Aesop is entirely his own genre of Hip Hop. He's the dude sitting on the mountaintop that people will spend their entire lives climbing to hear what he has to say, just to find out he's the both the homeless dude at the bottom speaking truth and the sherpa that guided them up that mountain.
That's the beauty. My guy winds you up just for you to find out he's just talking about his cat. Or therapy. Or his belly. He's constantly trying to tell people they don't need fantasy because the real world is damn near myth and magic. Unfortunately for him, most people come to art for the fantasy, not the truth.
The man has been ignored longer than we’ve been interested. The first 7 of aesop rocks albums have more unique words than the first 7 works of Shakespeare. One thing that should interest everyone in Aesop.
Actually, the unique word count has been updated, and in a shorter period of time, Mach-Hommy has more unique words. So now you have to drop that line of argument. Enjoy the music without being weird about it lol happy New Years
@@dfwherbie8814 No one was talking about Mach Hommy so idk how that affects any argument. Appreciating music for its technical aspects isn’t weird, just a deeper appreciation than you may be used to having.
In a 1000 yrs kids will be studying his bars in class. Guys almost too advanced in every area. People are used to being spoon fed hooks and Aesop requires work to enjoy. Most won’t persevere with it. That’s fine with me.
I was 16 years old when I got None Shall Pass. 16 years later, it finally hit me that the first two lines of the second verse of the title song was “If you’ve never had a a day a snow cone couldn’t fix, you wouldn’t relate to the rogue vocoder blitz”. That’s then is hit me that that was the heartbeat of that album. Took me 16 years, but it was worth it.
Around the times I was a huuuge Eyedea fan and when he died I was so bummed for knowing how much years of growing crazy potential was lost. When he already wrote and freestyled like that in that age. Was also always trying so much so many new things. When I went into Aesop thru the Rhymesayers rabbit hole, from that song the kinda one of the obvious lines (mind that I was a late teen and it's my second language, but I got most of the song at the time) was the: "Blood turns wine when it leaks for police Like, "That's not a riot, it's a feast, let's eat" for how well it paints the imaginary and also says a lot. Is just formed in so 🤌 way of the closing bars of a verse. At my country was already very good rap, but it didn't go into a lot of metaphors and compelxity in that way. Except maybe one or two artists instead the most often very direct approach. The language is anyway way harder for doing certain things, it's already small so it would be hard to get people interested (one guy did became like a one kinda legend and was very cryptic but his style was just something so differend and sounded Really good). I just spesifically remember one of Slug's line since it was sooo tru and I showed it to my friend and he didn't get it even tho we rapped together. Wrote and rapped. It's from the Kristoff Krane song Work: "Break the harness, escape from the sharks Just to argue about who's pavement was the hardest" and my buddy didn't get it at all even tho I tought it's very straight-forward. Especially in like drug-fueled circles the convo can go easily on just telling worse and worse stories to almost compete who have had it hardest time which is not obviously a good surroundings. Like my friend also was in those kinda circles, we had a lot of mutual friends, but at the time like writing was tought in so direct terms or done in differend kinda differend way that just a bit off a metaphora was throwing him off. So I had to explain the meaning of the bars to him. They hve just stuck to me even tho I don't think Slug is close to these two even tho cool and all. Also have to put one from Eyedea aswell that I love: "A young saleswoman sets up shop when the sun sets She'll make your wildest dreams come true, at a price you won't forget The sadly married set up alibis, no harm, no regret Hoping they meet an angel in bed So they can wrestle the devil right out of their heads" Like the last two lines are so good pay off, the whole thing is done in so viceral sense and he could be very poetic with his writing.
@@dfwherbie8814 simplicity is elegant. Think sushi. Zen. Apple’s product art design. Complexity isn’t the only feature of art. It can be done badly, like pretentious art-school music. Relax.
