Listen: Aesop Rock - "Skelethon" (Full Album Stream)

Aesop Rock‘s new album Skelethon has arrived, it’s the former Def Jux emcees first in five years and freshman release through Rhymesayers. Entirely self-produced Skelethon is probably Aesop’s densest release to date, packing every song with enough food for thought to fill a clown car. Guest appearances are minimal but come from  Kimya Dawson, Allyson Baker of Dirty Ghosts, Hanni El Khatib, Nicky Fleming-Yaryan, Rob Sonic, DJ Big Wiz and the Grimace Federation. Skelethon follows in the wake of several deep personal losses for the emcee and highlights subject matter that deals with the sometimes-futile ways people try to cope with serious issues.  Perhaps the most telling line is also one of Aesop's most personal by way of album closer “Gopher Guts.”

“I have been completely unable to maintain any semblance of relationship on any level / I have been a bastard to the people who have actively attempted to deliver me from peril.”

So you see this is serious stuff right here. The beats are equally as dense with snippets of hip hop, soul, funk, rock and more being chopped up and re-contextualized to fit the vision, showing much progression from his earlier attempts during the Bazooka Tooth era.. If I haven't convinced you yet maybe it's worth noting that another Onomatopoeia favorite, Danny Brown, has been quoted as having written out all the lyrics from Aesop's last release, None Shall Pass, to better help him construct his own album. Cover art comes courtesy of Barcelona-based painter Aryz.

Listen to Skelethon below and if you like what you hear, buy it on iTunes or even better directly through Rhymsayers.

Skelethon Tracklist:
1. Leisureforce
2. ZZZ Top
3. Cycles To Gehenna
4. Zero Dark Thirty
5. Fryerstarter
6. Ruby ’81
7. Crows 1
8. Crows 2
9. Racing Stripes
10. 1,000 O’Clock
11. Homemade Mummy

12. Grace
13. Saturn Missiles
14. Tetra
15. Gopher Guts