Lupe Fiasco & Aesop Rock's Surprising Superhero Team-Up | "Pumpkin Seeds" Breakdown
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- Опубліковано 9 гру 2022
- Lupe Fiasco & Aesop Rock finally hopped on a track together. This one's more important than you realize.
This track is part of a fundraiser: aesoprock.bandcamp.com/album/...
Lupe At MIT: • Lupe Fiasco presents “...
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ABOUT TCM:
Life Through The Lens of Hip Hop.
Justin Hunte is a music and culture critic and curator. During his career he served as Director of Content & Strategic Marketing for EMPIRE as well as Editor-in-Chief of HipHopDX. Hunte is the architect behind DX's video platform and creator of popular series, DXBreakdown. Along with championing Ambrosia For Head's video strategy, Hunte is also a weekly contributor to Shade45's All Out Show on SiriusXM and has been featured on Revolt TV’s “Revolt Live," Cheddar's "Cheddar Music," as well as in Billboard magazine.
In 2017 Justin Hunte moderated the Recording Academy's panel on The Health Of Hip Hop which featured Dr. Reef Karim, psychiatrist and human behavior expert; Shanti Das, urban music executive and founder of Silence the Shame; GRAMMY nominees Vic Mensa and Charlie Wilson, and five-time GRAMMY winner Lalah Hathaway. Later that year, he participated in a debate at the prestigious Oxford Union on whether Kanye West is more relevant than William Shakespeare.
Hunte has been the centerpiece of digital campaigns for Lexus, Honda, Brisk, and Simple Mobile and has hosted concerts and panels nationwide.
A graduate of Wofford College, Hunte spent 5 years working in investment banking at Banc Of America/Merrill Lynch and has covered music, politics, and culture for numerous publications.
He is currently based in Los Angeles, California. Follow @TheCompanyMan on all socials.
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Lupe Fiasco & Aesop Rock finally hopped on a track together. IT'S ALL HAPPENING 🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿
This track is part of a fundraiser: aesoprock.bandcamp.com/album/pumpkin-seeds-feat-lupe-fiasco
Lupe At MIT: ua-cam.com/video/zBHRsYhYb-o/v-deo.html
SUPPORT TBD: LinkTree: linktr.ee/thecompanyman
AESOP and Lupe is only the most surprising combo because Lupe doesn't usually collab at all. Lyrically it makes all the sense in the world.
@@kevthepoet That's a pretty big reason. Took Aesop and Collaboratory to bring Lu on a track with another rapper.
@@TheCompanyMan I suspect Lupe broke his rule only for a good cause.
@@kevthepoet I do too. He's the type that will help people who are helping people.
Pumpkin Seeds came out while I was writing difficult paper for my postgrad degree. After trying to break down ASE and Lu's lyrics, paper wasn't so hard no more.
😂😂😂
I heard this track about two hours before this episode dropped. I am still unpacking all of it. I've been a massive Aesop and Lupe fanboy forever because of their nuance, wordplay and complexity. SO this track is truly a year end treat. I need to live with it for a while more to let it ruminate in my brain, no doubt it will be in heavy rotation for the rest of the year and beyond! No doubt I will be punching myself in the face as I work towards desphyering this epic teamup, dare i say, masterpiece.
Bangkok?! I'm trying to get there.
@@Domjel1 It's been my home for the past decade! Greatest city in the world as far as I am concerned. Feel free to check out my channel I have a ton of videos about Bangkok and Thailand. and am currently editing my friest feature length documentary about Bangkok's ghost tower.
Sooo I UNPACKED Lupe’s verse, a Catalyst line from Rock, and the chorus on Genius-please go check it out for clarity/depth 🙏🏿 😊
I been listening to Aesop Rock since the late 90's and is a dope live performer. Glad to see guys like him and EL-P still doing it
This is definitely one of the Lupe collabs that are on my wish list. I’ll spend idk how long breaking down Pumpkin seeds.
Now we need Lupe with Black Thought, Andre 3k, KA, Mach Hommy, Earl Sweatshirt , Billy woods. I want more Lupe features. I hope this is a sign he’ll come out side with the rappers 1 more time.
I definitely agree with a Lupe and Ka or Billy Woods collab. Andre 3000 and him collabing is a no-brainer as well! That would be such a sonically pleasing delight.
Oh baby, Lupe and Ka would be a dream come true.
