5. Labor Days – Aesop Rock
I have always referred to Aesop Rock as "The Bob Dylan of Underground Rap". This is quite obvious on this LP. Not only are his lyrics like reading a novella but his voice is just as unique as the aforementioned Bob Dylan. Trying to keep up with him in a
single verse is difficult enough. Here is JUST the first track..
Quote:
'Labor'
Who put the monkey wrench in well oiled perfectionist emblem
Just to watch these monitors spit white noise
through your office space auto made
I infect knowledge gene pool dissented cloud clusters
Brushing dust mites off your star born all revolution sound jugglers
Delinquent fan for brick habitat bob, weave, stick, move fence
and put somewhere in the middle for slick invention
This years brain crop spread spectacular
I ain't mad at cha don't stay mad at the caliber
I twist characters like twist characters
Tally up the alley cat aggression
in this Doug E. Fresh infested mess up bass line lust
An automatic B-boy krylon can't combust circuits
Working these war picked cyphers
with head striker stability and kamikaze chivalry
I alone noble in a warm food feud
Walking ten generations ain't nobody asking for your patience
Who ranned off but only meet to face the fact
that I knew myself and didn't have to ask nobody else
(Talk about labor) Fantastic planet urchin putting work in
Searching for pertinent verse minus the murderous diversions
Apologies won't lore me to the communal sob story
nor would I sacrifice lifestyle to benefit jewelry temperament
This whole Green Goblin webcutter butts up against
crayola daydream landscapes spittin bedlam, Datum
Charge the villagers nickels and nicotine
to watch them fed to undiscreniled crack at the high noon
(We sell popcorn, beer and balloons!)
I got an echelon this gon be the one children bicker over
And start warriors vs. baseball fury element
to glitches mode of century development
I am a star really! The big bang bastard's back
with a one way ticket to Beat Street
This soil is like relevant to human concept
plot the man ratios man learning, I work past the service
I work on what I love, I work the service on my vertince
And I work till this here little flat line closes the curtains
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Still with me? Ok, good. You don't have to fully grasp everything he says in one sitting, because that is near impossible, plus, your brain might explode out your ears. I've seen it happen. Let's take a look at some of my favorite lines..
Quote:
'Daylight'
All I ever wanted was to pick apart the day,
put the pieces back together my way --------Life's not a bitch life is a beautiful woman
You only call her a bitch because she won't let you get that pussy
Maybe she didn't feel y'all shared any similar interests
Or maybe you're just an asshole who couldn't sweet talk the princess
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Quote:
'Save Yourself'
Next time you wanna be a hero try saving something other than hip-hop
And maybe hip-hop'll save you from the pit-stop
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The standout track for me is definitely 'No Regrets'. It's a story about a recluse artistic girl named Lucy. It includes my favorite line from all of Aesop's songs, which was also a great inspiration to pursue what I want to do in life.
Quote:
'No Regrets'
Look, I've never had a dream in my life
Because a dream is what you wanna do, but still haven't pursued
I knew what I wanted and did it till it was done
So I've been the dream that I wanted to be since day one
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This combination of complex lyrics and somewhat sparse production is a perfect mixture. The beats are dense in a non-dense way...? so that you pay attention to the words he spits. And my goodness does he spit.
CHECK OUT THIS ALBUM.
Favorite Tracks:
Labor,
Daylight,
Save Yourself,
Flashflood,
No Regrets,
Coma,
Battery,
9-5ers Anthem