Aes requires multiple listens to any of his songs to even start to grasp all of the nuance and references being made. His music is NOT casual listening (even though it's enjoyable as such), his music is so densely packed with references and analogies you have to listen to it over and over to parse what he's putting down. He is a true master of intricately putting together words to create images and concepts that challenge the listener to become knowledgeable enough to understand.
There is a time and place for dense music, Aesop Rock is not an artist you listen to everyday, it is not a diss to his music, it is just that his music is so dense that you need time to research the references and meanings behind them etc. Your ears needs to have a break.
Yeah Aes has been crushing for a long time, his growth as an artist over the years has been a pleasure to listen to. I remember smoking on the tracks in an industrial area when my buddy introduced me to Aesop, that was around 20 years ago. Why I even remember that speaks to the impact of artists like Him.
I discovered aesop rock from his partner project known as Hail Marry Mallon. It only had 2 albums. But i loved those and it turned me in aesop's direction
Aesop Rock is the greatest. He is true to the lyric arts of old. He is the Greatest writer we've had in this newer form of rhyme. I stand my this as a minority and advocate for this sacred art.
I LOVE how Ian's last few albums have been made easier for the listener to comprehend, while still tearing it up! I wonder if Lupe has the same thoughts now...🤔 😂
Lupe is talking about "Kirby" being about his cat (and it is), but if you listen to "Shrunk" he references his cat: "My emergency contact is in the daisies chasing birds." And he references "Shrunk" in "Kirby" with the line where his therapist says "I don't know, maybe get a kitten?"
I never noticed that the emergency contact part! I like that the music video for “Shrunk” is in an arcade and his cat is named after a video game character ❤️🐈
Aes seems to have an affinity for cats on some level, Skelethon has a cat skeleton on the cover and a song about mummifying a cat, and the video for Blood Sandwich he and his brothers assemble a cat skeleton at the end maybe as a nod to Skelethon. Another reference to Kirby on Impossible Kid is "Water Tower" when he says "buried by a 7 year cherub in the backyard" calling his cat an angel that killed the bird on his porch.
He references Kirby on a number of tracks, on difficult he raps “To anybody clocking to copy his every move Catch a birdie from the window of a rocket to the moon Got a double-wide enclosure at the back of the zoo Got a cat named Kirby, she could rap good too”
It's a 3 part mini series in the middle of the album. Get out the car is about him in his car outside the psychiatrists office making himself get out and go in, then shrunk is about the psychiatrist appointment, and finally Kirby is about the cat he got at his psychiatrists advice.
Great job. I’m buying all Aesop Rock’s music. I’ve listened to many of his albums through, and was happily surprised to find out he’s already collaborated with MF Doom!
In 2000 Mush records released Rope Ladder 12, an album of various hip hop artists. When i heard "Active Element" I went down an Aesop Rock rabbit hole and never returned.
This is why we should appreciate lupe more. He is giving credit to one of the og underground hip hop artists. Who else with a platform the size of lupes has given ace rock credit?
It's probably frustrating to reach his level of artistry and be largely invisible through his whole career. "I see similar stars, but cant sit at the same feast"
I love your take. I agree 100%. i'll have to listen to your stuff. I apologize I haven't yet. You get it though, so I bet you're good. The first listen paints an amazing chaotic picture with the words he uses. Then after listening 50 times or a month later, you're like, "Sh!t, this means something!" Sometimes deep as helll. i.e. "Walkie Talkies" etc, etc, etc.....
Once I started listening to Aesop, I didn't really listen to much other than Aesop. And for the ones who made that Chart, such a Brilliant way to stat such Data.
I’ve been listening to Aes my whole life. I’ve never been able to articulate myself well enough to explain why he is on such another level. Lupe did a flawless job. I was intrigued when I saw he had a 47 minute video explaining this lol
Yo Son Chill, Bazooka Tooth, The Impossible Kid has given us a Field Guide to the Spirit World. These fables by Aesop hit us in our Skelethons, and we have to pretend IT'S not a cult.