@@mider-spanman5577 yup, and I would add Kool G Rap there. Man somehow was able to outrap Nas, MF DOOM, Wu Tang members, etc... Kool G and Lupe is one of my dream collabs lol
Dare we say a Royce and Lupe collab⁉️🤣🤨
First off, what a dope collab. The beat is so freaky and eerie. Thank you for highlighting how big a deal it is!
I think Aesop's opening verse is definitely about getting bugged by people when he finally leaves his apartment. It tracks right along with other songs he's written in the past about being introverted and struggling with depression - The Impossible Kid is SO full of lyrics in that direction. The hood D&D classes getting involved in "catechisms and catalytic converters" is a neat connection to that, too - the things you don't want to run into when you're out late at night. I love when he hits those alliteration bits in there - "The apathy is acclimating" is a killer line.
The "Oral Coral Reefs" is such a good line! I love the "Word Salad Sandwiches" right before that too - it makes me feel like Lupe is writing his verse about Aesop specifically, while also trying to be just as abstract as Aes usually is. Especially cause there's that line "the never-ending meta-narrative"
I wanna know what the intention was with the hook! "Inside the Box is just another box" is such a trippy combo when you have it repeated over that hazy, dark beat. Is it that Aes is trapped, no matter if he gets out of his head or out of his apartment? But then Lupe starts his verse with a Pandora's Box reference, and he later goes "inside of the box is just another shoe" - AGH the imagery is so cool!
Thank you for the analysis, MKB. Especially the trapped in your head breakdown. Makes all the sense in the world to me. I appreciate you.
@@TheCompanyMan "I'm not going out there man, I don't trust no one out there man, you don't even know what's out there man...man" "Too freaked out to even leave ya house". Yeah, it's a very common theme, one I relate to as well. I did have the opportunity to meet him after a show with Rob Sonic, he was quiet, but he was very kind, and very tall, like, the dude is a giant for real.
It grinds my gears when lyricists such as Lupe, Aesop, Cambatta, etc. Are belittled for their complex lyricism and literal magnetic flows. Because of guys like Lupe, it gave me a much bigger appreciation for the art of lyricism and the mastery of MCing to go on and educate myself with not only vocabulary but also with history and current events that's going on.
aesp[ isnt really that lyrical i think peple confuuse his vocabulary and abstractness with lyricism
@@joeyscribbles9803I completely agree about a fair bit of his songs but he's got some lyricism and story telling too
Cambatta mentioned 🔥👽
Listening to lyricists like Lupe Fiasco and others have helped me improve in learning new words for years. I also appreciate the challenge of trying to understand lyrics that are delivered, it takes some time but I am invested. At times I get upset when my peers or content creators try to belittle complex lyricism over simplistic lyricism and crap on artists like Aesop, Black Thought, Lupe and Common. But those artists are important to me and others.
I'm on my 17th listen or so and the picture is becoming clearer. A lot of that due to the awesome analysis of the Analysts in the comments section. You think Common and Black Thought get crapped on though?
@@TheCompanyMan Ive never heard Black Thought get crapped on and if I did I may have to throw hands because ever since I heard him rap "From Paris France to 10th and Tioga u wanna see the world I show ya" as a kid raised on Tioga 12 blocks away Black Thought is somebody i studied and admired, to the point like lyrically Common doesn't even belong in the same sentence as Black Thought who can rap about anything on any BPM in any genre. Plus he has the most legendary breath control of any emcee ever.
Common taught me that the revolution will not be televised, so when I saw him on a televised award show spewing left wing talking points, I knew he had sold his soul. Because the revolution is being censored.
Anyways your amazing I love your work.
Lupe and Canibus are the 2 I go to for vocab, but a tip is simply using a thesaurus when you write, that way the most common words you can substitute to one that is not popular in speech and find new rhyme patters. You can even use a rhyming dictionary if you know how to which is by knowing the definition of the words and making sure the context fits anf theyre not just random rhymes.
@@TheCompanyMan More like ignored sometimes from those who want the delivery of lyrics dumbed down. They have a platform and an audience which they use to force their preference of music to. Usually they review other albums on their channel for followers and rate those complex artists poorly.
Man I’m so pumped about this. Aes makes Shakespeare’s vocal look elementary. I still think his Float LP is one of the most criminally underrated projects of all time.
What'd you think of the track?
