Rapper Aesop Rock is one of the most lyrically innovative and exciting artists in the game. Remember that chart that showed the largest vocabulary in hip hop? The person who put the chart together, who excluded Rock because he was, “…too obscure“, had to add him in because the hip hop community was upset he was left off. And guess what? He won by pretty much a landslide. Rock was clocked in using 7,392 unique words while his closest competition, GZA, was nearly a thousand words behind at 6,462. Clearly, Aesop Rock brings something unique to the game.
With his new album The Impossible Kid coming out this Friday, Aesop Rock decided to change the album stream game by releasing his album as one nearly 50 minute video. But instead of just putting his album cover as a visual, he and his team recreated Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining in a near shot-for-shot remake! The video uses little toys and scale models. It’s a mixture of being charming in its obvious low-budget approach but also delightful in how much detail and passion was poured into the end product. This was a labor of love and I’m adoring every second!
There’s also a great interview about The Impossible Kid over at Vice that’s totally worth checking out.
Tour dates:
5/5 – Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo
5/6 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
5/7 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
5/9 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
5/10 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst
5/12 – Los Angeles, CA – The Novo
5/13 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up
5/15 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
5/16 – Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
5/18 – Las Vegas, NV – Fremont Country Club
5/20 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
5/21 – Durango, CO – Animas City Theatre
5/23 – Denver, CO – Cervantes
5/24 – Ft Collins, CO – Aggie Theatre
6/2 – Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre
6/3 – Chicago, IL – Metro
6/4 – Grand Rapids, MI – Pyramid Scheme
6/6 – Pontiac, MI – The Crofoot
6/7 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
6/8 – Columbus, OH – A&R Music Bar
6/10 – Pittsburgh, PA – Rex Theater
6/11 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
6/13 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
6/15 – Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall
6/16 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
6/17 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
6/27 – Richmond, VA – The National
6/28 – Washington, DC – 930 Club
6/29 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
7/1 – Charlotte, NC – Visualite
7/2 – Knoxville, TN – The International
7/3 – Atlanta, GA – The Loft
7/5 – Orlando, FL – The Social
7/6 – Ft Lauderdale, FL – Revolution
7/8 – St Petersburg, FL – State Theatre
7/10 – Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall
7/11 – Baton Rouge, LA – Varsity Theatre
7/13 – San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger
7/14 – Dallas, TX – Trees