I've spent the last year getting the entirety of Spirit World Field Guide performance ready even though I'm not going to perform it in front of anybody. I just wanted to see if I could do it. I think it's one of the best hip hop albums of all time.
Back in like 2015 my buddy introduced me to None Shall Pass, after that I was hooked. I've devoured all his music, which there is a ton of haha I used to work at a warehouse full time, I would pick an album and work my way through as many of them throughout the day as I could. I feel pretty well versed in Aesop's discography at this point lol
Whats funny is i chilled with Far East Movement before they went pop, and as i was leaving I was bumping Float in my car and they were like "fuck yeah! Aesop Rock! I fuck with him".
First, he would have to be more specific: lyricist not rapper. There are myriad lesser lyricists who would outperform Aesop on a stage. And that's not even getting into battling. Which is fine. That's not what Aesop is doing. We just need to be precise with these accolades.
Im really not surprised to see watsky high up, i think hes more of a poet and i think most of his poems are great. Im surprised to see lupe himself isnt one of the top, no surprise with immortal technique though. As a white guy id like to see where Eminem ranks, but because lil Wayne was my first tast of hiphp in 8th grade i really wanna kno where he is. I mean it doesn't really matter but we had 2 black kids in my grade, one was a dickhead bully jock, the other introduced me to lil Wayne, Snoop Dog, and Eminem. I was listening to the beetles and black Sabbath prior.
Aesop is entirely his own genre of Hip Hop. He's the dude sitting on the mountaintop that people will spend their entire lives climbing to hear what he has to say, just to find out he's the both the homeless dude at the bottom speaking truth and the sherpa that guided them up that mountain.
I like Aesop rock but the meatriding is crazy writing a whole ass poem
That's the beauty. My guy winds you up just for you to find out he's just talking about his cat. Or therapy. Or his belly. He's constantly trying to tell people they don't need fantasy because the real world is damn near myth and magic. Unfortunately for him, most people come to art for the fantasy, not the truth.
Brilliant!
This was beautiful. Well said.
@@Iukethegoat fool its accurate wth
The man has been ignored longer than we’ve been interested. The first 7 of aesop rocks albums have more unique words than the first 7 works of Shakespeare. One thing that should interest everyone in Aesop.
Actually, the unique word count has been updated, and in a shorter period of time, Mach-Hommy has more unique words. So now you have to drop that line of argument. Enjoy the music without being weird about it lol happy New Years
@@dfwherbie8814 No one was talking about Mach Hommy so idk how that affects any argument. Appreciating music for its technical aspects isn’t weird, just a deeper appreciation than you may be used to having.
Nice allusion. Definitely in the spirit of Aes
@@dfwherbie8814 I mean, youre the one who made it weird....
In a 1000 yrs kids will be studying his bars in class. Guys almost too advanced in every area. People are used to being spoon fed hooks and Aesop requires work to enjoy.
Most won’t persevere with it. That’s fine with me.
I was 16 years old when I got None Shall Pass. 16 years later, it finally hit me that the first two lines of the second verse of the title song was “If you’ve never had a a day a snow cone couldn’t fix, you wouldn’t relate to the rogue vocoder blitz”. That’s then is hit me that that was the heartbeat of that album. Took me 16 years, but it was worth it.
One of Aes's best burns on the life of the neurotypical and people who have a familial safety net.
Edit: I swear I know how to spell lol
@@worstwizzard5932 Neurotypical? Is that what you mean? LOL.
Around the times I was a huuuge Eyedea fan and when he died I was so bummed for knowing how much years of growing crazy potential was lost. When he already wrote and freestyled like that in that age. Was also always trying so much so many new things.
When I went into Aesop thru the Rhymesayers rabbit hole, from that song the kinda one of the obvious lines (mind that I was a late teen and it's my second language, but I got most of the song at the time) was the: "Blood turns wine when it leaks for police
Like, "That's not a riot, it's a feast, let's eat" for how well it paints the imaginary and also says a lot. Is just formed in so 🤌 way of the closing bars of a verse.
