TSS Presents Smoking Sessions With Aesop Rock
"Smoking Sessions With..." By TSSCrew on September 5, 2007 at 9:56 amIt’s been a decade since the gravely voiced Aesop Rock released his debut Music For Earthworms, and while his vibe sound have evolved immensely, his approach hasn’t. From the inception of his career Aesop has stood aloof from the rap pack, transforming detailed abstract visions into words with a bizarrely pleasant delivery. While the word unique is often over used in relation to artists, Aesop fits the definition perfectly. There isn’t another comparable, and over the course of five albums and three EP’s he has continued to experiment and enhance his music.
For his latest offering, None Shall Pass, Aesop splits production duty with long time collaborator Blockhead, with additional joints by El-P and Rob Sonic, resulting in a very comprehensive and fluent album. Love him or hate him, you’d be hard pressed to deny his artistic prowess and that to me is as hip-hop as it gets.
Photo Credit – Jeff Shaner
TSS: What’s going on man? They got you doing press all day?
Aesop Rock: Yeah, for the next three hours. You got me early on so I’m not that grumpy yet.
TSS: Alright, well I’ll make it quick and hopefully keep it interesting. First off, I wanted to ask what you think the biggest misconception is about you personally or musically?
Aesop Rock: Uhmm….I don’t know, I guess musically people tend to throw in the term, and I literally just read this a minute ago in a review, but they always throw in the term “stream of conscious” in reference to my writing. I always thought that meant that I just kinda put the pen to the paper and write whatever comes out in this vomitous outburst. But everything is really crafted over a long period of time and every word is individually selected very carefully. It’s kinda the opposite of stream of conscious. I don’t know, that just tends to be something I’ve heard for many years and I never really got it.
TSS: So it’s not like you sit down and write a whole song, it’s more of a grueling process that you shape and mold?
Aesop Rock: Yeah, it’s just not something that I sit and like whatever comes to my head comes out, which makes it this big abstract thing. People tend to make it seem like it’s this one sitting, and I just throw it all out there, and some of it is gibberish and this and that. I never really did anything like that (laughs). It’s just a weird thing I always read.
TSS: Okay, glad we cleared that up. Writers should take note. Next, I wanted to ask what album affected or influenced you most artistically?
Aesop Rock: In general in my life or most recently?
TSS: In general, you know like what album flipped your outlook on music?
Aesop Rock: I don’t know, I don’t think it would be any one record, but being from Long Island, I was very big on EPMD and Slick Rick. I mean it’s most early East Coast stuff, late 80’s or early 90’s. That’s my era. Public Enemy, It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back was a big one for me. I can’t say there was just one album, but there are a handful of those earlier East Coast albums. I was trying to take it all in. When you’re that age and your listening to music you’re like a sponge, just taking in as much as you could get your hands on. It seemed like there was an endless supply…Every record that was dropping was just sick, and it was rare for someone to put out a totally wack record at that time. It seems like it didn’t happen until the mid-90’s.
TSS: Do you remember the first wack record that you heard?
Aesop Rock: Oh geez. First wack record? It wasn’t the first wack record I heard, but I remember being shocked because I thought “Flava In Ya Ear” was such a hit single, and then thinking ‘wow, this Craig Mack album is fucking awful.’ That obviously wasn’t the first wack record, I don’t know what year that was, but I remember being shocked like, ‘how is this single so good, and this record so not good?’
TSS: (Laughs) Alright, back to the original question. The reason I asked about the album that influenced you most is because there wasn’t anyone with a style like yours before you. Was there any album that made you think it’s cool to go left and come with this completely bugged out style, or anything that inspired you to go that direction?
Aesop Rock: The thing that I liked about all the records that I was talking about was you take a Slick Rick, a BDP record or EPMD and they’re all equally dope but none of them sound alike. That is why people are always screaming about the ‘golden era’ because it was just a variety of stuff. When you bought a record from a guy like Slick Rick, he didn’t sound like anyone. He had his own thing going on, his own style and image that went with everything he brought to the table, and that was a large part of what I admired about him. The same thing with someone like KRS-One or Chuck D, they brought this entire thing to the table. It wasn’t just a rap record, if you bought a Public Enemy record you were buying an entire movement. The fact that these dudes were all equally on their own shit, but equally dope, that’s what inspired me.
Early on when I was starting to write rhymes I was basically biting everyone I could, just learning how to rap. I wouldn’t think to myself, ‘would Erik Sermon say this?’ Eventually you start realizing that you want to be dope, but you want to be equally as unique as you are good. So you end up finding this way to flip these things that you’ve heard, and turn something from an influence and filter it through what sounds cool to you, or what’s your take on things and how are you gonna flip it and make it original and put your own spin on it. It’s sort of the lost art – putting your spin on things. Putting style in…there used to be style involved with rap music, it was kinda the main element but it’s sorta been forgotten. I don’t know, I guess I just tried to do my own thing.
TSS: What would you say has been the most important lesson you have learned throughout your career?
Aesop Rock: The one lesson I keep trying to learn – and that everyone I’ve met is trying to learn – is to just not let critics and reviews and magazines shape you in any way. You always read through reviews even though you say you’re not going to and then you end up being pissed off or something. It boils down to you can’t listen to that shit, or even be affected by it because then you start letting those opinions filter into what you’re making. Meanwhile, you got to where you are making your own shit by yourself.
The one thing you always have to go back to is that if you did achieve any success at all, you did it on your own terms. So the way you should continue is on your own terms as well, not letting others opinions play into it. The fans have their opinions of what’s your best work, the critics have theirs, and you have your own. At the end of the day you have to listen to yourself more than anyone else when it comes to the creative side. The creative side all started in my bedroom, from me trying to make songs in my bedroom, and that’s kinda how I still do it. That’s what’s most important, make it a one or two man operation, and don’t let other things affect you to where it will affect what you’re making, and how you’re making it.
TSS: What are your feelings towards journalists and critics?
Aesop Rock: Well, it’s necessary. It’s hard to hate something you know…My records are 100% me, without trying to be influenced by anyone else. Once I know I’ve done the art side of the record, the creative side, to the fullest of my potential, I let the label and the publicity do their thing with it. They push it how they can and I’ve sorta accepted it as part of the process at this point. It’s not the fun part. I mean I got in this because I like to make music, period. I don’t think I’m a good public speaker. I’m not good at sitting and answering questions, or whatever. But I think I’m pretty good in the studio, and maybe I can rock a show on a good day. It’s necessary, and I realize that if I’m going to try keep doing this music full time, these are things I have to be part of also. I just take the good with the bad, and run with it.
TSS: Let’s talk about the album for a second. Where were you at mentally during None Shall Pass, and where do you think it stands in your catalog?
Aesop Rock: Well, I’m biased because I always like my newest shit best cause I’m the least sick of it, but even outside of that bias, and to use a journalistic term, it’s my most realized stuff. I feel like it’s the most thought out and focused material I’ve put out, and it really has a theme that runs through it and a sound that goes with that theme. Blockhead and myself did most of the production, and El-P and Rob Sonic each did one beat. And even though all the production is done by different people, we managed to weave it all together so that the whole thing, in my opinion, sounds like one coherent piece. I feel like the writing is better. Some of the stories I was able to pull off are just…I don’t know, I’m not one to sit here and say I’m the man. But I feel like I did a good job. I definitely finished the record and stood back, and thought I might have done something right here. I guess it’s up to the sharks now and see if they like it. I don’t know where it stands, but it’s definitely the most complete package I’ve put out there.
TSS: You mentioned the stories, and this may be a weird question, but do the people you tell the stories of, do they have faces, like are they more than just faceless concepts?
Aesop Rock: Yeah, during the time I’m writing them. It’s funny cause some of the stories, there were a couple I started a year ago, like I would write the first half and didn’t have an ending so I would put it away. Then at some point, I would pull out and had to dig up their faces again and recreate things. But yeah, during the time the stories are being written and recorded these people are realistic characters in my head. Nothing is directly biographical but it’s all sort of based on things that I’ve experienced, or people that I know have experienced. I want to pull stuff from real life and make it as believable as possible so I pay attention to detail and treat it as an author would when writing a story, like staying in a third person point of view and describe a situation as much as you can where you pull from real life and stuff in your head.
TSS: Alright, cool. That’s gonna be it from me. Anything else you wanted to add?
Aesop Rock: Not really. It comes out the 28th, and I hope people like it.
Aesop Rock’s None Shall Pass is in stores now. Go cop that!
Listen to Aesop Rock’s “Citronella” and “None Shall Pass” from None Shall Pass (Def Jux).
For more on Aesop Rock, visit www.myspace.com/aesoprockwins and www.definitivejux.net.
Posted in "Smoking Sessions With...", ARTIST INTERVIEWS, GENERAL
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YES!!
Wit-E Beats Presents – Street Bangers Vol.23-(Bootleg)
01. (00:00:48) Wit-E Beats – 01 – Street Bangers Vol 23 Intro
02. (00:04:41) Tego Calderon ft Chyno Nyno, Nejo, Pirulo, & Voltio – 02 – Lo Hecho Hecho Esta
03. (00:04:16) Bizzy Bone ft Twista – 03 – Money
04. (00:03:46) Young Buck ft The Outlawz – 04 – Drivin Down The Freeway
05. (00:03:46) Aesop Rock – 05 – The Harbor Is Yours
06. (00:03:19) Kanye West ft Chris Martin – 06 – Homecoming
07. (00:04:51) Coughee Brothaz – 07 – On A Hunt For A Lady
08. (00:03:33) Ice Water ft Raekwon & Busta Rhymes – 08 – Do It Big
09. (00:02:52) Scarface – 09 – Never [EXCLUSIVE]
10. (00:03:33) Twista ft T-Pain – 10 – Creep Fast
11. (00:03:35) Mozark (Darkshadez) – 11 – Cruel Summer [EXCLUSIVE]
12. (00:02:22) Fabolous ft Cassidy – Gangsta Walk
13. (00:04:23) Ice Water ft Raekwon & Pimp C – 13 – Knuckle
14. (00:02:55) Tego Calderon ft Pirulo –
15. (00:04:04) Daz Dillinger – 15 – Only On The Left Side
16. (00:01:43) Mozark (Darkshadez) – Freestyle [EXCLUSIVE]
17. (00:02:54) A-1 AFicial – 17 – I Can [EXCLUSIVE]
18. (00:04:25) CunninLynguists ft. Witchdoctor & Phonte – 18 – Yellow Lines
19. (00:03:46) Strong Arm Steady ft Tha Liks & Stylistic Jones – 19 – I Cant Wait
20. (00:02:24) Game ft Lil Wayne – 20 – Lyrical Homocide
21. (00:03:46) Tego Calderon – 21 – Tradicional a Lo Bravo
22. (00:04:46) Aesop Rock – 22 – Citronella
23. (00:03:26) Kanye West ft T-Pain – 23 – Good Life (Outro)
Playing Time………: 01:19:54
Total Size………..: 109.78 MB
http://hh7yu8tczkuuphr2zfeqq.usercash.com
am i the only one who thinks that this guy forces a bunch of big words into a beat and calls it a song?
)JADAKISS – Real Hood Luv Again
01. JADAKISS – HOOD LUV INTRO
02. JADAKISS FEAT. MARY J – BACK 2 LIFE
03. JADAKISS FEAT. SOUL 4 REAL – ONE MAN
04. JADAKISS – THE PREDITORS BACK
05. JADAKISS FEAT. UNCLE MURDER – G SHIT
06. JADAKISS FEAT. YOUNG JEEZY & R KELLY – GO GETTA RMX
07. JADAKISS FEAT. SHEEK LOUCH & RICK ROSS – DOWN SOUTH
08. JADAKISS FEAT. STYLES – PUSH IT RMX
09. JADAKISS FEAT. SHEEK – SURVIVAL IN THE CITY
10. JADAKISS FEAT. HURRICANE – A BAY BAY RMX
11. JADAKISS FEAT. SHEEK LOUCH – ITS ME BITCHES
12. JADAKISS – THUG IT OUT
13. JADAKISS – DOPE GAME
14. JADAKISS – WIPE ME DOWN
15. JADAKISS FEAT. CHRIS BROWN – WALL TO WALL RMX
16. JADAKISS FEAT. KEISHA COLE – GUESS WHAT
17. JADAKISS FEAT. AKON – DO YOU FEEL ME
18. JADAKISS FEAT. LUDACRIS – MORE & MORE
19. JADAKISS FEAT. GUCCI MAN – DRIBBLE
20. JADAKISS – MESSAGE TO THE FAMOUS HATERS
21. JADAKISS FEAT. JOHN LEGAEND – HEAVEN
22. JADAKISS FEAT. JOHNTA AUSTIN – TURN IT UP
23. JADAKISS FEAT. STYLES – SMILE
24. JADAKISS – LAST DAYZ
25. JADAKISS FEAT. JOELL ORTIZ & SAIGON – HIP HOP
26. JADAKISS – HAVOC
27. JADAKISS FEAT. NORE – THROW EM UNDER THE BUS
28. JADAKISS – GANGSTA SALUTE
29. JADAKISS – IM FROM THE GHETTO
30. BONUS SCRAMZ FEAT KNOTTI (BACKOUT ENT) – ANGEL DUST
http://www.sendspace.com/file/9i6lj7
TSS is MAJOR
Citronella is my jam!
That whole album bangs.
**Let the shit-talkin’ begin…
good shit, thats my favorite rapper.
Jon, it sure sounds that way but as he stated, he carefully constructs his lyrics when he’s creating a song. As with all music, its up to the listener to determine their own experience…
Does anyone have a dl (or even torrent) link for the full American Pimp documentary, I googled but can’t find one. The outtakes were up in an earlier comments box(Thanks to Wit-e-beats,I think)and got me interested in seeing the rest.
big words..lol..isn’t it
good to have vocab..but
your not alone Jon. A lot
of folks feel that way.
Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and
Knives layed it all out for
your senses..lol
my fault on that F.D., i didnt realize that was just the outtakes, i will see if i can get the full movie 4 u.
this should do 4 now man, u can watch the whole thing on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/bigpimpdaddie
pretty sure u can find it thru this site:
http://hhm4ft579097wcm09z5.usercash.com
u can get ALMOST any movie u want there, and usually find sites 2 stream the movie where u dont have 2 download it.
jon…you just need to get up on his songs “daylight” & “nightlight”…dope concept for the songs and lyrical as fuck…those two songs made me a fan…and his feature he did on Murs’ song “happy pillz”
aesop is one of the most original emcees out right now…and he spazzes out at shows
aesop rock is wack as fuck. poor beat selections, retarded flow, nasally and annoying voice, college art student drop out lyrics… hell naw.
chugged half a fifth of Bacardi 151, after throwing up fire I passed out for a few hours and when I woke up pissed gasoline.
Yo! I heard that Cham leaked…anyone got a link on that? This would be the month from Heaven if its true!
TSS UP!
“nasally and annoying voice”
^^ proof u never even heard dude rap, his voice is mad deep. nothing nasally about it.
ps: 50 v. Kanye Rolling Stone cover is out:
http://www.hhmusicblog.com/2007/09/05/50-cent-kanye-west-cover-rolling-stone.html
check it out…not that impressive…I thought they would be arm wrasslin’.
Lol @ Wit. I was thinkin “what or who has son been listening to?”
i dunno Gotty, but its NOT Aesop…when I 1st heard him i envisioned this giant beastly black dude- he def doesnt sound like he looks.
Artist : Chamillionaire
Album : Ultimate Victory
1. The Morning News (3:58)
2. Hip Hop Police Featurning Slick Rick (4:11)
3. Standing Ovation (4:27)
4. Wont Let You Down (4:37)
5. Industry Groupie (3:32)
6. Pimp Mode Featuring Bun B (5:22)
7. Rock Star Featuring Lil Wayne (5:00)
8. S— (3:04)
9. The Bill Collecta Featuring Krayzie Bone (3:51)
10. The Ultimate Victory (4:05)
11. Come Back To The Streets (4:52)
12. I Think I Love You (4:43)
13. The Evening News (4:08)
14. Welcome TO The South Featuring Pimp C (4:12)
15. You Must Be Crazy Featuring Lil Ken (4:54)
16. Me Breakin Up (4:40)
17. S— – Stuck in The Ghetto Featuring Tony Henry (1:45)
18. Rock Star Featuring Devin The Dude (4:59)
19. The Ultimate Victory (3:11)
Total Playing Time: 79:41 (min:sec)
Total Size : 111.0 MB (116,402,541 bytes)
http://iiqeo2v7wqnh1zyqvrj4.usercash.com
*I’m back!*
He’s nasally kinda like GLC. Sound like dude gotta loogie waiting.
BTW, that GLC mixtape is wack, but the skits are funny.
And Wit-E, I got you this week on the FF charts, dude, by 9 points. Good luck mane.
The Reconciliation;
http://www.zshare.net/audio/3443012acdfabd/ eyes in sky ft biggie
http://www.zshare.net/audio/3442995c758b2a/ mama lova [dear mama remx]
Good.
you blinked…
i only listened to labor days but the dudes voice is definitely nasally. nasally doesnt mean high pitched and whiny, by the way. you can have a deep voice and sound nasally. the point stands though aesop rock is fucking awful and the epitome of garbage backpack rap’ he’s for white dudes just getting into “hip hop” who hate on the south and the mainstream and shit like that.
Nice! Good lookin on that Cham. Wit & Gotty
i can’t say i listen to aesop on the regular, but i respect what dude does. trust me i listen to way more 40 wata and ugk type stuff, but he definitely brings something different, and I can’t knock him for it.
Chris- u seem like the type who has preconceived notions, at least educate urself b4 forming an opinion man. calling dude “fucking awful and the epitome of garbage backpack rap’ he’s for white dudes just getting into “hip hop” who hate on the south and the mainstream and shit like that” & “wack as fuck. poor beat selections, retarded flow, nasally and annoying voice, college art student drop out lyrics” based off 1 album u probably skimmed thru, makes u seem real ignant.
care 2 make a wager D?
Im a really smart guy…its not that the lyrics are too indepth for me…even if i go back and read the lyrics and decypher the message what is he really saying??? and why would i want to bump some shit in my care where i need a dictionary…shit I can listen to Blackstar all day and they are on the deep side of the rap spectrum…but i dont need no god damn thesauras to get anything out of their rhymes…my oppinon tho
yo on the real i like aesop but you really have to be in the mood to listen to dude because your going to be rewinding each song at least 3 time before you can even understad what dude is talking about but sometime when i’m zoning his lyrics are cool to break down. “color me what”
oh yeah wit-e good looks on that cham
wit-e, i listened to the entire album, how is that a preconcieved notion? and i like how you assume i “skimmed” it. i think aesop rock is a shitty rapper, deal with it.
wow, nice comment, garbage backpack rap, aesop is part of that backpack rap for sure, but he brings more on the table that 99% of the backpack rap i ve listened to, if you want to hate on a backpack rapper its gotta be someone else or maybe you dont know enough about it, just say that you love the south and the mainstream, leave the topic alone if its not your field…
and colour shouldnt be a factor homie…
gasface magazine – a US Rap Mix! here:
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=84B71AFF7007AD52
fOR The CuriouS ! 5min !
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=94674827
http://myspace.com/kungfoutremaster
and http://www.spinemagazine.com/
articles … but U know !
P34C3 Y’477
nidal:
so because i dont like your underground rap savior i must like mainstream and southern rap myself? all i said was that his fans are usually haters and def jux/anticon dickriders.
i didnt expect people who frequent TSS to give a fuck about aesop rock. damn.
Does Cham seriously have two songs on his album called “rock star”?
that can’t be right…….
I always get depressed when I see people hating on MCs like Aesop for using “big words” (I don’t know about any of you guys, but I haven’t heard Aesop use a word I didn’t know). It’s like you dislike him because he knows how to use the English language and has a better command of it than some rapper like Rich Boy. The fact is, Aesop is one of the few rappers today that actually know how to use figurative language, and he should be applauded for that. I don’t care if you don’t like his flow or his beats, that’s fine, just don’t hate on him because he makes you feel stupid. Learn some more words: read a motherfucking book.
that’s the point, his lyrical style is better in would be better in written form so a broader range of pretentious art fags could jerk off over it. not rapped over a wack beat with his awful flow and voice.
and being wordy =/= good. the greatest poets of our age and of past ages have used simple vocabulary to create imagery and emotion and all that good shit. someone who can craft a moving song out of simple words with simple meanings should be applauded, not a dude who studied a thesaurus.
If that’s true, I seriously hope he’s the last rapper to name a track ‘Rock Star’..
