Aesop Rock Night Thread. This picture is of Aesop Rock and A$AP Rocky together celebrating…something.

The man, the myth, the legend, rapper Aesop Rock (born 1976) has had a hell of a career. Known as one of the most eloquent yet idiosyncratic lyricists of the modern era, he got his start as an independent, ultra-underground rapper of the late ’90s in New York City. His debut album, “Float”, was released in 2000 and soon after that he signed to Def Jux, releasing several acclaimed albums and working with many of his fellow artists on said record label, including El-P, Murs, Mr. Lif, and more. He had a nervous breakdown in August 2001, shortly before the release of “Labor Days”, and found himself in Lower Manhattan during the 9/11 attacks. But that didn’t stop him.

After Def Jux disbanded in 2010, Aesop had built up enough of a following and fanbase to basically start doing rap almost completely independently, although he continued with occasional collaborations with other artists. “Skelethon” and “The Impossible Kid” followed in 2012 and 2016, respectively, and he also made two collaborative albums with Rob Sonic as Hail Mary Mallon and one with Kimya Dawson as The Uncluded. He has been quite active in the past 6 years, releasing another collaborative album with Tobacco under the name Malibu Ken, one collaborative album with longtime friend and producer Blockhead, “Garbology”, and three solo albums in the 2020s, “Spirit World Field Guide,” “Integrated Tech Solutions”, and the recent “Black Hole Superette”.

He’s not for everybody, but I admire how he just does what he wants. He loves the music, he loves the culture, but he doesn’t feel obligated to do anything “normal” or conventional, even if that means not everyone is going to get him.