At my country was already very good rap, but it didn't go into a lot of metaphors and compelxity in that way. Except maybe one or two artists instead the most often very direct approach. The language is anyway way harder for doing certain things, it's already small so it would be hard to get people interested (one guy did became like a one kinda legend and was very cryptic but his style was just something so differend and sounded Really good). I just spesifically remember one of Slug's line since it was sooo tru and I showed it to my friend and he didn't get it even tho we rapped together. Wrote and rapped. It's from the Kristoff Krane song Work: "Break the harness, escape from the sharks
Just to argue about who's pavement was the hardest"
and my buddy didn't get it at all even tho I tought it's very straight-forward. Especially in like drug-fueled circles the convo can go easily on just telling worse and worse stories to almost compete who have had it hardest time which is not obviously a good surroundings. Like my friend also was in those kinda circles, we had a lot of mutual friends, but at the time like writing was tought in so direct terms or done in differend kinda differend way that just a bit off a metaphora was throwing him off. So I had to explain the meaning of the bars to him. They hve just stuck to me even tho I don't think Slug is close to these two even tho cool and all.
Also have to put one from Eyedea aswell that I love:
"A young saleswoman sets up shop when the sun sets
She'll make your wildest dreams come true, at a price you won't forget
The sadly married set up alibis, no harm, no regret
Hoping they meet an angel in bed
So they can wrestle the devil right out of their heads"
Like the last two lines are so good pay off, the whole thing is done in so viceral sense and he could be very poetic with his writing.
Aesop Rock has impacted my life without letting me know in advance.
😂
When Danny Brown coming up he printed out and studied the lyrics to Bazooka Tooth. Real recognize real.
Definitely glad to hear I'm not the only one who's got a rotation of Aesop Rock songs to put on repeat
Been listening to him for over 20years
Best there is!!!!
It takes a hell of a rapper to put people on to another rapper. Lupe is fire himself. Both legends but Aesop's complexity is next level.
Way to put Lupe down….
@@dfwherbie8814 simplicity is elegant. Think sushi. Zen. Apple’s product art design. Complexity isn’t the only feature of art. It can be done badly, like pretentious art-school music. Relax.
@@Sprite_525 I agrée. But it’s great when done with taste. Some simply have none
Lupe > Aesop Rock. Although Aesop Rock is also elite.
Aes requires multiple listens to any of his songs to even start to grasp all of the nuance and references being made. His music is NOT casual listening (even though it's enjoyable as such), his music is so densely packed with references and analogies you have to listen to it over and over to parse what he's putting down. He is a true master of intricately putting together words to create images and concepts that challenge the listener to become knowledgeable enough to understand.
There is a time and place for dense music, Aesop Rock is not an artist you listen to everyday, it is not a diss to his music, it is just that his music is so dense that you need time to research the references and meanings behind them etc. Your ears needs to have a break.
Yeah Aes has been crushing for a long time, his growth as an artist over the years has been a pleasure to listen to. I remember smoking on the tracks in an industrial area when my buddy introduced me to Aesop, that was around 20 years ago. Why I even remember that speaks to the impact of artists like Him.
I discovered aesop rock from his partner project known as Hail Marry Mallon. It only had 2 albums. But i loved those and it turned me in aesop's direction
I wonder what those "5 or 6 songs" that Lupe can't get over are
I'll tell you mine! Kodokushi, Rings, Gauze, None Shall Pass, The Four Winds, Living Curfew, and Vititus
Aesop Rock is the greatest. He is true to the lyric arts of old. He is the Greatest writer we've had in this newer form of rhyme. I stand my this as a minority and advocate for this sacred art.
🐐
Lupe is a much better writer
Lupe > Aesop. Aesop is elite though.
@@bobopatchnosuke229 Lyrically Lupe is better, but Aes got a better cadence & flow
@@bobopatchnosuke229As much as I love Lupe, I gotta disagree. Aes is the greatest hip hop artist of all time.
