Ian Bavitz (also known as Aesop Rock) was born on Long Island, New York in 1976. When he later started creating rap projects with his long-time friend and producer Blockhead, his style was heavily influenced by the 90s New York rappers he grew up listening to.
How is Aesop Rock?
His quick, verbose rapping over slow, bass-heavy beats helps emphasize the role of his vocals over all else. Of course, that same emphasis on having such a large vocabulary can often make his verses near unintelligible unless listeners put their full focus into his songs. While there certainly is a place for music that requires your full attention in order to understand what’s going on, there are often times where his rhymes are just a bit too incomprehensible to tell what’s going on anyway.
What has Aesop Rock done?
Over the course of his 20+ year career, Aesop has released nine studio albums, six EPs, and many more collaborative songs with other artists. Of course, over that kind of a career, an artist is bound to evolve. While his rapping style hasn’t changed much since his debut “Music for Earthworms”, the production surrounding him has shifted so much that the effect of his onslaught of words has taken on a completely different tone by the time of his 2020 album “Spirit World Field Guide”.
As his beats became more synthetic over time, Aesop ironically seems to just get more authentic and personal. That’s not to say his early work featured impersonal content, just that most of his lyrics focused on his day-to-day complaints with work that are often prevalent in conversations with friends. There isn’t much he raps about early on that isn’t already covered by other rappers, in other words. A lot of the complaints critics often place against Aesop’s seemingly pretentious nature comes from these albums, I believe.
Anyway, here’s Aesop’s most popular song that acts as a great introduction to his work: “None Shall Pass”
JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown’s collab album, “SCARING THE HOES”, has finally arrived. This album is the first of supposedly three albums that each are releasing this year, and it does not disappoint.
Isn’t this supposed to be fun?
Both artists are on point in their verses and JPEGMAFIA’s production is filled to the brim with inventive samples. Their disregard for mainstream success and popularity drives much of their motivation for this album. That motivation is made explicitly apparent on the eponymous track “SCARING THE HOES”.
Stop scarin’ the hoes Play that s— have them touch they toes “We don’t wanna hear that weird s— no more” (Uh) “What the f— is that? Give me back my aux cord” (Yeah)
Lyrics from “SCARING THE HOES” by JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown
The name comes from a tweet by JPEGMAFIA where he insults people who use this excuse to keep others from listening to weirder music. The song samples a piece of shrieking avant-garde jazz that may turn off a lot of mainstream listeners already. Peggy does work to turn the sample into a workable beat, though, making it more appetizing to a wider audience.
Through the rest of the album, the two artists just seem to be having fun with this collaboration. There’s so much bright percussion and synths on tracks like “Garbage Pale Kids” and “Where Ya Get Ya Coke From?” They’re not afraid to make music that sounds silly and lighthearted, even if the content is definitely not kid-friendly. It creates space for listeners to relax and unwind without feeling ashamed.
Nitpicks
Though, there does seem to be something off with Brown’s energy on this project. He seems to have mellowed out some from his former projects, which is not what I would expect working with someone as eccentric as JPEGMAFIA.
Additionally, Peggy’s production can sound quite shallow in places when there’s no bass supporting it. While this works for Peggy’s deeper voice, Brown’s nasally vocals on top of some of these beats can feel lacking on tracks like “Steppa Pig”. However, the fast vibrant style of songs like “Fentanyl Tester” seems to accomplish the work of bringing each of their styles together well.
Concluding Thoughts
It’s possible that we’ll be getting more extensive collaboration in the future from these two considering their invocation of duo Run the Jewels as a song title. If so, I cannot wait for it considering how well this album ultimately comes together. While some tracks lack the energy that might be needed to maximize the impact of both rappers, the finished project is fun, off-the-wall, and has the potential to expand both of their audiences significantly. Or, they’ll sit by satisfied with scaring the hoes.
Music video for “SCARING THE HOES” by JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown
