Aesop Rock has been a favorite artist of lyrically inclined hip hop heads for the better part of twenty years. Today, he released his seventh studio album The Impossible Kid, his first since 2012's Skelethon.
The Impossible Kid finds Aesop at somewhat of a mid-life crisis. He is 39 years old, and he's returned to drawing, which he studied as an undergraduate. Of the connection between verbal and visual, he told Noisey, "I love lyrics that are dripping with imagery and tangible references. I try to write detailed stuff that makes a listener want to stick around, similar to how the right painting might make someone stare at it for a long time."
Remarkably, the album comes with a 48-minute shot-for-shot recreation of Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" directed by Rob Shaw. Watch it below and head here to buy the The Impossible Kid.
00:00 - Mystery Fish
03:09 - Rings
06:57 - Lotta Years
08:56 - Dorks
12:29 - Rabies
15:35 - Supercell
19:25 - Blood Sandwich
23:50 - Get Out of the Car
25:44 - Shrunk
28:52 - Kirby
31:39 - TUFF
35:30 - Lazy Eye
38:15 - Defender
41:26 - Water Tower
45:17 - Molecules