Rhymesayers Entertainment

Aesop Rock

Video: Aesop Rock’s “Zero Dark Thirty”

Aesop Rock: SkelethonAesop 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.

Jel

Q&A: Jel

Jel: Greenball 3.5Jel: Greenball 3.5 (Fieldwerk, 4/17/12)

“Ignition Key”

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Knowing nothing about his sleeping patterns, Just looking at his discography, one gets the sense that producer/rapper Jel (born Jeffrey Logan) lives and breathes on beats alone — that for him, rest is but an afterthought. Ever since the 1997 formation of hip-hop duo Themselves, in which he partners with Adam “Doseone” Drucker, the prolific artist has put out multiple releases every year either under his own name, with Themselves, with other projects such as Subtle and 13 & God, or as producer for other innovative rap artists such as Serengeti. Oh, and he co-founded LA-based indie hip-hop label Anticon. No big deal.