| Product Summary | | Label: Def Jux | | UPC: 00600308884021 | | Release Date: 9/18/2001 | | Buy.com Sku: 60501996 | | Item#: MFWYXF | Format:  CD |
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| Song Listing |  |
Disc 1
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Labor ~ Aesop Rock |  | | 2. Daylight ~ Aesop Rock | | | 3. Save Yourself ~ Aesop Rock | | | 4. Flashflood ~ Aesop Rock | | | 5. No Regrets ~ Aesop Rock | | | 6. One Brick - (featuring Illogic) ~ Aesop Rock | | | 7. Tugboat Complex Pt. 3, The ~ Aesop Rock | | | 8. Coma ~ Aesop Rock | | | 9. Battery ~ Aesop Rock | | | 10. Boombox ~ Aesop Rock | | | 11. Bent Life - (featuring C-Rayz Walz) ~ Aesop Rock | | | 12. Yes And The Y'All, The ~ Aesop Rock | | | 13. 9-5ers Anthem ~ Aesop Rock | | | 14. Shovel ~ Aesop Rock | |
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| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel includes: Aesop Rock, Illogic, C Rayz Walz. | | Producers: Aesop Rock, Blockhead, Omega One. | | Personnel: Aesop Rock (vocals); Omega One (scratches). | | Recording information: The House. | | After finding an eager online audience for his dense soundscapes and even more complex rhymes, New York MC Aesop Rock released his most potent combination of words and music on his Def Jux debut. Crammed with references to history and mythology, as well as the usual pop-culture name checks, Aesop's lyrics remain unusually verbose and intelligent here, but he's also able to spin them into compelling stories. The best example is the bittersweet, follow-your-dreams saga of "No Regrets," which chronicles a woman's sacrifices for art from childhood to old age. Besides the wealth of detail, the song doesn't sugarcoat the loneliness of its subject, even as it shows her at ease with her choices. And on "9-5ers Anthem," Aesop -- who still works a day job himself -- allays any concerns about him being a hip-hop elitist, offering a shout out to the blue-collar masses. There are still instances where he gives his listeners simply too much information to process for a pop song ("The Tugboat Complex, Pt. 3"), but, overall, he does his best job yet at balancing smarts and accessibility. Of course, with such a focus on lyrics, it's easy to ignore the beats behind them -- but while the sampled backing is sometimes on the plain side, Labor Days contains some inventive bites from classical music, and more than a few tunes will grow on you, if given the chance. ~ Dan LeRoy | | Every once in a while an MC comes along who has the ability to reaffirm listeners' faith in hip-hop as a medium for intelligent, poetic, personal expression. Aesop Rock is one such MC, and LABOR DAYS is his defining statement. A flagship artist of the underground label Def Jux, Aesop Rock brings a style that is blisteringly fast, impossibly dense, and overflowing with metaphors, images, puns, references, and narratives. Rock's voice and attack--a rapid-fire, somewhat nasal monotone--borrows from Kool Keith and Eminem, yet his highly literate rhymes are uniquely his own. | | Aesop Rock's music is the antithesis of flashy, R&B-based commercial hip-hop, and his politically conscious, culturally aware lyrics are galaxies removed from the thug/gangster themes of hardcore rap. Intriguing samples, featuring instruments like flute and sitar, flesh out the beats, but this is lyric-centered hip-hop, and Rock gives us plenty to absorb. Absorbing character-based narratives ("No Regrets") and slicing, alliterative tunes ("Daylight," with its infectious, memorable chorus) are testaments to the rapper's sophisticated lyrical superiority. |
Musical Guests | | Illogic | | C-Rayz Walz |
| | Artist Overview | | New York MC and beat-maker Aesop Rock offers rapid-fire, often stream-of-consciousness lyrics, stuttering beats, and a frequently murky, atmospheric production aesthetic, making him one of the most distinctive hip-hop artists of his era. Though he began making music in the '90s, Brooklyn-based rapper became known in the early 2000s through his work for the feted underground hip-hop label Def Jux. His 2001 album LABOR DAYS was only the beginning of a series of releases that found Aesop Rock pushing the hip-hop envelope ever further. |
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| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 09/18/2001 | | Original Release Date : 2001 | | Catalog ID : 13 | | Label : Definitive Jux Records | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00600308884021 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Spin (12/00, p.233)
- 7 out of 10 - "...Aesop's voice is a rich, flat bass cut with a thin growl....exploring variations within timbre to access a vast emotional range....he purrs contentedly, knowing that his vision will always poke through the haze."Entertainment Weekly (9/28/01, p.74)
- "...[The] ambient grooves make the Wu-Tang Clan seem tired, while the hyper-enunciated rhymes make KRS ONE sound like a stutterer..." - Rating: A Uncut (11/01, p.103)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...An esoteric and gripping ride..." The Wire (1/02, p.40)
- Ranked #45 in Wire's "50 Records of the Year 2001". |
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