@@TheCompanyMan loved it. per usual w any Aes or Lupe track, imma need at least another 10 replays to get halfway to digesting / understanding it, but that’s why I love both of those MCs.
saying big words = /= being good as shakespeare
So knowing Ian " aesop rock" personally though I haven't spoken to him since this release, I could tell you it's not about just hanging out in a convenience store. There's a lot more to it than that brother... But I'm glad you're enthused as well as I am. It's an amazing track and Lupe definitely killed it
Thanks for that. When you get a breakdown let me know. I'm a big fan but it takes me a while pull the layers a part.
Aesop, Lupe, and Company Man, all deserve their flowers over this.
Lu put me on Aesop. I mean I know the name before but never listened until last year. Aes is a genius. Gotta hand it to Lupe for putting us on dope emcees like Aes and DOOM and Mickey Factz. These are god tier lyricists.
Yeah man, Lu is an excellent teacher.
Lupe murdered Aes
doom is a amazing storyteler but i never considered him in best lyricist category, Mickey and Lupe are GOAT tier, Aes just be saying big words.
@joeyscribbles9803 DOOM is extremely subtle with it, kind of like 3000. No, they don't do wordplay like Lu and Mickey, but if you're not paying attention to what they do you miss it. I think you hear MF DOOM from Lu on the Pharoah Heights mixtape clearly.
this song was a master class and im so glad you brought p the impposible kid being a classic it is one my favorite albums of all time and when i talk about to people the have no idea. you always make my rap nerd saturdays feel less isolated thank you justin! Also watching lupe breakdown aesop the way do and hes clearly so stoked about it brings a tear to my eye no joke
Thanks for rocking with me, TC.
I’ve been waiting for something like this to come out since Lupe’s Aes video!!
Aesops tracks remind me of those iSpy books us 90’s kids grew up loving.
Everytime you’d go back to a familiar page there would always be something new to see or some nuance you didn’t notice before. This is exactly the case with aesops music.
Each time you find something new even in tracks you’ve heard 15-20 times over.
It’s kind of therapeutic for me as I’m adhd and brain chemical deficient so I get this pretty sweet task accomplished serotonin rush from understanding or deciphering a new layer or just reinterpreting his lyrics. It’s awesome.
Aesop Rock's punchlines are like delivering your mail with DHL, you should get it in a couple days
🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿
What's crazy is I just listened to that exact video about Lupe talking about the painter... before The Company Man posted this. Lol now I have to give Aesop a listen, besides Pumpkin Seeds.
Listen to Impossible Kid front to back with the lyrics up. Then move on to SWFG.. After that, they are ALL good. Those ones are new though, and much more accessible and are also awesome!
@@_Jake.From.Statefarm_ Thanks! I'll give those a listen first.
I absolutely love seeing people geek about lyricism. Thank you for always bringing the dope content, Justin!
I’m starting to get the track now. The layers are pulling back. Love it
We need that full project by Aesop, Blockhead and lupe ASAP
And Soundtrack
Agreed!
I've been listening to Aesop since the early 2000s because of my bro-in-law. When I was in the phase of thinking this was just random nonsensical words. I kept coming back because it might not. I love analyzing lyrics. I'm a rock fan that leans heavily on Tool which Maynard is a wizard at structuring stories, metaphors, intent, depth, and is a rabbit hole.
My point is, I knew there was an artist I didn't understand and I stuck with it. I discovered The Impossible Kid over Thanksgiving. My son, who can rap nearly every Aes song from memory, had recently introduced me to Spirit World, and I have been deep-diving this incredible artist. It's been a ride. It's poetry to great tracks.
And I'm a 55-year old rock dude.
Don't give up on Aesop Rock. It's worth the investment!
i’m so happy they collaborated. i remember when lupe said he stopped doing features and here we are.
Lu had a track with Sway (japanese rapper, not the UK one) "Under the stars", almost a year ago.