People who get it know Aesop Rock is without a doubt the most talented wordsmith in the game.
He is the artist your favorite artist listens to.
No one will ever impact the game with their vocabulary more than Aesop Rock and E-40.
9-5ers anthem 1000 deaths. Aesop Rock is an amazing mc. Dude is dedicated to his art and it shows on every single song
Oxygen, water, abandon all hope, Big Bang 🤝
Yea man you know whassup
The Jackson P reference was a genious way to describe it.
It's true. Aesop Rock is literally the best hiphop artist of all time.
Both are LEGENDARY if you ask me. Lupe and Aesop are on a different level
I LOVE how Ian's last few albums have been made easier for the listener to comprehend, while still tearing it up! I wonder if Lupe has the same thoughts now...🤔 😂
Lupe Fiasco couldn't be anymore correct!! I've been saying Aes is the best for years. Light years ahead of all rappers.
Takes a master of his craft like Lupe to recognise another true master
Lupe is talking about "Kirby" being about his cat (and it is), but if you listen to "Shrunk" he references his cat: "My emergency contact is in the daisies chasing birds." And he references "Shrunk" in "Kirby" with the line where his therapist says "I don't know, maybe get a kitten?"
I never noticed that the emergency contact part!
I like that the music video for “Shrunk” is in an arcade and his cat is named after a video game character ❤️🐈
Aes seems to have an affinity for cats on some level, Skelethon has a cat skeleton on the cover and a song about mummifying a cat, and the video for Blood Sandwich he and his brothers assemble a cat skeleton at the end maybe as a nod to Skelethon. Another reference to Kirby on Impossible Kid is "Water Tower" when he says "buried by a 7 year cherub in the backyard" calling his cat an angel that killed the bird on his porch.
He references Kirby on a number of tracks, on difficult he raps
“To anybody clocking to copy his every move
Catch a birdie from the window of a rocket to the moon
Got a double-wide enclosure at the back of the zoo
Got a cat named Kirby, she could rap good too”
@@parade
Gracias 👂
It's a 3 part mini series in the middle of the album. Get out the car is about him in his car outside the psychiatrists office making himself get out and go in, then shrunk is about the psychiatrist appointment, and finally Kirby is about the cat he got at his psychiatrists advice.
Great job. I’m buying all Aesop Rock’s music. I’ve listened to many of his albums through, and was happily surprised to find out he’s already collaborated with MF Doom!
In 2000 Mush records released Rope Ladder 12, an album of various hip hop artists. When i heard "Active Element" I went down an Aesop Rock rabbit hole and never returned.
This is why we should appreciate lupe more. He is giving credit to one of the og underground hip hop artists. Who else with a platform the size of lupes has given ace rock credit?
Me, a Lupe fan who has been saying this for years: Thank you.
YOOOOOO props to Lu for references ICP and Dead Body Man
This video is great 👍👍👍👍👍
Lupe is making Kendrick Lamars bar in control sound like a double entendre when he mentions Asap Rocky (Aesop Rock)
Tf? No he didn't lol
Thank you LUE for explaining it to them
It's probably frustrating to reach his level of artistry and be largely invisible through his whole career. "I see similar stars, but cant sit at the same feast"
I love your take. I agree 100%. i'll have to listen to your stuff. I apologize I haven't yet. You get it though, so I bet you're good. The first listen paints an amazing chaotic picture with the words he uses. Then after listening 50 times or a month later, you're like, "Sh!t, this means something!" Sometimes deep as helll. i.e. "Walkie Talkies" etc, etc, etc.....
Every self-respecting Aes fan should listen to Lupe Fiasco - "Mural".
I remember watching this live on IG. I think i even recorded it also 😂
Once I started listening to Aesop, I didn't really listen to much other than Aesop.
And for the ones who made that Chart, such a Brilliant way to stat such Data.
Aesop rock just is.
Diogenes of hiphop.
Renders metaphors.
