Aesop Rock Comes to The Met

You can find the best hip-hop coming up from the underground. Through his unique vocal delivery and pristine rapping skills, Aesop Rock has been on a higher plane since his start in Long Island in the late ‘90s. He’s strikingly original and is continuously pushing the boundaries of an endlessly creative genre. His live performances back it up, and he has gotten a loyal following because of it. In support of his latest album, The Impossible Kid, Aesop Rock will be coming to The Met in Pawtucket on January 24.

Ahead of the festivities, I had a chat with Aesop about the numerous collaborative projects he’s started during this decade, being a part of the Minneapolis-based Rhymesayers label, his lyrical style, the growing and changing of music, and what the rest of the year has in store.

Rob Duguay: You’ve started a few groups since The Weathermen ended in 2010. You began Hail Mary Mallon with frequent collaborator Rob Sonic, The Uncluded with singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson and Two of Every Animal with fellow Weathermen member Cage. How did each of these projects comes together and are there any other artists that you’ve been thinking of making music with?

Aesop Rock: Two Of Every Animal was more of an idea that never got a chance to materialize. Rob and I have toured together for a lot of years and eventually just started making songs we could perform together on tour. He has been a close musical ally for a very long time, and our sensibilities align well in the group dynamic. Kimya is a good friend whose songwriting I have admired since her days in The Moldy Peaches. I love what she does and we have a lot in common, so writing that material has been therapeutic for both of us.

My other main collaborator lately has been Homeboy Sandman, who I find to be an awesome force in the world of writing and rapping. We’ve become close over the last few years and I find his music to be a great source of inspiration. As for others, I have a project in the works entirely produced by one person, which feels more like a collaboration even though I’m the only one rapping. I don’t want to say too much until we’re done, but yeah. I like doing full projects with these people as opposed to trying to get the most out of a single feature.

RD: Your seventh studio album, The Impossible Kid, came out in April of last year and you worked with Slug from Atmosphere and Siddiq on the album. What was it like working with the both of them and how has it been being part of Rhymesayers since the start of the decade?

AR: Slug and Siddiq are owners of the label, but don’t really have much to do with the making of the record. Either is down to give a listen and opinion when I seek it out, but for the most part they just kind of let me do my thing. Toward the end I get neurotic about my vocal takes and I start annoying Siddiq to listen to every take over and over. Beyond that, they basically just try to provide a stable home base that I can reach out to if I need, while staying out of the songwriting process.

RD: One thing that has been noted in your lyrical style is your extensive vocabulary and your complex and abstract use of words. Do you do a lot of reading? What do you consider to be the most influential books when it comes to your style and deliver?

AR: I read science journals and articles mostly. I’m not really a novel guy. I just take in information for a lot of the day. I bounce around between political articles, science stuff and visual arts a lot. That’s the stuff that works its way into my stuff.

RD: What’s your opinion on the state of hip-hop in 2017? A lot of purists have been critical of the “mumble rap” that the likes of Lil’ Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert are putting out while the underground and independent realm has been going strong.

AR: Yeah, I mean, it’s all out there. I don’t really get too bummed if what’s popping doesn’t line up with my sensibilities, because it’s all out there anyway. Also to be clear, I’m not that familiar with the music you mentioned, so I have nothing bad to say. But the point is, if you want it, it’s out there. Also, sometimes I do enjoy a lot of what’s going on in the mainstream, and then other times I don’t enjoy it as much. All this stuff goes in phases. Sometimes one will move you, sometimes one will miss you. I don’t usually get too upset about the state of things because it’s just music growing and changing and becoming something else. It’s all a big blob and there’s room for everyone.

RD: The year is still very young, but what can fans expect from you for the rest of 2017 after the show at The Met on January 24?

AR: I have a handful of projects started that will hopefully be seen in 2017, as well as a couple movies I scored coming out soon. I guess I don’t really have an official Aesop solo record started, but I have plenty of rapping coming out — production, too. I have been busy and hope to continue releasing stuff as often as I can.