Wow. Definitely caught me by surprise here. Aesop Rock gets high and just writes a random stream of thoughts which, occasionally make sense, whereas Lupe Fiasco actually has pretty deep cultural metaphors with a lot more relevance and skill. Kendrick Lamar is still trying to catch up to Lupe's use of metaphors - that make sense. And that study by Matt Daniels was revised - it is actually Myka 9 out of the Freestyle Fellowship - you know the hip hop artist who literally coined the term "Freestyle" in hip hop history for making up raps off the dome who has the largest vocabulary in hip hop. I'll peep the song though and love your channel
The the analysis. Thank you.🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
@@TheCompanyMan I'd buy the one word punchline characterization of Aesop Rock if he rapped more in the pocket. And...there was an early interview I read with Aes where he was asked his inspiration for rapping. His response was something like, "I just get high and write rhymes." Which would explain a lot for a stream of consciousness flow that appears lazy compared to Lupe's refined diamonds. But hey, perhaps his goals have changed over time and he's gotten more on beat. Lupe Fiasco has always been the rapper that defined lyricism, being conscious without selling out.
There's a current of humor to a lot of Aes' stuff I think people miss as well. Like on Shrunk, in a bar Lupe eluded to. The idea of someone using Japanese honor-suicide to express his grumpiness that the people in his therapist's waiting room are annoying is just inherently funny.
The Impossible Kid was really the album that definitively proved he was in on the joke.
Agreed 100%. That album is super special.
Oh man it's such a perfect breakdown. The Gza said, " the dumb are mostly intrigued by the drum," and that's me 100 percent. I start by just getting into the groove of an Aesop song, then months later begin to dissect it. This goes for other genres of music as well, one of my favorite songwriters is from the band "Los Campesinos," and half the fun of listening to them is the long process of dissecting the lyrics. It's a good learning experience too, as we begin to understand the poignancy that people are trying to convey. Anyway, this collabo, *Raekwon the chef kiss* Perfecto.
That's Masta Killa not GZA
In my opinion these are the top 2 greatest lyricists of all time. Both Lyricists infuse so much depth in ever bar while being abstract or Clear as day.
Both top 5 dead or alive no doubt
Aesop rock is actually statistically THE best lyricist in the world if you judge by denseness and use of unique words and metaphors
@@satanm8c40 Top 5 Lyricists of all time to me:
1.Aesop Rock
2.Lupe Fiasco
3.Nas
4.MFDOOM
5.Eminem(Favorite rapper but I’m not delusional)
@@satanm8c40
Okay listen dude I love Aesop but that’s not how you judge art… do you judge the best rock song by the most different chords used or weirdest keys they play in? Do you judge films by how many characters they have, or a comedy by the most jokes per minute in a film? No man, it’s art; that’s not how we judge it
Don't say that the Eminem Stan's are gonna freak out LMAO
goes toooo crazyyyyyy. the mario kart/forza line is insane
I can’t wait to hear this song soon & thank you for briefly summarizing who Aesop Rock is. I’ve only seen his name but never heard his music & didn’t even realize he’s been in the game for decades. Then again, it took me years to find out who Doom was. RIP to that king & supreme lyricist. But anyway, gonna be introduced to Aesop with Pumpkin Seeds & then move on to his catalog. Much appreciated for this one.
A lot of people say similar things about DOOM and it makes me think some people don't want to, or are just incapable of, interpreting poetry beyond face value. Which is fair to some degree. Not everyone wants to study to understand a song. What is unfair though is saying that these writers are just throwing words together nonsensically just because you refuse to understand it. Also this track is super dope so thank you lupe and aesop.
An unusual unorthodox collaboration, and I love it, Genius will break with fans trying to decipher these lyrics
Been waiting for this for ages!!!🔥❤🔥It is fire! I enjoyed this song❤
Aesop's flow is legendary! Been DOPE frfr! 🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯💯💯
Now I just need the Immortal Tech, Brother Ali and Lupe collab. Man I wish Eyedea was still alive (R.I.P a G.O.A.T) that would've been another good collab
IT, Ali and Lu would be wild.
Probably my favorite collab that could happen current year, so fucking great
Wait, waaiiiiiittt!!!! I'm geeking out right now! I love these 2 men so much!🤩🙌🏼🔥
Aesop GOAT video when? 👀
Honestly, he definitely has a spot for the argument. Tenure, dense and consistent catalogue, fantastic collabs, all with his lyricism evolving while still remaining unmatched.
First time I heard Aesop Rock was on Fight Night Round 4 and he had me doing double takes on what he was saying or did he actually use that word in a rhyme. Lu is a dope emcee and crafty author of rhymes that made me do double tasks too. Hearing the song right before you played the clip had me nodding along. I'm gonna have to go on Genius to see the lyrics and go from there.