I think theirs two songs called Ultimate Victory too. And im surprised he did’nt put “Not A Criminal” on this joint, he even had a remix for that song too and it’s not on the album.
In my humble opinion, too many folks trying to box in artists as well as their own listening experiences.
At the same time, I’m way past the days of trying to “win” people over to artists I like/love. If I like it, I could really care less if the next dude does. Shortchanging himself if you ask me.
can anyone re-up the cham?
“pick up a book you illiterate son of a bitch, step up your vocab”
track # 18 on that Cham is actually called ‘Rocky Road’ & Cham decided no profanity on this album.
hey wit-e i got a couple requests if you got em…
Lil Wyte-Doubt Me Now
Chamillionaire-Mixtape Messiah 2
3 6 Mafia-Da Unbreakables
Project Pay-Crook By The Book
Good Lookin if you got em.
none shall pass
http://www.myspace.com/mercuryonmyspace
Worth a couple listens, I promise! My dude put me on to son, he’s nasty…
“i didnt expect people who frequent TSS to give a fuck about aesop rock. damn.”- Chris
WOW, now theres a brilliant statement. You seem to have you’re finger on the pulse of the hip-hop community. Thanks for taking a break between Graduation listens to drop some knowledge on all of us…
^ True.
Just last week, someone was complaining that we should have more “real” artists like Aesop featured on here. Dramatic irony as it may be, I couldn’t tip my hand then but I knew we had this piece laying in the cut.
Like i said though, you can’t please everybody & definitely not all on the same day lol
^I love this site cuzza that very reason. TSS don’t discriminate between different styles. Everyone gets love. I like it all, keep em coming!
@Chris. You might not like his voice, flow, or lyrics. But don’t disregard it all as pretentious. I don’t think he came out trying to act “above” other emcees. He’s just covering a part of hip hop no one else has because that’s what suits him.
^^^WORD UP!
“Like i said though, you can’t please everybody & definitely not all on the same day lol”-Gotty
LOL… play on playa.
a true definition of the word ARTIST. anyone who can’t grasp his steez (or gives up on the first try, for that matter)doesn’t have a love for REAL Hip Hop. you may not like how he puts words together but you HAVE to respect him for how he does it. you may not like the herky-jerky, abstract beats he incorporates, but you HAVE to respect the way he can ride those selections.
and yes, because he doesn’t conform, because he “uses big words” (you’re pathetic and need a better education) and because he continuously progresses into something new EVERY TIME he touches the mic, YOU GIVE THE MAN RESPECT!!!
turn off your radio! turn off that bullshit!
kill your tv man! unload that full clip!!!
p.s. None Shall Pass (which i’ve been rocking since MARCH!!!) Catacomb Kids, Five Fingers, Citronella, Coffee & the hidden track i’ve been callin Bacon Scavengers are the SHIT!!! you can bump most of those in a car and knock harder than any shitty 50 beat out right now!!!
Live. Learn. Then get Hip Hop
big ups to my man Mr. Bloom for the interview. CB-4!!! What the deal!?!?
^I love this site cuzza that very reason. TSS don’t discriminate between different styles. Everyone gets love. I like it all, keep em coming!
==========
Very true. I like to think our, both that you see & don’t see, is diverse
haha this is funny. ace rock is dope. you’re allowed t feel otherwise, thats fine. but what i think is the best is the irony that aesops in a rawkus interview… you know how much this label has tried to destroy el-p and def jux? just cuz rawkus never paid them and el would deal with it. ace is gonna do the interviews hes gonna do, but damn! come on man
whats the song Aesop did with SLOW SUICIDE STIMULUS called and where can I find it? That song is heat!!!!
Amusing how he seems to imply none of his lyrics are gibberish. If you write lyrics so cryptic that they have meaning only to you, who’s fault is that? Speaking relatively, many of his lyrics really are gibberish and he sounds like an arrogant dickhead trying to dodge the point. It’s clear by his defensiveness that people have brought it up to him before, I’m glad to see he’s at least aware. His cliche name dropping of 80’s artists and the repeating of the by now tired line about how much better hip hop used to be scores him no points either.
Aesop rock… wack ryhmes on wack beats = wack music. step yo game up. cause yo shit is WACK HOMIE!