"Not ASAP Rocky" Words every Aesop fan can relate to

The line "Get out the car, Aes" is also literally him urging himself to physically get out of his car, as the next track is "Shrunk" where he walks into his therapist's office. So he was sitting in a parking spot delaying having to get out of the car and walk into the office.

Been a Aesop fan for coutless years, I think one of the things that I enjoy the most about his music is high long it takes to digest songs I come back to years after the first listen I hear knew meaning and things that I understand with, Aesop talks alot about duality and sometimes you dont notice the other side of the meaning until you have felt it in your life, his song are living creatures and I come back to the same tracks over and over and feel new feelings years of years. I will treasure this music for as long as I can

He's the greatest because of his phenomenal skill and deafening humility. Aesop Rock you are one of my heroes. Write til you die or just can't. I haven't heard one song where the plot is ego inflation. You're the van Gogh of poetry, bro, I've been writing forever and none are more clever or better.

I was very happy to see this run across my feed. Dude is a serious hero of mine. Spirit World Field Guide is one of those masterpieces that will get more and more popular as people start to see deeper into their own minds, which appears to be a global trend initiated by an adaptation to information overload.

Aes and DOOM are hands down the best lyricists imo. Rip DOOM

Aesop Rock will probably never become highly popular during his own lifetime but it’s so obvious to anyone who’s really listened to his work that he will transcend time and one hundred, one thousand years from now he will be talked about in the same way classical artists are talked about today; I’m not being hyperbolic either, he is literally a genius, his writing skills are on par or better than any classical writer you want to put forth

Aes convinced me that "39 thieves are quicker than 40 winks" is a legit saying lmao

Browsing youtube for videos praising Aesop Rock the day you upload this.

The density of his lyrics is my favorite thing about Aesop. I could listen to the same song a thousand times and dissect a new meaning, or reference, or just general understanding out of the lyrics every single time. Every song is just that rich with content and it demands close, repeat listens

The fact that an american artist's lyrics still flow just as perfectly when read by someone from the UK without the beat is a sign that it's just straight up excellent poetry.

I feel a certain quandary in listening to Aes' music. I so badly want him to be well. Be happy... content and relaxed. But were that the case, we'd likely be denied the most moving, thought provoking and magical lyricism ever witnessed. I think I would be satisfied with just listening to his back catalogue of genius if he suddenly became content and just faded into a happy, calm existence. Love that guy.

Love that you you dropped a mention to Saul Williams. They both great in their own right, but I think Aesop Rock is just a lyrical machine. He can't stop dropping endlessly mind-blowing works of art!

It's legit unreasonable what he's done in some of his songs And by some, I mean the only songs that I'm not counting are the songs I haven't been able to understand yet Literally who else on the entire planet would sit down to write "yo y'all some lame bitches" and come out the other side with "your petty soldiers stand fragile like Giacometti sculptures embedded in eremitic cultures, we's rocksteady vultures plus I's'a geys'a throwin a soul my wingspan stands flags in the snow of the poles" It's tricky when you'd rather rot into the soil as a nutrient than try to navigate this mortal coil in human skin; Dig? The nuances of putrefying jelly hit the levee when those feathers are a cancer in your bestie I'm just tryna be a silent oak tree for every child to carve his name across Today I pulled three green frogs out of leaf and bark where the grapevines climb a convenient barn, I told them "You will grow to be something tenacious and exalted; You are mighty, you are gracious, you are lauded." Then I let them go Tangentially related in the sense of one's environment informing what they're made of; There was a ghost who broke it all up into tiny numbers and dated vector graphics and New York Times puzzles, who struggled knowing love as more than boring data entry, more reported from an orbit all his own, to say it gently. I'm reporting from an orbit all my own, to say it gently. Catch a wave in the jalopy down to burn up on re-entry ; Man the laser, do you copy? Keep invaders on the business end. Autopilot zeroes in on zero wind for pissing in. Fixer-upper, she putt like a Plymouth Duster, from bucket to mothership, if you're up for a little sunburn That's not even me trying to post his most impressive bars. I just got distracted posting things I love and that I can't imagine much of anybody else writing HE HAS A BAR WHERE HE'S JUST SAYING I HIT THE GAS [ie in his car] BUT IT'S AES SO HE HAS TO SAY "Treat a pedal like an Earwig" - *AND IT SLAPS* Never met a button that you ain't push, or a sucka that you ain't mush DAWG, DOG AT THE DOOR, don't even get me started.................

Look, I've never had a dream in my life. Because a dream is what you want to do, but still haven't pursued. I knew what I wanted and did it till it was done. So i've been the dream I wanted to be since day one! -Aesop Rock "No Regrets" Goin off memory so...