That vocabulary chart is one of the best things I saw on the internet. The first time I saw it, I expected the usual suspects and when I saw Rock at the end, I thought about it for a half second and said yeah that's about right. The one that tripped me out was GZA. That dude's vocabulary is nuts.
I think that rap vocabulary might be an interesting piece to do. Is it better to have dense lyrics and clever metaphors or saying whatever comes off the dome and punch you in the face? I don't have the answer to these questions.
I love the analysis. Maybe i'll dive into the chart at some point.
the rap vocabulary is a flawed study and doesnt prove one is more lyrical than the other, for one that study was flawed because it did not include all works by a artist but only some(first 3-5 albums) another problem is it doesnt account for how old the artist was(age matters as a artist who debuts and starts his career later can have more words accessible) or the context of what and how things were said in the albums(say a artist uses a anaphora type rap like Kendrick on Feel, then that would count against him). It also didnt take into account slang and how someone who just makes up a word can be counted and ranked higher than other artist.
even the creator of the rap vocabulary said it himself that his study was flawed and not to take it seriously.
vocabulary =/= lyricism to, saying a big word is not meaning your lyrical.
Lupe clearly showed that in this feature(plus lupe has a big vocbulary to)
@@TheCompanyMan dont waste your time, company
the rap vocabulary is a flawed study and doesnt prove one is more lyrical than the other, for one that study was flawed because it did not include all works by a artist but only some(first 3-5 albums) another problem is it doesnt account for how old the artist was(age matters as a artist who debuts and starts his career later can have more words accessible) or the context of what and how things were said in the albums(say a artist uses a anaphora type rap like Kendrick on Feel, then that would count against him). It also didnt take into account slang and how someone who just makes up a word can be counted and ranked higher than other artist.
even the creator of the rap vocabulary said it himself that his study was flawed and not to take it seriously.
vocabulary =/= lyricism to, saying a big word is not meaning your lyrical.
He's got some bangers too, like wolf piss and drums on a wheel.
IT WAS SO GOOD, and for a fundraiser too. Love to see it 😍
So good!
These always drop just in time for my lunch break and it’s perfect
Lupe continues to make supreme magic. Having Aesop as his comrade in arms only makes the sword sharper. Great piece!! As always.
I was on a video call with a bud when the song dropped and I could just stare at the screen for ages...stunned. I have been geeking out so hard over the damn thing. I love that the entire theme of the song just appears to be about layers, which is perfect for both MCs. Inside the box is just another box, so on and so forth
Never thought id live to see the day that the goats finally linked up and made an absolute classic.
Me neither. It's awesome.
this collab was beautiful to see. brought a tear to my eye.
I've been dreaming about this collaboration for YEARS!
It’s so nice to see a hip hop team up that makes sense Aesop and lupe are phenomenal artists
Yo this is the fun of being a fan of hip hop that I've missed. Looking up and deciphering lyrics and meanings. I just saw a video about Lupe's "Shining Down" and there was one line that could be interpreted 3 different ways. 🤯 Goat status!
so glad you covered this big bro. Youdaman!
We literally need a album. Both of them killed it and the best goes. 🔥🔥🔥
First, thanks for telling me about this song. I like Aesop because he challenges the listener and expects more out of them. It’s an intellectual exercise.
That's what I love most about it too.
I didn't even know this was happening! So dope!
One of the only tracks I have ever downloaded singly. This was quite an unexpected team up and the two walking talking thesauruses definitely need to make a collab tape together. 💪🏿
I'd love to see that
The druid, thief, huxter, priest line is a reference to classes in dungeons and dragons, huxter is NY slang as you probably know but it's used in place of the word rogue in context.
We love you Justin thank you for another fantastic vidjo
“In a speakeasy wrote peace treaties in war paint” was a bar from Lupe that stuck out to me. Fire track. Obviously still deciphering, but also obviously fire.
Love that one too. I’ve unraveled the track now. More dope every time
Glad you doing okay brother, my condolences again bro❤, happy to see you smiling and happy bro. Have a great day
Thank you Ace! The marathon continues as Nipsey would say.
This song is unreal still peeling back the layers
Definitely bumping this!🙌🏽
ASE "Garbology" is fun too
I heard this right after it dropped and it didn't initially click what I'd heard because I was working. I saw it on my UA-cam feed later while I was gaming and legit shouted when I realized it was ft Lupe. Such a good combo.
