Aesop Rock

Rapper and producer Aesop Rock – born Ian Bavitz in Syosset, New York on June 5, 1976 – is best known as a pioneer in the underground and alternative hip hop scenes. Inspired by hip hop artists such as Public Enemy, Run DMC, KMD, and Boogie Down Productions and alternative rock, he began rapping and issued the self-released Music for Earthworms mixtape in 1998 to critical acclaim. After the release of his equally successful Appleseed EP in 1999, he signed to the independent Mush Records label and released the album Float in 2000. Aesop Rock then moved over to the Definitive Jux (Def Jux) label – co-founded by rapper El-P – and issued the album Labor Days (2001), which climbed to number 7 on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart. The album included the song “Daylight,” which was then released on a seven-track EP in 2002. He followed the EP with Bazooka Tooth (2003) and the Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives EP (2005), before he finally came to commercial prominence in 2007 when he recorded “All Day” for a Nike+iPod promotion. His next album, None Shall Pass, was released later that year. Moving over to Rhymesayers Entertainment, he issued Skelethon (2012), which hit number 1 on the indie chart as well as number 2 on the Rap Albums chart and number 5 on the R&B / Hip Hop Albums chart. His 2016 album The Impossible Kid was also a commercial success and reached number 2 on the Independent Albums and Rap Albums charts and number 3 on the R&B / Hip Hop Albums chart. He followed that success with Spirit World Field Guide (2020) and Garbology (2021). After the release of The Recycling Bin EP (2022), Aesop Rock released his ninth solo album, Integrated Tech Solutions (2023), which featured the singles “Mindful Solutionism,” “By the River,” and “Infinity Fill Goose Down”. After a collaboration with Clipping on "Welcome Home Warrior", he followed with the full-length Black Hole Superette (2025), featuring guest appearances from Open Mike Eagle, Hanni El Khatib, Armand Hammer, Homeboy Sandman & Lupe Fiasco.