Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name
Aesop Rock, is an American
hip hop artist and producer
residing in San
Francisco, California.
He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s
(decade). He was signed to El-P's Definitive Jux
label until it went on hiatus in 2010.
Betterpropaganda ranked him at number 19 at the Top 100 Artists of the
Decade.
He is a member of the groups The Weathermen, Hail Mary Mallon (with Rob Sonic
& DJ Big Wiz),The Uncluded (with Kimya Dawson) and Two Of Every Animal (with Cage). He acquired the name Aesop from a movie I had
acted in with some friends. The rock part came later just from throwing it in rhymes."He
has tattoos on each forearm. His left arm says the words "Must Not
Sleep...", and the right says "Must Warn Others," which are
quotes inspired by the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Aesop Rock has used these quotes as lyrics in
the chorus of his song "Commencement at the Obedience
Academy": "Must not sleep; must warn others / Trust blocks creep
where the dust storm hovers." He also used them in his song
"Antisocial," in the line "Must not sleep; must warn others /
I'll tourniquet your turbulence then trample on your stutters."
" Bavitz was born at Syosset Hospital
in Syosset, New York and raised in Northport, Long Island, New York to his father Paul and mother Jameija.[8]
Ian has two brothers: Chris (born 1975) and Graham (born 1977). Ian, along with
his siblings, was raised Catholic
but later on in his life became agnostic.Bavitz attended Northport High School in 1990 and graduated in 1994. He married Allyson Baker,
guitarist and vocalist of rock band Dirty Ghosts in 2005. They resided in San Francisco,
California
but have since divorced".
After graduating from high school,
Bavitz went off to Massachusetts where he attended Boston University. He studied fine arts
and acquired his bachelors in 1998.This is where he met his future producer, Blockhead where he too was aspiring to be an MC until he first met Ian in '94, the
one year he attended Boston University. After hearing him freestyle, he decided
to put his dreams of rapping aside and focused on producing instead.Blockhead was involved with a crew in New York called The Overground that
consisted of him, some of his friends, & Dub-L.This is how Dub became a part of Bavitz music production earlier on in his
career.
Bavitz
began rapping in the early 1990s. He cites Public Enemy, BDP, KMD, and Run DMC as early influences.Bavitz also listened to rock acts such as Dead Kennedys, Fugazi, and Ministry; he was introduced to these groups by his older
brother Chris.
While
attending college, Bavitz initially recorded and released two self-financed
efforts, Music for Earthworms (1997), a full-length featuring underground artist Percee P on two tracks. Bavitz also released a video to "Abandon All Hope", which was one
of the tracks on the CD. The album sold over 300 copies, largely from a grassroots
internet-based promotion at his website AesopRock.com. With
the money he made from his previous release, he then released his Appleseed EP in 1999, Both
of his early records were produced by long-time friend Blockhead, and underground producer Dub-L. He completed these
albums while also working as a waiter.
He
was eventually noticed by the Mush
label and obtained his first record deal in 1999, just a year after he graduated from
college. Aesop released his first major album, Float (2000), with guest appearances from Vast
Aire, Slug, and Dose One, Production
was split between Blockhead and Aesop himself, with one track by Omega One.
During this time, Aesop worked at a photography gallery.
After releasing Float, Aesop Rock signed to label Definitive Jux (commonly shortened to Def Jux), where he
released Labor Days (2001), an album dedicated to the discussion of
labor in American society and the concept of "wage slaves". This album was most well known for its single
"Daylight".Because of its popularity, Daylight was re-released in 2002 as a seven-track EP.
it also was the first album in his
catalog to break through the Billboard charts, peaking at number 15 at
the United States Independent Charts,
giving Aesop Rock more recognition.
In
2003 ,realesed "Bazooka Tooth" production
was mostly handled by Rock himself, with three tracks from longtime
collaborator Blockhead and one from close friend and Definitive Jux label CEO El-P. Guest appearances include Party Fun Action Committee, El-P, and Mr. Lif (all Definitive Jux labelmates) and Camp
Lo.
In
February 2005, Aesop Rock released a new EP, Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives. The first pressing of the EP included an
88-page booklet with lyrics from every release from Float until this EP
(the lyric booklet is titled The Living Human Curiosity Sideshow) .
April 10, 2012: the first official
single from Aesop Rock's Rhymesayers debut album Skelethon, Zero Dark
Thirty, was released on both SoundCloud and YouTube. As of April 20, 2012 the
song had already received combined plays/views of 86,434.Skelethon was released on July 10, 2012.
Bavitz's
lyrics are generally seen as being both complex and abstract while others
dismiss them as incoherent logorrhea. His frequent use of homonyms exacerbates this. Critics state that the use of
words can be so detailed that it becomes difficult to determine their
originally intended meaning. The lyrics are sometimes inspired by events
which have occurred in Bavitz's personal life and are thus naturally prone to
subjective interpretation by outsiders.
FOR MORE INFOMATION:
- Mush Records Biography
- Aesop Rock discography at Discogs
- Aesop Lyrics Explained at RapGenius
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