It's a pretty dope track. I did not even have a clue it was coming out and was amazed by how good it sounds.
Inside of the box is just another box!
Your point of view and commentary has always been super helpful and appreciated. That upper echelon rap nerd shit the culture needs! Thank you!
🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
BRO WHAT YES I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS THE OTHER WEEK
"If you haven't heard of Jackson Pollack, punch yourself in the face!"
I'm very happy that today my face remained unpunched
I absolutely exploded when this track dropped. Love both these emcees, never knew Lupe was such a big Aes fan. Love the track but it just makes me WANT MORE FROM THEM!!!
That hoodie isn't MIC friendly! Another great piece.
Man, you ain't neva lied. Lesson learned. Thanks, Narmstrong.
I’ve been waiting for this for ever. My two favorite emcees
What'd you think of the track?
@@TheCompanyMan I dig it. Still trying to future out everything Ace Rock is talking about. But that’s what makes him my favorite. I want a whole album
Aes Rock aka the reason people made a website about annotating lyrics because they wanted to nerd out on possible meanings and finding the specific fable he was referencing in one line of a 5 minute track.
Just to let you know, there is an updated version of that scale on unique words used. Myka 9 has been placed as the rapper with the most unique words used scale seen on the screen. Just FYI
Thanks for that. I'ma check it out. Do you have a link?
“On just Lyricism alone Aesop is the GOAT” Lupe Fiasco 2018
Aesop got his style from camp lo
Thank You A&L, Yall are HIPHOP JEDI’s and I appreciate you 2 for Helping’Out My Birth City Of Dayton Ohio, I left that City before The Snowfall….Still My Birthplace and I was introduced to HIPHOP there from Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5…”The Message”….Appreciate You “The Company Man” With The Upmost Respectx…!!! Lupe is by far my Favorite Emcee of Emcees…I didn’t have to “Punch Myself In The Face” for 3 Saturdays In The Row….HIPHOP Is On This Channel….Peace & Blessing’s…I Love Aesop Rock as well, True Wordsmith to Infinity….What IF those Two Greats put an entire Album Together
Ahh, it feels good to scratch this off my "dream collab" list but I hope they do more together in the future! I think FRO has been trying to snag an Aes collab for awhile, that would be dope too!
Thank you for making this video! Keep crushing
Golden Age of human creativity
Thank you!
always loved both these MCs true inspirations for me
Maybe I’ve just been listening to Aes for 2 decades and done something to my brain, but his part of Pumpkin Seeds was really clear to me. He said, outside doesn’t seem threatening until you have to run the gauntlet through the late night neighborhood weirdos at 1 am just to get your snacks. He just wants to be home with his weed and Funyuns but had to go on a whole epic quest dodging traps and bracing for attacks (Druids are old pagan Celtic priests, not catholic, but more important to that bar they are a Dungeons and Dragons player class, along with Rangers, Clerics, and in early editions, Thieves. He’s on a quest for treasure and the treasure is snacks).
I find it really funny that in their much anticipated collaboration Lupe’s being all deep talking about the hidden selves we keep protected inside our outer selves and Aesop Rock is just like “it’s dark and scary on my block but I got the munchies real bad, leave me and my pumpkin seeds alone.”
Aesrock’s music is the type that requires repeated listening. The more you listen the more connections you make and there’s ALWAYS a deeper meaning. I believe he’s maybe the greatest storyteller of our time. Love this track and now I guess I need to deep dive Lupe’s catalog.
Definitely sink into Lupe. Let me know what you think, too.
As a long time Aesop fan I don't find him that much difficult to get into.
You listen his song a couple of times - > understand some imagery and overall theme - > understand some bars - > come back after a few years - > understand some more bars - > come back after another few years and realize that end point is not important and you were here just for the journey
Anyway, song is nice, breakdown is great, sir 🫡
But the most surprising collaboration of the year?
Nah, that goes to Backxwash and Billy Woods. That one I couldn't believe it was so out of blue for me
Thanks RG. Always love your analysis. I haven't heard that one. What makes it surprising?
@@TheCompanyMan thank you
Yeah I just never connected them in my head. They are so different. The flow, the energy, everything.
In hindsight though it shouldn't have been that surprising considering Billy's collaboration with Moor Mother (and how good it was) but still it was a really nice surprise
@@redgenerall28 I’m still stuck on the aethiopes album. Really special.
