Inspired by the third installment of The Naked Gun, we decided to compile our favorite albums over the first 3 1/3 years of the 2010s.
Dark Time Sunshine: ANX (Fake Four, 7/24/12)
Consisting of Grayskul’s Onry Ozzborn and producer Zavala, Dark Time Sunshine is a lesser-known gem in underground hip hop. The duo’s newest album, ANX, is a diverse offering with quite a few standout guests, including P.O.S, Aesop Rock, Busdriver, and more — one worth exploring.
Here’s the new video for “Take My Hand,” featuring Swamburger and Aesop (who spends most of it picking his nose).
Illogic & Blockhead: Capture the Sun (Man Bites Dog, 4/16/13)
Columbus rapper Illogic and Aesop Rock-collaborating producer Blockhead are teaming up to release Capture the Sun on April 16. “I’d been wanting do to an album where it’s just one MC and one producer,” Blockhead says. “All it took was Illogic dropping me a line, and I was down.”
Aesop Rock: Skelethon (Rhymesayers, 7/10/12)
“Zero Dark Thirty”
Aesop Rock: “Zero Dark Thirty”
Rap, understandably, always has placed an emphasis on lyrics, but most rappers are content to find the cleverest way to proclaim their sexual prowess and/or ability to rap well and call it a day. Rapper Aesop Rock (born Ian Bavitz), a veteran of now-defunct label Definitive Jux, doesn’t aim so low, shoving allusions, metaphors, and symbols into a motley band of verbosity that’s unmatched in hip hop. This is rap on hard mode. Don’t expect to understand everything he says on first listen (or tenth), a fact that’s earned him both praise and contempt. Case in point: one of the biggest selling points of a 2005 EP was a fat book of his collected lyrics. He returned this past July on Rhymesayers with Skelethon.
Last month ALARM presented its 50 favorite albums of 2012, an eclectic, rock-heavy selection of discs that were in steady rotation in our downtown-Chicago premises. Now, to give some love to tunes that were left out, we have our 50 (+5) favorite songs of last year — singles, B-sides, EP standouts, soundtrack cuts, and more.
Another year, another torrential downpour of albums across our desks. As always, we encountered way too much amazing music, from Meshuggah to The Mars Volta, Converge, Killer Mike, P.O.S, and many more.
Aesop Rock: Skelethon (Rhymesayers, 7/10/12)
“Zero Dark Thirty”
Aesop Rock: “Zero Dark Thirty”
Rap, understandably, always has placed an emphasis on lyrics, and rapper Aesop Rock is known for his motley blend of allusions, metaphors, and symbols. This is rap on hard mode, and it’s nearly unmatched.
Aesop Rock: Skelethon (Rhymesayers, 7/10/12)
Iconic wordsmith Aesop Rock’s latest effort, Skelethon, hasn’t been released yet, but the video for the album’s new single, “ZZZ Top,” was worth the wait. In it, Chinese martial artist Hao Zhi Hua — better known as Patti Lee — holds her own against a horde of misguided attackers. Check out some formidable knife-slinging / general bad-assery below.
Aesop Rock: Skelethon (Rhymesayers, 7/10/12)
Indie-rap icon Aesop Rock is releasing his first solo album in five years, Skelethon, on July 10. The followup LP to None Shall Pass features full production by Aesop as well as a small clan of contributors, including Allyson Baker of Dirty Ghosts, Kimya Dawson, and the other members of Hail Mary Mallon.
The video for “Zero Dark Thirty,” the first track released off his forthcoming album, shows a stoic, subdued Aesop reclined against a wall while time-lapse murals are painted and painted over behind him. Though the concept may be straightforward, the effect leaves a lasting impression.