Hell yeah!! This is the video I was waiting for. Sad to be three years late. I would love to hear your take on Spirit World Field Guide. Actually, I would love to hear your take on all of his albums! You have such an insightful way of analyzing different aspects of varying materials, it really blows my mind! So happy to have found your videos, thank you for sharing your passion for art and analysis!

You made it! I remember you saying you would in the comment section of one of his songs, nice one!

Get out the Car and Cycles to Gehenna still regularly put me in tears, due to how much the lyrics and story being told resonate with me.

Man, I love this. He is a genius, and I feel like the recognition will catch up eventually

I came to this channel from your conspiratorial channel and I 100% love that you made a video about him.

I've loved Aesop Rock since I stumbled across a mix tape with his music when I was in college way back in 2005. None Shall Pass was my ringtone for years. Loved this video!

I've been saying that for years! Lots of people complain that he's hard to understand, to which I'll reply... get smarter amd he'll make more sense. Very glad to find others think his lyrics are genius level. Thanks for the video mister!

What a great and insightful dive into truly one of the best lyricist.

I first came across Aesop Rock maybe two years ago now. Just utterly blew my mind, and hip-hop is not a genre I'm a big fan of. However, 'Get Out of the Car' was one of the most brutally honest sings I've ever heard, and made me NEED to hear more. And now I guess I'm a fan and slowly working through his stuff. Each song takes time to digest properly, which i think is what I like about him most.

Thank you for making this video

Loved the video!! You should do some analysis on "The Gates " of his latest album. The rhyming pattern on that first verse is brilliant. Cheers!

Listening to Aes albums on loop for the past few days has inspired me to start taking notes to more fully understand his lyrics. I’ve noticed more occult ideas since watching Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Watching this video and Black(ish)’s video about The Smartest People has definitely highlighted Aes’s focus on the human condition. I’ve also been thinking a lot about Rabies since there’s a lot of homeless in my city… I think overall a part of me wants to feel the unorthodox, hard-to-label, or spiritual aspects of life. I appreciate that he so anti-establishment and seeks his own answers. A part of me wants to start exploring my reality and seek answers in my own way. I’ve always been closely aligned to the scientific way of viewing life, very skeptical of anything of this sort but he’s definitely pulled me into his world.

Great vid. You seem to really understand the artist and have put quite some work into this video and you are a strong narrator. Subscribed.

Hi! I'm a recent subscriber to your channel, found my way here through your video on Frankenstein and Adam Weishaupt. Cicking through I was hyped to find you had videos on A24 movies and absolutely loved your video on the Xenomorph / Eshuu connection. It blows my mind that you also have a video on my favorite undervalued lyricist. Thank you for all the great work here, man. I hope you're having a chill Sunday and that everything's alright with you. I'm off to find a 4 hour break to watch that Hereditary video.

Labor days is timeless and gets better every time I listen to it. Going on 24 years now for me

Straight up boys glad you all have it straight at last ✌️

Always been my favorite. I’m thinking of making a fan boy page lol

Loved the analysis. Great video, great research, great work!

This was awesome. I'd like to hear some more of your breakdowns, esp of Aesop's stuff, but other people as well. Following the vein of under recognized talent, Denzel Curry would be an interesting artist to break down because he definitely shows patterns of Aes type creativity and skill - albeit in a different fashion.

Aes is the singular most unique and Lyrically genius writer to ever grace the human species. You're absolutely right.

Excellently said. I’m subscribing.

I went out of my way to sign in off some incognito browsing just to upvote and to say THANK YOU for making this video. I'm sure there many dusty corners of the interwebs that praise Aesop for this or that, but I haven't heard anyone quite make the point you (and I, in my spare time, generally yelling at disinterested strangers) that Aesop is a high-art genius. I've listened to his music faithfully for about a decade and a half and honestly every new song, ever worn out repeat: it always blows me away, refreshes me, and has saved my fucking sanity (and perhaps life) on more than a few occasions. I am not one for celeb worship or fanfare that our society so fetishizes, but I genuinely feel like I owe Aesop more than I can describe. Anyway, keep up the good work screaming into the cold, calculating YT void. Sub'd. P.S I agree with the dude who commented you should talk about SWFG. Maybe you already have, I haven't had enough time to browse. That album is of course such a departure from the stuff I love the most from him and yet 100 percent authentically him, in the way Aesop can do. Gates is a fuckin' jam.

