Aesop Rock

Since maybe 2012, I have one specific hang up when potentially writing about Aesop Rock.

See, a mutual friend hooked me up with a Hail Mary Mallon interview, which meant I got to email interview two of my favorite throats in all of hip hopdom (Rob Sonic & Aesop Rock). I spent three fucking days coming up with the most specifically and ridiculously SYFFAL of interview questions for these two dudes. Assuming their personalities were on par with their writing and rapping styles, I figured I would be best served by going as far left of center as humanly possible. I had three or four friends read my interview questions and critique them and before editing them a half dozen more times, I finally sent them over to the two Mallon members.

One day turned into one week. Three weeks turned into a two months.

Nothing.

I asked the mutual friend to inquire as to their progress and he wrote back with the email version of a silent headshake. 

Now that I'm what, four years older, I realize I made two mistakes. One, I assumed two rappers who tout their rap weirdness by flashing their rap weirdness by rapping weird were actually weird in real life. And two, I assumed that the two weird rappers who I was a huge fan of would appreciate me enthusiastically jumping up and down about the opportunity to interview them and would at least patronize me by rap patting me on the head and telling me to get lost. I didn't put the lack of a response on them dudes like a puto, I took full blame and decided to learn from it. Now I don't get excited about ANYTHING. FUCK hope. 

So when an Aesop Rock single drops, or a dope fucking video premiers, or a new album is released, I get all weird. I selfishly clam up because I hate that I had an opportunity to share my appreciation for the fucker with the fucker and it didn't just fall on deaf ears, it was held up and the dudes probably said "what am I supposed to do with this shit?". 

But then The Impossible Kid drops and I hit play trying my best to be the adult I know I'm capable of being and I simply cannot hide the fact that I fucking love this album.

Every track has a beater worthy of an instrumental only version. Every song has at least one line I would consider scrawling on my Trapper Keeper if I were a tween with nothing but the rest of the world to scribble on. 

No matter where I leave off, or where I pick it back up, The Impossible Kid is all head-nods and hand waves and "a pistachio to a waffle" fucking awesome. 

While it almost seems like every beat is around the same meter, maybe the idea is to keep the shit consistent so it's possible to enjoy every "Cherry, no. Whip, yes." without fault. 

On "Rings", the chorus fucking kills me. Reminding me that yes, the fucking world is out to get me and yes, they will chop me down just to count my rings. I'm a fucking science experiment for living differently (I'm a vegan who only eats non-sentient beings and year old pelts). 

"Lotta Years" tells me Aesop understands that he's almost 50 years old and he's okay with being that old and that life is actually pretty cool. Also, he's just the fucking coolest isn't he? *kicks feet behind me while sitting belly down on pretty pink bed writing love notes as a 15 year old in suburban suburbia* UGH!

On "Rabies" Aesop admits that he discusses Master P. And I support him in this subject. I've spent more time discussing Cash Money Records than my aforementioned veganism. 

The bassline on "Supercell" with the Halloween whistle over it makes this the best beat on this entire fucking album. And as a recovering catholic, I've eaten Jesus Toast and I've taken down an entire advent calendar on more than one occasion and I turned out fine. Nevermind this constant state of anxiety and the feeling that I'm falling whenever I stand still. 

"Blood Sandwich" has a beat that would work really really well for a computer animated segment about blood clot formationz, but when the beat finally drops it's pure fucking summer bro. While I don't fully understand all of the lyrics, I'm picking up a highly personal vibe here with the baseballs and brothers references. Also, "Blood Sandwich" is a great way to refer to three or more family members. 

On "Shrunk", Aesop Rock throws words. Seriously, every time dude drops "I'm shrunk", it's like they're being wwwwwwwwhipped and thrown out of his mouth. Also, "She says I'm not your enemy, I said that sounds like something that my enemy would say" is just the fucking best, and I can imagine how many chins Aesop would have from pulling his face back from disgusted suspicion. 

My favorite overall track on The Impossible Kid is "Kirby" because it's the best rap song about a pet ever written. Kirby is as much a perfect name for a kitten as Baxter is for a puppy. And while we opted for children instead of housepets, I think the kitty in this song is much more appreciated than the children I helped create, mainly because I never had a rap song written about my kids on a professional rap release bro. 

With as much as I've listened to the new Aesop Rock this spring, I've found that I fucking love every corner of it and I look forward to bumping it all summer while mowing the lawn and playing fetch with my aforementioned children. 

When an album has this consistent of a head nod and air wicky wickies, it's difficult to listen to much else. Thankfully I've been obsessed with other rap albums as of late, so between the new Onry Ozzborn and the new Astronautalis, the new Aesop Rock makes 2016 pretty fucking titties for my summer drinking music playlists, and on its own it's fucking perf.