@@TheCompanyMan I hope it's a good kind of stuck
I’m really hoping we see more Lupe collabs.
Saw the song dropped and add it to my playlist but forgot til I saw the video title an hour ago, gave it four listens and came to watch 🔥🔥🔥
What'd you think of the song?
@@TheCompanyMan It exceeded any expectations I could have been a fan of both them for years, glad to see it happen. I don’t want to look at the genius annotations for a while or at least 'til I come up with my own interpretation.
tl;dr 🔥🔥🔥💥🤯💥🔥🔥🔥
Saw it today at 5am, turned it up anyway, this is a banger!
Yo what a great collab
This was on my top 3 collabs to happen years ago.
Literally both in my top 5, unmatched lyricism
Let's go! 😃
Mindblown 🔥
All I can say is MORE PLEASE
Bruh Im hype for this.
10:36
"Corridor after corridor, a never ending meta-narrative that forever cabbages
Inside of your word salad sandwiches, a formal moral beef
I don't I call 'em teeth, I call 'em oral coral reefs"
Seeing that a cabbage is a form of a plant, aswell as the coral reefs(looking like teeth), I believe he's using the imagery of a cabbage having layers for teeth that he'll never go at a loss for words( or bite weapons) for there will always be another layer or something else he'd say. Being known for their lyricism and and double entendre easter eggs I'd say it works well with their "inside the box there's another box" chorus. LAYERS!.
But not being American and a native English speaker, some slangs and references go beyond me when I listen to these 2, so there's a chance I could be way off with the interpretation...
Man I wish the company man did a similar Breakdown for KXNG Crooked. A truly underrated emcee
It's interesting to see how rap collabs, whether for tracks or albums, write the history of the culture
It’s good to see Aesop getting some love.
What’s interesting about Lupe connecting Pollack to Aes, is that Pollack (and abstract expressionism), was directly influenced by the CCA and the directors at the MOMA, who were directly funded by the CIA in order to create a globally dominate American painting culture (check out Guilbert’s “How New York Stole the Idea of Modern Art”)
Aes, on the complete other end, created underground songs directly influenced and aimed at surveillance capitalism in the early 2000s (check out the “Bazooka Tooth” documentary that features him and El P and the rest of Def Jux),
Both Pollack and Aes use abstraction incredibly. but from two completely different ends of acceptance of the greater general “art world”. Pollack became unknowingly a pawn of anti-communist cultural propaganda pushed by the State Department and was eventually elated as one of the greatest modern artists and arguably the father of postmodernism… where as Aesop remains much more less-known and understood, and came from a very much anti-imperial / anti-Anerican stance (especially in his first 3 or 4 projects).
I may or may not have had to pause my entire workday to listen to this track when it dropped. Was like my teenagehood and adulthood combined into one glorious whole
Eta I really like Aes's style because by being abstract, he creates this kinda weird and surreal world from very mundane surroundings. It's abstruse deliberately, to create an effect.
I need to listen to more Lupe! I had no idea how educated the man is. Does he have a podcast?
He used to with Royce Da 5'9. Pretty sure the episodes are still up. Check it out.
This made me smile upon reading.
I do understand that Aes' style can dull his edge a bit when he wants to have a message. At the same time though I think there's merit in simply honing something to the finest state possible. Someone's gotta do it anyhow
I agree 100. Sometimes excellence is boring, unfortunately.
This Collab is dope and the song is a surprise drop, but it shouldn't be a surprise since Aesop is ( or was) one of the Masters in the SOSA apprentice program. Either way glad they did this. Hopefully they'll do more joints together.
Another good break down and a good track by these two top-tier lyricists. As far as the "ranger cleric, hunter, thief, druid, huckster, priest" line I believe that is a reference to video game (and novel) archetypes. Like seeing all the stereotypical people we would see when we go out on something as common as a store run. In reality you might see homeless man asking for change, the business man in a hurry to his next meeting, or even the "Karen" making a fuss with the employee. I take Aesop's line as a more clever way of stating such.
Very dope
the line about druids and huckers is listing tabletop RPG classes, DnD refrences have grown common from aesop as DnD has grown accepted by pop culture via vehicals like stranger things or youtube. Much like his occultism it was something that helped shape him in his early years but he was not comfortable rhyming about initially