I'm so stoked I found this

Honestly you can make a whole documentary on aesop rocks bars/storys he tells through his songs this is why he'll always well be in my top 5

For me, Garbology is Aes' best work yet. He's slowed down his delivery enough you can hear more of what he's saying, while he's focusing more on rich imagery, metaphors, unexpected rhymes, and layered pop culture references. He's playing with his own mythos and playing up this image of the hermetic 'weird guy' in the neighbourhood. I was never the biggest fan of his earlier work, and it's almost as if by trying not as hard to sound impressive, he's become all the more impressive in my eyes.

I was born in the same year as Aesop Rock and I have always been a long time man that supported gangsta rap, rap with sexy ass lyrics n deep beats. But when I heard Aesop Rock, that all changed. I'm old school so Em will always be a legend. Aesop Rock seems to be going thru the same shit as me and it makes it easier to relate to. Sobriety, mental health issues, anxiety around people. I got mad respect, Aesop Rock. Keep on keeping on.

Gopher guts will forever be one of the most beautiful and cryptic songs i feel every single line of it

I generally disliked rap music until I found Nine-to-Fiver's Anthem. Then I realized I'd just never heard any _good_ rap before.

Very helpful video thanks. Aesop is the best modern writer and maybe of all time.

First video I saw was your Lighthouse video. I knew you had good taste when I saw the RTJ shots. This just solidifies it.

My favourite bar is: whistle to work like a canary lung. As you know they are used in caves so it becomes lungs whistling from an occupational injury or illness but still marching on even if you struggle

I started listening to them when i was a teen like probably like 7 years ago and after loosing an extremely close friend 4 years ago get out the car has hit so much harder than it used to.

i could listen to you dissect Aes bars for hours

You got my favorite 2 artists off the bat : Saul and Aesop!!

great video, thank you

This was fantastic journalism

Agreed 100%. Like ever.

I take it also as the plot of land being hip hop, the contraband being the message and power; without this outlet to express and vent, he would become his Hyde.

Should remake this with the albums that are out now. He's even better now!

Thank You

I recognise his genius and i wish i listened to him earlier in my life

Yes!

2 of the best leading the pack. Aesop and Driver. ❤️

If I remember correctly his appearance on the Colbert Show was his second time on network television. He did an MTV Spot back in the day.

Awesome video on Aesop, another rap lyricist that is also up there in the same class with him is Lupe Fiasco, perhaps you could do a video on him as well

Ah, an objective fact, I'll watch that.

Went to two shows on this tour run where he had Homeboy Sandman with a set from “Lice”😎😳🤯 was amazing 🔥🔥🔥

Best that ever did it! In my humble opinion... He pushes the very limits of lyricism, while adhearing to the core values of the culture. Forever Favorite! "I didn't fuck up, It was a choice." - Robin Williams (Good Will Hunting)

My sentiment exactly

Thank you for this analysis... comes across very personal and academic. I can speak from a place of fandom about Aes all day / all night... and so, this video really resonated with me. I'm glad you called out Ruby '81 too. Aesop Rock will never be famous, he'll be recognized as transcendent and having stepped atop and over the art form far in the future, I expect.

"And adopt dogs just to tell 'em they're not in Kansas" another great example of intertextuality

As someone who loves to write poetry, nothing is more frustrating than listening to this man rap, because I know I will never be able to hold a candle to this man.

True.

First off, thanks for making this. I couldn't agree more with everything you said. I find it interesting that you chose to dissect those lines in particular. There's something about the cadence in the way he says those lines that always stuck out to me. He continues to impress and get better. This is what bothers me about atmosphere. After when life gives you lemons came out, everything has been mediocre at best. You figure artists would push each other to get better. Anyway you should do a video on his new album!

No doubt!!!!

He's my favorite Emcee on planet earth he's also the most misunderstood leaving most reviewers baffled 😯

Aesop is far and above my favorite rapper. I still revisit old albums just to peel back layers of lyrics which reveal new meaning still resonating with me a decade later.

He will describe the most mundane activity with the most complex word choice and metaphors ever

Thumbnail speaks the truth!

Thanks for the share. Subbed. Enjoy the presentation

"Snatch your food off your plate, snatch a GOAT off the bridge"....

I believe the first line is about an apartment or plot of land where authorities are not present that he can engage in his drug use without bother until his ‘Hyde is jekyllized”

Saul Williams huh? I love his verse on Release with Blackalicious! R.I.P Gift of Gab!

Well timed video.

