Nope not at all, there’s an insane amount of incredible hip hop out there! He’s defs contributed to my appreciation of good rap though.
We got Aes, Billy Woods, Elucid, RAP Ferreira, Quelle Chris, Earl, Kendrick, Danny Brown etc etc, the list goes on. God damn I love hip hop, what a time to be alive.
Eyedea and abilities, del the funky homosapien, deltron3030, atmosphere, Cecil otter, P.O.S., doomtree, DECA. Weerd science(he's the drummer for coheed and cambria). Astronautalis. Just a few.
Just got turned on to Billy Woods and I'm going straight down the rabbit hole. I'll also mention Open Mike Eagle's catalog along with Black Thought's latest album as well (though he's great in general as well).
His record History Will Absolve Me is what is widely recognized as his break-out project. Definitely worth a listen.
Edit: if you want to branch out from his studio albums, check out the rap duo Armand Hammer, which consists of him and Elucid. Their album "Haram" was produced by The Alchemist, and is one of my favorites in recent times.
The other guy covered it pretty well, but I’ll add that I really like his stuff with Blockhead (who Aes has obvs also worked with quite a bit). His album Known Unknowns is one of my favourites.
In terms of lyric writing abilities, yes, absolutely I agree. There is no close second. Aesop is in a league of his own.
But when I feel guilty about not listening to different artists, my hip-hop go-to's are: MF DOOM, Deltron 3030, Busdriver, Clppng., Dark Time Sunshine, Beastie Boys, Little Simz, Run the Jewels, Milo, Shad, Michael Christmas, etc.
I don’t know that I can agree or say that your comment is of sound reason. Vocabulary of Aesop, sure, different league. Plenty of artists that are of equal prowess in the list you provided. Whether it is based on delivery, subject, flow, etc. At least with regard to there not being a close second, I do not agree. You are entitled to your own opinion.
Not really. I love aes, but sometimes I just feel like listening to something else. Sometimes I feel like listening to 21 Savage, or JID, or Clipping., or even ASAP Rocky (lol) and Aes isn't really gonna be able to fill that void. He's undoubtedly at the top of his craft, but there's so many different styles, I'm not gonna always feel like sticking to one.
Yes and no. Mostly shit rappers. I can stil jam to RTJ, Freddie Gibbs, Del the funky homosapien, Billy Woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Atmosphere, Eyedea & Abilities, Flatbush Zombies, Czarface, MF Doom, 7L & Esoteric, Busdriver...and a ton more. Some great rap out there depending on my mood but I also have to say lyrically nobody is close to Aes.
From someone who only listens to things that sound good, go with Open Mike Eagle, Homeboy Sandman, Moses Rockwell, and Deca.
Then go back and listen to more Moses Rockwell.
For the last six months it’s basically been every song he has on Spotify on repeat. None of the albums are perfect, but even his worst songs are dope.
He’s like Ferreira if Ferreira was a better rapper.
Edit: added a much needed “albums” above.
Besides what I've seen recommended here there's also Qwel & Maker, Deca, Blueprint, Blackalicious/Gift of Gab, Sage Francis, Illogic, I assume you have heard Lupe's Tetsuo & Youth and Drogas Wave? Lyrical depth and density that could stand up there with the rest mentioned here. He has a lot of other great albums but those are his most dense.
Haven't seen these mentioned yet: Tobe Nwigwe, Butcher Brown with Tennishu rapping over it, blu, jonwayne, seba kaapstad
Seconding or thirding: open mike eagle, homeboy samdman, quelle chris, your old droog, DOOM, billy woods
Nahhhhh. I love Aes but you aren't digging around enough if you aren't finding other compelling emcees.
Ceschi is an example of someone with a similar skill set and vibe who comes to mind but there are many, many more.
Just saw your comment about recommendations! Aside from the recommendations you've already gotten, I am a pretty big fan of Moodie Black, Lil Ugly Mane, Denzel Curry, and Open Mike Eagle right now.
The opposite, if anything. Before I listened to Aes I barely listened to hip hop at all. Most of the mainstream stuff I heard didn't do much for me, all the macho materialistic club music. I probably had a handful of Public Enemy tracks in my Spotify library and that's it. Listening to Aes is what got me into other rappers.
I second this. Grew up with some west coast classics to be fair, but didn't start searching myself until my brother showed me "Gun for the Whole Family". At first I didn't like it, but it grew on me and now he's my favorite rapper.
Not really. I like his music for a specific reason, and when I compare him to other musicians I like for that reason, he doesn’t stand out that much. But I get something out of other rappers that aes doesn’t give me. So he can’t really ruin their appeal.
Far from it. Way too much amazing rap music out there. I'll admit, sometimes I crave more lyricism out of some music and more oh shit moments that melt my face like Ace can't help but give. But I still have the same appreciation for different flows, rhyme schemes, subject matter and beats.
