Aesop Rock’s lyrics on “Zero Dark Thirty” are less of a story, and more a roll of imagery. The result is that his words paint a picture. They create a feeling, and a tone – one that I’d argue can’t be conveyed through the melody or beat. It might divide potential fans, but it really creates an atmosphere. While many of us may not exactly understand what he’s trying to communicate, there are a few lyrical anchors that hold it in place and give it a focus. And that flow! He runs through each line effortlessly. All in all – a damn fine hip-hop track.
The Rhymesayers rapper is gearing up to release his latest LP, “Skelethon”, on the 10th of July. Take a listen and see if it’s your thing.
Photo via the above video.
It’s undeniable that Rhymesayers artists have not only taken up a significant amount of my listening time over the past year, but that they’ve furthered both my notions of hip-hop and music in general – for which I am very thankful. It wasn’t all that long ago that I was completely dismissive of hip-hop. I thought it was all terrible. Since then, artists like P.O.S., Atmosphere, and most recently, Grieves, have shown me that such views were more than unjustified – they were just plain wrong.
On The Tune 