Aesop Rock (Ian Matthias Bavitz, born 1976 on Long Island, New York) is an American underground hip hop rapper and producer with one of the densest vocabularies the genre has ever documented. Labor Days (2001) is the Definitive Jux-era classic; The Impossible Kid (2016) opens the door to his Rhymesayers run. Browse Aesop Rock vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Ian Matthias Bavitz, performing as Aesop Rock, was born on Long Island, New York on June 5, 1976. He emerged from the late-1990s New York underground hip hop scene and became closely associated with El-P's Definitive Jux label in the early 2000s, where he released some of his best-known work. He later moved to Rhymesayers Entertainment, the Minneapolis-based independent label. Aesop Rock both raps and produces, and has collaborated extensively with Kimya Dawson (as The Uncluded), Homeboy Sandman, and Rob Sonic.
Aesop Rock is widely known for an exceptionally dense, allusive lyrical style with one of the largest documented vocabularies in hip hop. His production combines sample-based and live-instrumented approaches with abstract, often dark sonic palettes drawing on the New York underground tradition.
Definitive Jux pressings of Labor Days, Bazooka Tooth, and None Shall Pass remain in circulation. Rhymesayers has issued multiple vinyl variants of the post-2012 catalog, including limited color editions.
Listeners new to Aesop Rock typically start with Labor Days (2001) or None Shall Pass (2007). The Impossible Kid (2016) is a common entry point for his Rhymesayers-era work.
