Aesop Rock - The Impossible Kid
Artist: Aesop Rock
Album: The Impossible Kid
Released: April 29, 2016
Label: Rhymesayers
Musicians
- Aesop Rock – Lead Vocals
- DJ Zone – Scratching
- Grimace Federation – Synthesizer, Rhodes, guitar, organ
- James Lynch – Bass Guitar
- Allyson Baker – Guitar
- Carnage the Executioner – Beatboxing
I first heard about Aesop Rock when I was maybe 13 years old. I was just starting to explore music that wasn’t classic rock and metal and hearing hip-hop and rap music that didn’t sound like what was on the radio was pretty refreshing. One of my friends showed me the album None Shall Pass and I was definitely intrigued as I hadn’t really listened to any underground or alternative hip-hop. Between this and Adult Swim’s Definitive Swim compilation I all of a sudden became a hip-hop fan and went on a tangent of listening to more current alternative rappers like Camu Tao, Despot, and El-P and going back in time to dig into classic 90’s artists like Gang Starr, A Tribe Called Quest, and Phi Life Cypher.
In the case of Aesop Rock, he took a little bit of a backseat as I explored these other artists. I didn’t really revisit his music until I saw the release of The Impossible Kid. To my surprise, he had managed to develop and refine his lyricism and flow to an even higher level than his already impressive early 2000s level. On top of that, the beats he was rhyming over had become HUGE. The drums were hard hitting and complex and his sample use was bolstered with the inclusion of a huge array of synth sounds. Since the release of The Impossible Kid he has released a few more albums, continuing to push the boundaries of his sound and continuing to develop as an artist.
Top Tracks:
4: “Dorks”
Often, Aesop Rock’s lyrics go right over my head. I appreciate his ability to artfully combine words but outside of appreciating the complexity of his rhyme schemes and the rhythm he delivers them with, I usually don’t get it. “Dorks” is different though. It is incredibly clever and even sometimes funny. All of the lines that start with “You fuckin’ dorks” make me chuckle every time. That is one of the most goofy but effective insults I can think of. My favorite line on the whole album, from this track is “Party over here, I’ll be over there”. I have never related to a rap song more than that. For an added bit of bonus fun with this song you can jump on lyrics forums and read through a bunch of dorks arguing about what rappers they think Aesop Rock is talking about in this song.
7: “Blood Sandwich”
Some of Aesop Rock’s most hard hitting songs are the ones where he spends a good chunk of the time rapping over melodic sections of the beats that don’t have drums. On this track we make it almost halfway through before we get the big beat drop payoff and it pays off big time. The change up at that point really transforms the mood of this song and brings it into alignment with the sad nostalgia being expressed in the lyrics. Like on “Dorks”, I definitely don’t miss the meaning of the lyrics of this track. They are very obvious by Aesop’s standards but he still paints the picture of his memories with his brother in his normal, chock full of syllables, metaphors and similes.
13: “Defender”
I picked the first two top tracks mostly for the lyrics but this one is all about the BEAT. Of course the lyrics in this song are genius because it's Aesop Rock but this beat is a straight up neck snapper. The drums are super punchy but very much no frills. It is a simple, kick snare pattern with lots of swing and a few faint cymbal hits in the background for texture. Even the melodic elements of this song are fairly simple and repeat on a loop along with the drums. As this strong beat is allowed to ride out on repeat it lets Aesop sit DEEP in the pocket with his lyrical delivery and even further strengthen the groove. If you don’t bob your head when this song comes on, there is a good chance you might suffer from a lack of rhythm.