Labor Days by Aesop Rock

Tracks:
Labor
Daylight
Save Yourself
Flashflood
No Regrets
One Brick (Feat. Illogic)
The Tugboat Complex Pt. 3
Coma
Battery
Boombox
Bent Life (Feat. C-Rayz Watz)
The Yes and the Y'all
9-5ers Anthem
Shovel Performer Notes
:

Personnel includes: Aesop Rock, Illogic, C Rayz Walz.

Producers: Aesop Rock, Blockhead, Omega One.

Every once in a while an MC comes along who has the ability to reaffirm listeners' faith in hip-hop as a medium for intelligent, poetic, personal expression. Aesop Rock is one such MC, and LABOR DAYS is his defining statement. A flagship artist of the underground label Def Jux, Aesop Rock brings a style that is blisteringly fast, impossibly dense, and overflowing with metaphors, images, puns, references, and narratives. Rock's voice and attack--a rapid-fire, somewhat nasal monotone--borrows from Kool Keith and Eminem, yet his highly literate rhymes are uniquely his own.

Aesop Rock's music is the antithesis of flashy, R&B-based commercial hip-hop, and his politically conscious, culturally aware lyrics are galaxies removed from the thug/gangster themes of hardcore rap. Intriguing samples, featuring instruments like flute and sitar, flesh out the beats, but this is lyric-centered hip-hop, and Rock gives us plenty to absorb. Absorbing character-based narratives ("No Regrets") and slicing, alliterative tunes ("Daylight," with its infectious, memorable chorus) are testaments to the rapper's sophisticated lyrical superiority.

Professional Reviews
: Spin (12/00, p.233) - 7 out of 10 - "...Aesop's voice is a rich, flat bass cut with a thin growl....exploring variations within timbre to access a vast emotional range....he purrs contentedly, knowing that his vision will always poke through the haze."
Entertainment Weekly (9/28/01, p.74) - "...[The] ambient grooves make the Wu-Tang Clan seem tired, while the hyper-enunciated rhymes make KRS ONE sound like a stutterer..." - Rating: A
Uncut (11/01, p.103) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...An esoteric and gripping ride..."
Alternative Press (p.104) - "Songs such as 'Labor,' '9-5er's Anthem' and 'Daylight' -- which is considered his best song to date -- reflect on the frustrations and struggles of employment."
The Wire (1/02, p.40) - Ranked #45 in Wire's "50 Records of the Year 2001". Format
: CD (1 Disc) Studio/Live
: Studio Release Date
: 18 September, 2001 Label
: AESOP ROCK, INC. Dimensions
: 12.7 x 0.9 x 14.2 centimeters (0.04 kg)

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