Lyrical wunderkind Aesop Rock was a standout sensation during the Underground Hip-Hop boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. His poetic imagery and didactic bars were complex conundrums that many listeners enjoyed unraveling. The MC/producer worked with the likes of MF DOOM, El-P, and the Weathermen during a celebrated time in Rap music, especially in New York.

While Aesop made his name as an artist with the Mush label, and later, on El’s Definitive Jux squad, this decade he’s been rolling with the Rhymesayers family, co-founded by Atmosphere. As recently as 2016’s The Impossible Kid, Rock has made some of his best Hip-Hop in years. He keeps the art exciting through interesting visuals, rugged flows, and compelling takes on the state of the culture.

Aesop Rock Mourns A Fallen MC & Spits Personal Bars Of Pain (Video)

Outside from his respected solo catalog, Aesop has enjoyed the craft of collaboration. The Portland, Oregon transplant has side groups/projects with fellow Weathermen alum, Cage (2 of A Kind), Homeboy Sandman (Lice), Rob Sonic & DJ Big Wiz (Hail Mary Mallon), Kimya Dawson (The Uncluded), and his latest endeavor, Malibu Ken, with producer Tobacco. The latter duo just released the video for their second single, the slightly uncomfortable and purposefully awkward “Corn Maze.”

As he is prone to do, Aesop raps about his nervous and awkward tendencies. He transforms his own experiences into a poetry so esoteric, it demands dozens of listens to decipher. The beat is similarly challenging but the fuzzy drums and synth plinks are exactly the kind of sound-bed Rock excels on.

Lyrical wunderkind Aesop Rock was a standout sensation during the Underground Hip-Hop boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. His poetic imagery and didactic bars were complex conundrums that many listeners enjoyed unraveling. The MC/producer worked with the likes of MF DOOM, El-P, and the Weathermen during a celebrated time in Rap music, especially in New York.

While Aesop made his name as an artist with the Mush label, and later, on El’s Definitive Jux squad, this decade he’s been rolling with the Rhymesayers family, co-founded by Atmosphere. As recently as 2016’s The Impossible Kid, Rock has made some of his best Hip-Hop in years. He keeps the art exciting through interesting visuals, rugged flows, and compelling takes on the state of the culture.

Aesop Rock Mourns A Fallen MC & Spits Personal Bars Of Pain (Video)

Outside from his respected solo catalog, Aesop has enjoyed the craft of collaboration. The Portland, Oregon transplant has side groups/projects with fellow Weathermen alum, Cage (2 of A Kind), Homeboy Sandman (Lice), Rob Sonic & DJ Big Wiz (Hail Mary Mallon), Kimya Dawson (The Uncluded), and his latest endeavor, Malibu Ken, with producer Tobacco. The latter duo just released the video for their second single, the slightly uncomfortable and purposefully awkward “Corn Maze.”

As he is prone to do, Aesop raps about his nervous and awkward tendencies. He transforms his own experiences into a poetry so esoteric, it demands dozens of listens to decipher. The beat is similarly challenging but the fuzzy drums and synth plinks are exactly the kind of sound-bed Rock excels on.