I feel like Aesop rock fans act like those teachers in language arts “the door is red” “THIS IS A STRONG MESSAGE”

Indulgently haha i dunno why but i loved that line

The Impossible Kid is possibly the best piece of modern literature across the board. A̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶d̶i̶g̶g̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶u̶r̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶b̶e̶h̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶t̶s̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶,̶ ̶i̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶e̶r̶s̶o̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶g̶o̶-̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶k̶a̶t̶e̶b̶o̶a̶r̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶r̶i̶c̶k̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶"̶i̶m̶p̶o̶s̶s̶i̶b̶l̶e̶.̶"̶ ̶I̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶h̶a̶r̶d̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶m̶a̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶l̶e̶t̶ ̶a̶l̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶l̶e̶a̶r̶n̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶g̶o̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶w̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶A̶e̶s̶ ̶h̶o̶l̶d̶s̶ ̶a̶u̶t̶h̶e̶n̶t̶i̶c̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶v̶i̶r̶t̶u̶e̶.̶ ̶H̶e̶ ̶d̶o̶e̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶f̶a̶b̶r̶i̶c̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶,̶ ̶h̶e̶'̶s̶ ̶b̶r̶u̶t̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶h̶o̶n̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶r̶e̶s̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶e̶r̶s̶o̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶i̶g̶h̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶l̶e̶v̶e̶l̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶p̶o̶e̶t̶r̶y̶ ̶f̶l̶o̶w̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶u̶n̶i̶q̶u̶e̶ ̶r̶o̶c̶k̶-̶i̶n̶f̶l̶u̶e̶n̶c̶e̶d̶ ̶h̶i̶p̶-̶h̶o̶p̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶r̶u̶m̶e̶n̶t̶a̶l̶s̶.̶ ̶H̶e̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶l̶y̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶,̶ ̶A̶e̶s̶o̶p̶ ̶R̶o̶c̶k̶.̶ ̶A̶b̶s̶o̶l̶u̶t̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶G̶O̶A̶T̶s̶,̶ ̶D̶O̶O̶M̶ ̶(̶R̶I̶P̶)̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶.̶ ̶I̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶d̶i̶f̶f̶i̶c̶u̶l̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶e̶x̶h̶a̶u̶s̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶v̶e̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶p̶e̶r̶s̶o̶n̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶I̶'̶m̶ ̶g̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶e̶n̶d̶ ̶p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶v̶i̶d̶e̶o̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶o̶n̶. If you know you know.

I would love to hear your opinion on his new album

As a lifelong Hip-Hop head, he is quite easily the goat. My personal favorite is Sean Price. I love K-Rino as a head from Houston, Kool Keith is insane. G Rap and Rakim laid out the blueprint, MF DOOM is probably number 2 but Aesop takes the cake easily for me.

AES is the king. I get the feeling that most people can’t even follow his shit. A true artist

Yo bro, what's the background music? Really digging it. Somehow reminds me of Hotline Miami. And thx for this review, I discovered Aesop thru you!

Man I am just sad that I have never heard about him . But I want to be enlightened with more of his music please help.

Aesop qualifies for the saying "He's not your favorite rapper, but he's your favorite rapper's favorite."

Keeping his Hyde Jekyllized is saying that the contraband HELPS his negative view, takes him out of view - not, as you say, being responsible for the negativity. His Hyde is the negativity, and the Jekyllisation is him being kept sane through the use of contraband.

Aesop raps how I think it's soothing

100% Agree with the title of this video!!

Bro blood sandwich fucked me up

Aesop is one of the best no doubt. I grew up in the 90's, and I got to say, the one rapper that really opened me up to lyricism was non other than Redcloud. Lyrics like, "Syllable assembly, empty lily pad soliloquys" and many many more opened the door for lyrical fulfillment, which led me to revisit Aesop, who is hit and miss for me, but that's just one man's opinion.

The "little plot of land" is inside probably inside his head.

Agreed

He is honestly the hip-hop Bob Dylan, except without the acclaim. Hopefully people will someday get it.

I am not mad at this, Aesop is a god amongst mere men

love aesop. try jam baxter :) uk hip hop is very slept on

I really hope you read this but I'm curious about your take on Cambatta as a lyricist. He has a pretty dense catalog. We have LSD, N*GGERLA Tesla, camballah, yahawashi, kovid 24 , grand number theorem , the Womb among others. I definitely have Aesop Rock in my top 3 lyricist I've ever heard with Cam being number 1 in my humble opinion. If you have any feedback as to why Aesop would still reign as number 1 (hard to argue) in comparison to Cambatta I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

Among the best, at the very east, to be sure. I miss him as part of The Weathermen too. That was some of the best rappers around right there, all as one. All good things seem eager to come to an end though. I mean I get it. No Camu, no Weathermen, for sure. I know I'm very far from alone on missing both. Damn, good things always eager to end/fall apart. The universe always eager to snatch away the people we value the most from us. Maybe it's better not to think about that last part too much, I'm not sure at the moment.