Video: Aesop Rock – "Cycles to Gehenna" Zavala Remix

Aesop Rock let loose a second set of visuals for Skelethon track “Cycles to Gehenna” with a remixed sound. The video sticks to the theme of dancers and looks like it might be may have been shot at the same time as the original.

Video: Aesop Rock – “Homemade Mummy”

Aesop Rock  and friends spend a day at an indoor carnival having some fun in the video for “Homemade Mummy” off of the emcee's Skelethon LP.

Video: Aesop Rock - “Cycles to Gehenna”

AesopRock  let loose his latest set of visuals for “Cycles to Gehenna” off of his recently released, and very good LP, Skelethon. Perhaps taking a cue from Kanye we get some lovely artsy type footage of ballerinas, or perhaps rappers just like the classically trained dancers as a whole? Can’t say for certain but it all works very well. Directed by Ben and Pete Lee.

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