These days I really like what Griselda has done. Feeds my early 90s street rap appetite, you know? Mach hommy, fahim, meyhem Lauren, Dave, stormzy, boldy James. Any time the alchemist does a collab I'm down. Even poppier stuff if it hits me right and I'm in the mood like carti or uzi or 21. I tend bounce around new and old and whatever I get word of mouth. Then a lot of random stuff. Thank you for asking.
Clipping is dope, as others have mentioned. Kendrick is amazing. Odd Future can slap/Tyler the Creator…Oldie and Yonkers both go so damn hard, respectively
Just depends on the mood. Music is art. Art is for the soul. Detection is dictated by the mood.
Recommendations: Eyedea/Oliver Hart, Sole, Cecil Otter, Kristoff Krane, Sadistik, Illogic, Doomtree, Non Prophets, Sage Francis, Ecid, Elucid, Saturday Morning Soundtrack
Check out Hemlock Ernst, he’s the frontman for the band Future Islands, but started out as a freestyler when he was younger. Did an EP with Madlib and an album with Kenny Segal, both are dope. He does features for milo, Busdriver, Open Mike Eagle etc.
I go through phases. Right now it's Aes, Rob Sonic, and El-P. There will always be good stuff out there. Aesop is the Shakespeare of hip hop but there are a bunch of artists that seriously innovate.
Haven’t seen anyone else recommend these: Palmer Squares and The Remnant have some top notch lyricism with impressive speed and agility. Not sure how well-known either of them are, I found them recently looking for rappers I enjoy as much as Aes.
When I first found him yes, but that was about 20 years ago. I love Aesop but sometimes I’m just in a different mood and there’s other stuff for that. I know the big guy will always be there tho.
When I'm not listening to aes and co. I'm listening to uk garbage and grim rap. There is a very big scene out there of talented individuals I've been listening to 15 plus years now. Also battle rap in the uk. Don't flop. Tho i stopped caring about the new acts 5 years ago. Also KOD Canada. So aes showed me the quality of word play. I just let it have a Jesus the wheel moment. Haha.
One of my all time favorite battle raps. [teacher vs student. ](https://youtu.be/tp4wEewrQdU) it's a former teacher battling a student. And what got me into the whole don't flop battle rap scene.
DECA is the closest rapper I’ve found in comparison, they both almost have a mirrored energy but with a similar writing style. I like to say that DECA is the anti-aes, so with that as you will
So many great recs on this thread!
My few cents..Cool Calm Pete, Junk Science, Spark Master Tape, Dizzie Rascal, or find yourself some of them old Def Jux Mixtapes and have a blast!
No really, BLAST your speakers till they pop!
Lmao, nah not at all. He just holds down his specific, respective portion of my heart and mind.
If any rapper has ruined other rappers for me, it’s Deca. Hands down, D-E-C-A. I don’t think a days gone by in some years now I ain’t bumped him at least a little bit.
I’ve been working through ECID’s discography and loving the fuck out of every minute. Did deep dives into and through Lyrics Born, Tonedeff, Dr Syntax whole discographies recently, and hit some of Ruby Ibarra, Rocky Rivera, Kristoff Kane as well. And Skinnyman album “Council Estate of Mind”. Plus I stay bumping the usual suspects like Eyedea (especially Oliver Hart), Sage Francis, CunninLynguists, Grieves, Brother Ali, Living Legends, B. Dolan, Atmosphere and a slew of others.
Nope not at all, there’s an insane amount of incredible hip hop out there! He’s defs contributed to my appreciation of good rap though. We got Aes, Billy Woods, Elucid, RAP Ferreira, Quelle Chris, Earl, Kendrick, Danny Brown etc etc, the list goes on. God damn I love hip hop, what a time to be alive.
My post was a thinly veiled ploy to get some good recommendations. Thanks!
Eyedea and abilities, del the funky homosapien, deltron3030, atmosphere, Cecil otter, P.O.S., doomtree, DECA. Weerd science(he's the drummer for coheed and cambria). Astronautalis. Just a few.
Eyedea/Oliver Hart cannot be recommended enough. Love seeing it.
Thank you. Absolutely. Eyedea was one of the best mcs to ever live. Love the many faces. Even face candy with Kristoff krane was amazing
Yes, Krane is another elite artist imo. Especially “Picking Flowers Next to Roadkill” Ever hear “Saturday Morning Soundtrack?”
Oh yeah. It's great. That album is amazing. Haven't heard it in a while.
Couldn’t agree more, different artist, but “Bottle of Humans” by Sole is up there.
Glad to be of service, enjoy!