Big bang is dope
I’ve been listening to Aes my whole life. I’ve never been able to articulate myself well enough to explain why he is on such another level. Lupe did a flawless job. I was intrigued when I saw he had a 47 minute video explaining this lol
Well said mate you summed it up perfectly 👊ace is a genius
No Regrets
I knew you’d bring up “Kirby”, one of my favorite Aes songs.
You can actually hear Lupe’s appreciation for Aesop Rock’s style on Ms Mural
You can hear a little of the influence
Aesop rock is the goat
Its has been blowing my mind, like he has only gotten better at "dumbing it down" without actually dumbing it down. Also r.i.p Kirby
Kirby is his cats name. He loves cats.
I just heard this song today. Amazing!
Yo Son Chill, Bazooka Tooth, The Impossible Kid has given us a Field Guide to the Spirit World. These fables by Aesop hit us in our Skelethons, and we have to pretend IT'S not a cult.
I've spent the last year getting the entirety of Spirit World Field Guide performance ready even though I'm not going to perform it in front of anybody. I just wanted to see if I could do it. I think it's one of the best hip hop albums of all time.
Great analysis.. His my favorite artist
Back in like 2015 my buddy introduced me to None Shall Pass, after that I was hooked. I've devoured all his music, which there is a ton of haha I used to work at a warehouse full time, I would pick an album and work my way through as many of them throughout the day as I could. I feel pretty well versed in Aesop's discography at this point lol
12:50 the Jackson pollock & Aesop Rock comparison was great
Shout out to Jedi Mind Tricks... Nice
K rino is the most slept on lyricist
"Shout out to dead body man" oh so Lupe knows the DEEP cuts
Where can I begin? Trure words cant be said😊
“Aes Rock it’s short for James Bond”
Aes Rock code name Yo Son Chill
Whats funny is i chilled with Far East Movement before they went pop, and as i was leaving I was bumping Float in my car and they were like "fuck yeah! Aesop Rock! I fuck with him".
First, he would have to be more specific: lyricist not rapper. There are myriad lesser lyricists who would outperform Aesop on a stage. And that's not even getting into battling.
Which is fine. That's not what Aesop is doing. We just need to be precise with these accolades.
BRO WTF. El-P isn't on the list???? That list is whack.
I dunno, maybe get a kitten?
24:34 is exactly how I would describe listening to Lupe. Word for word!
Painful. And I love Aesop Rock.
ok so what about ian? he's a lyrical genius 2
I am definitely a Phan...
There are two white rappers in my top ten. Neither of them is eminem.
Aes & …
Eyedea?
@@misterflowjangles El P but Eyedea is top 20 fs.
Lupes been sleeping on aesop, thought it was common knowledge
Aesop dumbed down his style for us sometimes
Im really not surprised to see watsky high up, i think hes more of a poet and i think most of his poems are great. Im surprised to see lupe himself isnt one of the top, no surprise with immortal technique though. As a white guy id like to see where Eminem ranks, but because lil Wayne was my first tast of hiphp in 8th grade i really wanna kno where he is.
I mean it doesn't really matter but we had 2 black kids in my grade, one was a dickhead bully jock, the other introduced me to lil Wayne, Snoop Dog, and Eminem. I was listening to the beetles and black Sabbath prior.
LMFAO OMG here comes the fucking chart. :D
Any rapper that doesn't recognize his uniqueness should just quit.
Aesop Rock 👑
Asop Rocky 🗑️
ASAP Rocky Is good too but not a top 40 or 50 rapper
Aesop is top 10 tho
dude eminem with aesop pplz
I have to enjoy aes without ever visiting the internet. His core fanbase are usually elitist and racist. The comments always drive me nuts lol
Nice bait but no one's biting. Try again, again.
dude? why are you on a ton of Aesop Rock related videos talking shit about his fans and Aesop Rock?>>???? kinda sad and lame......
Aes, DOOM and Biggie > everyone else
The chart ain't accurate though. It only considers the start not the average. Some have dumbed it down, others started to write more complex.