Number 39: Labor Days by Aesop Rock
Release: September 18th, 2001
Genre: Hip-Hop
Favorite Tracks: Labor, Daylight, No rEgrets
Where I heard it:
Nearly a decade ago, I created a Reddit account on my high school's tech lab computer after weeks of intrigue. Dubbed 'the front page of the internet', there were so many niche communities that aggregated interesting content from external links and articles on other websites. One of the very first pages that I saved and still cherish to this day is a write-up from The Pudding newsletter that ranks rap artists based on the size of their vocabulary. This interactive chart analyzes unique words contained in a rapper's first 35,000 lyrics, plotting the data along an axis to emphasize the gap between certain artists. It's a fascinating read; the author even edited the chart in 2019 to include a selection of modern rappers. In a league of his own at the top of the graph was Aesop Rock, who is one of only two artists measured to exceed 7,000 unique words. I wasn't very into the hip-hop genre while I was in high school, but Aesop Rock was familiar to me from the inclusion of Labor within the soundtrack of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. Despite my distaste in rap, I figured an artist with the intellectual capacity of Aesop Rock had to be worth a listen. I tore into Labor Days in the early months of 2014, which reignited my love for Aesop and started my forthcoming hip-hop journey with lofty expectations.
You only call her a bitch 'cause she won't let you get that pussy
Maybe she didn't feel y'all shared any similar interests
Or maybe you're just an asshole who couldn't sweet talk the princess
~ Daylight
What to expect:
Although he's received widespread acclaim for his prolific songwriting and poetic flow, Aesop Rock has forgone the fame and accolades to remain a king of the underground hip-hop scene. Gaining popularity among college campuses across the East coast, word of Aesop Rock quickly spread after signing to fellow rapper El-P's label Definitive Jux. Notable for his production work, El-P aided in establishing the trademark sound of Aesop Rock in his early years: bass-heavy, groovy beat loops that allow his intricate lyrics to take center stage as the main attraction. By the release of Labor Days at the turn of the millennium, Aesop and his production crew had refined this art of songwriting down to a science. Labor Days is a technical feast of vocal mechanics, rife with tongue-twisting bars and meticulous meter that echo the storytelling abilities of an Aesop fable. Whether it's the bouncy string samples of No rEgrets or the laid-beat beat of The Tugboat Complex Pt. 3, Aesop Rock is guaranteed to immerse you with his lyrically dense verses. While this inherently increases the album's complexity, it doesn't take a Masters degree in English studies to understand Aesop's verbiage in his verses. In fact, Aesop's pronunciation in his vocal delivery is perfectly clear. The challenge of Labor Days lies in interpreting the myriad of literary devices buried under an avalanche of words that accompany each verse, especially in faster sections like the end of Save Yourself. Aesop's bars are bursting with witty observation and pensive reflection, weaved together with the prose of a motivational speaker that commands your attention. It isn't impossible to gleam a song's meaning just by listening to it, but it's difficult to digest the album in one full sitting without reading along with the lyrics sheet as a supplemental guide. I don't often recommend this practice, but Labor Days is best experienced when its content is most comprehensible. You'll be surprised at how effortlessly each line flows into the next. This album offers a trial for experienced hip-hop heads and linguists alike, should you choose to accept it.
Hate the fact that eight hours a day is wasted
On chasing the dream of someone that isn't us
And we may not hate our jobs
But we hate jobs in general that don't have to do with fighting our own causes
~ 9-5ers Anthem
Why it's my favorite:
When I first latched on to Aesop Rock my senior year, I pompously touted the sophistication of listening to educated material like Labor Days over modern rap garbage that everybody my age listened to at the time. In hindsight, I was just being a gatekeeping ass toward a genre I hardly knew anything about in the first place. Enjoying Aesop doesn't earn me a medal; what it does is heighten my own appreciation for rap as a form of art and expression. Labor Days' underlying concept of unification among the working class demonstrates Aesop's down-to-Earth attitude that views him as an equal, not an idol. This theme is more obvious in tracks like Labor and 9-5ers Anthem, but some of my favorite songs like Daylight are more subtle in disguising their political message. Aesop's expansive knowledge of the English language create lines that are distinctly his own, utilizing clever rhyme schemes to conjure playful lines that leave a lasting impression. The world of underground hip-hop is an iceberg of hidden talent, but Aesop is in a league of his own when it comes to his lexicon, and Labor Days represents the pinnacle of that pedestal. My love for hip-hop wouldn't be what it is today without encountering this masterpiece.
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