is titled The Living Human Curiosity Sideshow); later pressings of the album come without the booklet, but with an additional bonus track. In addition, a limited number of albums were available direct from Def Jux with Aesop Rock's graffiti tag on them. In response to demands from his fans, Aesop did less production on the EP: three songs are produced by Blockhead, three produced by Aesop, and one by Rob Sonic.

In April of 2006, it was announced that Aesop Rock is working on a new album. The album, tentatively titled None Shall Pass, is said to feature production from Blockhead and scratches from DJ Big Wiz, as well as some appearances from traditional Def Jux cohorts like El-P. John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, a friend of Aesop Rock's, is to collaborate with him on one of the tracks. The album is expected to be released sometime in the first half of 2007. According to Aesop, some track titles are "Coffee", "Dark Heart News", "Keep Off The Lawn", "39 Thieves" and "None Shall Pass". It will also feature traditional instrumentation by Parchman Farm, the band of Allyson Baker, whom he recently wed.

Most recently, Aesop Rock was commissioned to create a 45-minute instrumental track for the Nike+iPod running system, entitled "All Day." Distributed via the iTunes Music Store and featuring Allyson Baker on guitar and scratches from DJ Big Wiz, Aesop has described the release as "something that evolved enough that the sound was constantly fresh and attractive, as though the runner were moving through a set of differing cities or landscapes."

Personal life

Aesop Rock married Allyson Baker, guitarist of San Francisco rock band Parchman Farm in 2005. They reside in San Francisco together. His move was a highly discussed topic in the internet community, as he was well known for representing New York City in his work and his life.

He has tattoos on each forearm referring to the chorus of his song "Commencement at the Obedience Academy." His left arm says the words "Must Not Sleep," and the right says "Must Warn Others," quoting the line "Must not sleep, must warn others, trust blocks creep where the dust storm hovers."

Bavitz is a graduate of Boston University where he studied painting.

Selected discography

For complete discography, see Discogs.com entry

Albums

• Music for Earthworms (1997)
• Float (2000)
• Labor Days (2001)
• Bazooka Tooth (2003) (also released as Build Your Own Bazooka Tooth (2004))
• All Day: Nike + Original Run (Instrumental album) (2007)
• None Shall Pass (2007)

EPs

• Appleseed (1999)
• Daylight (2002)
• Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives (2005)

Singles

• Boombox 12" (2001)
• Daylight 12" (2001)
• Coma / Maintenance 12" (2001)
• Easy / No Jumper Cables 12" (2003)
• Freeze / The Greatest Pac-Man Victory In History 12" (2003)
• Limelighters 12" (2003)
• Fishtales 7" (2006)

Guest appearances

• "Happy Pillz" − The End of the Beginning by MURS (2003) (Def Jux)
• "Posse Slash" − Look Mom ... No Hands by Vast Aire (Chocolate Ind.)
• "Success" − I Phantom by Mr. Lif (2002) (Def Jux)
• "Take, Hold, Fire" − Mo' Mega by Mr. Lif (2006) (Def Jux)
• "Shut Down" − Push Button Objects 12"/CD (Chocolate Ind.)
• "Put Your Quarter Up" − Molemen 12"/CD (Fat Beats)
• "Blacklist" − Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives by Prefuse 73 (2001) (Warp Records)
• "Sabbatical With Options" − Surrounded by Silence by Prefuse 73 (2005) (Warp Records)
• "Flesh (remix)" − Atmosphere 12" (Rhymesayers)
• "Delorean" − Fantastic Damage by El-P (Def Jux)
• "Kill 'Em All (remix)" − Loose Ends by RJD2 (2003) (Def Jux)
• "Final Frontier (remix)" − RJD2 (Def Jux)
• "Love to Fuck" − Smashy Trashy by S.A. Smash (2003) (Def Jux)
• "Jet Son" - Sunday Seance 12" by Blockhead
• "Preservation" (with Del tha Funkee Homosapien) − Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture (2005) (Babygrande Records)
• "Poems 4 Post Modern Decay" − True & Livin' by Zion I (2005) (LiveUp)
• "Voltronic Instructional Espionage" - Deadlivers by Grayskul (2005) (Rhymesayers)
• "Crooked" - You Can Be Special Too by Evil Nine (2004)
• "Kill Switch" - Jaku by DJ Krush (2004) (Red Ink)
• "Run the Numbers" - I'll Sleep When You're Dead by El-P (Def Jux)
• "Miss By a Mile" - with Slug and Eydea "We Came From Beyond, Vol. 2" CD
• "Side Two" - with Babbletron on DJ Ese's "Side Two" (2006) (Embedded Music)

Appearances on compilations

• Def Jux Presents (2001) (Def Jux)
• Def Jux Presents 2 (2002) (Def Jux)
• Def Jux Presents 3 (2003) (Def Jux)
• Def Jux Teaser 2005 (2005) (Def Jux)
• Definitive Swim (2007) (Def Jux & Williams Street)

External links

• Definitive Jux biography
• Mush biography
• Template:Myspace
• Official Homepage (Under Construction)
• April 2007 Interview with Aesop Rock
• Pitchfork Media interview