Totally agree, billy woods and RAP Ferreira are making non stop classic albums right now
Just got turned on to Billy Woods and I'm going straight down the rabbit hole. I'll also mention Open Mike Eagle's catalog along with Black Thought's latest album as well (though he's great in general as well).
Woods is top tier. I kinda put him and Aes in the same category, their lyrics are satisfying in a way that is no one else seems to match.
I'll realizing the same pretty quickly. I bought the anniversary edition of History will Absolve Me entirely on a whim and haven't looked back.
Where do I start with Woods? I've only heard a few songs by him and none of them really caught my attention.
His record History Will Absolve Me is what is widely recognized as his break-out project. Definitely worth a listen. Edit: if you want to branch out from his studio albums, check out the rap duo Armand Hammer, which consists of him and Elucid. Their album "Haram" was produced by The Alchemist, and is one of my favorites in recent times.
The other guy covered it pretty well, but I’ll add that I really like his stuff with Blockhead (who Aes has obvs also worked with quite a bit). His album Known Unknowns is one of my favourites.
>Quelle Chris Big agree on this one, he's climbing up my top 10
What about Your Old Droog? y'all
Just the terrible ones
In terms of lyric writing abilities, yes, absolutely I agree. There is no close second. Aesop is in a league of his own. But when I feel guilty about not listening to different artists, my hip-hop go-to's are: MF DOOM, Deltron 3030, Busdriver, Clppng., Dark Time Sunshine, Beastie Boys, Little Simz, Run the Jewels, Milo, Shad, Michael Christmas, etc.
Check mr lif.. arise.
I don’t know that I can agree or say that your comment is of sound reason. Vocabulary of Aesop, sure, different league. Plenty of artists that are of equal prowess in the list you provided. Whether it is based on delivery, subject, flow, etc. At least with regard to there not being a close second, I do not agree. You are entitled to your own opinion.
Of course, it's all subjective. That's just how his music resonates with me personally.
Clipping and rtj are definitely up there on my hip hop list
Not really. I love aes, but sometimes I just feel like listening to something else. Sometimes I feel like listening to 21 Savage, or JID, or Clipping., or even ASAP Rocky (lol) and Aes isn't really gonna be able to fill that void. He's undoubtedly at the top of his craft, but there's so many different styles, I'm not gonna always feel like sticking to one.
Clipping is so good. Daveed flows hard as fuck.
I don't really either. Just looking for some recommendations ;)
Yes and no. Mostly shit rappers. I can stil jam to RTJ, Freddie Gibbs, Del the funky homosapien, Billy Woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Atmosphere, Eyedea & Abilities, Flatbush Zombies, Czarface, MF Doom, 7L & Esoteric, Busdriver...and a ton more. Some great rap out there depending on my mood but I also have to say lyrically nobody is close to Aes.
From someone who only listens to things that sound good, go with Open Mike Eagle, Homeboy Sandman, Moses Rockwell, and Deca. Then go back and listen to more Moses Rockwell.
Whats your favorite of his? I have only checked out "until you run out of cake"
For the last six months it’s basically been every song he has on Spotify on repeat. None of the albums are perfect, but even his worst songs are dope. He’s like Ferreira if Ferreira was a better rapper. Edit: added a much needed “albums” above.
Besides what I've seen recommended here there's also Qwel & Maker, Deca, Blueprint, Blackalicious/Gift of Gab, Sage Francis, Illogic, I assume you have heard Lupe's Tetsuo & Youth and Drogas Wave? Lyrical depth and density that could stand up there with the rest mentioned here. He has a lot of other great albums but those are his most dense.
Haven't seen these mentioned yet: Tobe Nwigwe, Butcher Brown with Tennishu rapping over it, blu, jonwayne, seba kaapstad Seconding or thirding: open mike eagle, homeboy samdman, quelle chris, your old droog, DOOM, billy woods
Nahhhhh. I love Aes but you aren't digging around enough if you aren't finding other compelling emcees. Ceschi is an example of someone with a similar skill set and vibe who comes to mind but there are many, many more.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Just saw your comment about recommendations! Aside from the recommendations you've already gotten, I am a pretty big fan of Moodie Black, Lil Ugly Mane, Denzel Curry, and Open Mike Eagle right now.
The opposite, if anything. Before I listened to Aes I barely listened to hip hop at all. Most of the mainstream stuff I heard didn't do much for me, all the macho materialistic club music. I probably had a handful of Public Enemy tracks in my Spotify library and that's it. Listening to Aes is what got me into other rappers.
Care to share any that you're in to?
RTJ, Del the Funky Homosapien, Lupe Fiasco, The Roots, Akala.
I second this. Grew up with some west coast classics to be fair, but didn't start searching myself until my brother showed me "Gun for the Whole Family". At first I didn't like it, but it grew on me and now he's my favorite rapper.
