Aesop Rock

Although little is known about his personal life, Aesop Rock (real name Ian Bavitz) is well known in the underground hip hop scene as an original and inventive rapper. His style blends rapid-fire delivery with confusing lyrics and Dadaist style that some critics attack as randomness, while others discover meanings within them. Some go as far to call him a street poet because his rhymes are closer to poetry than the nihilism and materialism usually associated with hip hop.

A white New York City-based rapper, Aesop initially did records for the Mush record label, including his first major release Float with guest appearances from Cannibal Ox, Slug and Dose One. Production was done by Blockhead and Aesop himself. Lyrics included "I'm an honesty columnist, fathering doom document, cursed version of a certain Virgin Mary womb occupant"

Shortly after releasing Float, Aesop Rock signed to Definitive Jux where he released Labor Days, an album dedicated to the discussion of labor in American society and the concept of "wage slaves." This album was most known for its single, Daylight with an unmistakable chorus: "All I ever wanted was to pick apart the day, put the pieces back together my way"

This was followed by Bazooka Tooth, his most recent album. This time around, production was mostly done by Aesop and El-P, president and CEO of Definitive Jux. Guest appearances include Party Fun, El-P, Mr. Lif (all Definitive Jux labelmates) and Float

Definitive Jux releases

Labor Days (2001)
Boombox 12" (2001)
Daylight 12" (2001)
Coma / Maintenance 12" (2001)
Daylight (2002)
Bazooka Tooth (2003)
Easy / No Jumper Cables 12" (2003)
Freeze / The Greatest Pac-Man Victory In History 12" (2003)
Limelighters 12" (2003)

Independent releases

Music For Earth Worms
Appleseed