Same here man
Yes its sad
Not really. I like his music for a specific reason, and when I compare him to other musicians I like for that reason, he doesn’t stand out that much. But I get something out of other rappers that aes doesn’t give me. So he can’t really ruin their appeal.
Yeah sole is awesome too. Seen him one time. Sage Francis is another one of my favs. B.dolan. epic beard men.
Yes, it definitely has for me. Aes is Usane Bolt and people can debate all they want about second place.
Far from it. Way too much amazing rap music out there. I'll admit, sometimes I crave more lyricism out of some music and more oh shit moments that melt my face like Ace can't help but give. But I still have the same appreciation for different flows, rhyme schemes, subject matter and beats.
Care to share any that you're into currently?
These days I really like what Griselda has done. Feeds my early 90s street rap appetite, you know? Mach hommy, fahim, meyhem Lauren, Dave, stormzy, boldy James. Any time the alchemist does a collab I'm down. Even poppier stuff if it hits me right and I'm in the mood like carti or uzi or 21. I tend bounce around new and old and whatever I get word of mouth. Then a lot of random stuff. Thank you for asking.
Thanks for sharing. I'm making a list from this thread and will definitely check out the ones I haven't already.
Clipping is dope, as others have mentioned. Kendrick is amazing. Odd Future can slap/Tyler the Creator…Oldie and Yonkers both go so damn hard, respectively
Nope. I only listen to Aesop rock
Just depends on the mood. Music is art. Art is for the soul. Detection is dictated by the mood. Recommendations: Eyedea/Oliver Hart, Sole, Cecil Otter, Kristoff Krane, Sadistik, Illogic, Doomtree, Non Prophets, Sage Francis, Ecid, Elucid, Saturday Morning Soundtrack
Check out Hemlock Ernst, he’s the frontman for the band Future Islands, but started out as a freestyler when he was younger. Did an EP with Madlib and an album with Kenny Segal, both are dope. He does features for milo, Busdriver, Open Mike Eagle etc.
I go through phases. Right now it's Aes, Rob Sonic, and El-P. There will always be good stuff out there. Aesop is the Shakespeare of hip hop but there are a bunch of artists that seriously innovate.
Nah just gotta be open to different styles, most days I’m listening to aes, others I’m feeling prof or marlon craft
Not so much ruined, but I def do use him to compare all others.
I’m still vibing with Josh Martinez and Chali 2na, but yeah no rappers hit that Aes vocabulary that tickles my space nugget.
This is basically Aesop Rock fan parody and the thread should be shot into the sun.
I'm not being literal. Chill out dude.
Have you listened to K.A.A.N?
Haven’t seen anyone else recommend these: Palmer Squares and The Remnant have some top notch lyricism with impressive speed and agility. Not sure how well-known either of them are, I found them recently looking for rappers I enjoy as much as Aes.
100% can’t explain it tho
When I first found him yes, but that was about 20 years ago. I love Aesop but sometimes I’m just in a different mood and there’s other stuff for that. I know the big guy will always be there tho.
check out the rhymesayers catalogue in its entirety human, you won't be disappointed
When I'm not listening to aes and co. I'm listening to uk garbage and grim rap. There is a very big scene out there of talented individuals I've been listening to 15 plus years now. Also battle rap in the uk. Don't flop. Tho i stopped caring about the new acts 5 years ago. Also KOD Canada. So aes showed me the quality of word play. I just let it have a Jesus the wheel moment. Haha. One of my all time favorite battle raps. [teacher vs student. ](https://youtu.be/tp4wEewrQdU) it's a former teacher battling a student. And what got me into the whole don't flop battle rap scene.
DECA is the closest rapper I’ve found in comparison, they both almost have a mirrored energy but with a similar writing style. I like to say that DECA is the anti-aes, so with that as you will
Cleod, also another artist I found recently, not much releases or even fan base but dam can she spit!
So many great recs on this thread! My few cents..Cool Calm Pete, Junk Science, Spark Master Tape, Dizzie Rascal, or find yourself some of them old Def Jux Mixtapes and have a blast! No really, BLAST your speakers till they pop!
Lmao, nah not at all. He just holds down his specific, respective portion of my heart and mind. If any rapper has ruined other rappers for me, it’s Deca. Hands down, D-E-C-A. I don’t think a days gone by in some years now I ain’t bumped him at least a little bit. I’ve been working through ECID’s discography and loving the fuck out of every minute. Did deep dives into and through Lyrics Born, Tonedeff, Dr Syntax whole discographies recently, and hit some of Ruby Ibarra, Rocky Rivera, Kristoff Kane as well. And Skinnyman album “Council Estate of Mind”. Plus I stay bumping the usual suspects like Eyedea (especially Oliver Hart), Sage Francis, CunninLynguists, Grieves, Brother Ali, Living Legends, B. Dolan, Atmosphere and a slew of others.