Countdown to Coachella 2008: Aesop Rock vs. Spank Rock

Appearing on the Friday leg of Coachella 2008 are underground rapper Aesop Rock and DJ duo Spank Rock.

Huntington, LI, NY rapper Aesop Rock was born Ian Matthew Bavitz in 1976.  A Fine Art graduate from Boston University, Aesop first dropped a pair of self-financed records, 1997’s Music for Earthworms (featuring underground legend Percee P on two tracks) and 1999’s Appleseed EP while also working as a waiter.
 
Aesop released his first major album, Float (2000), under the Mush label, with guest appearances from Vast Aire, Slug, and Dose One. Production was split between Blockhead and Aesop himself, with one track by Omega One.

Shortly after releasing Float, Aesop Rock signed to Manhattan-based underground specialist label Definitive Jux (a.k.a. Def Jux), where he released Labor Days, 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 7-track EP, including an “alternative” new version of the song, “Night Light,” whose paraphrased lyrics simultaneously refer back to, and stand in stark opposition to, the original’s

Aesop then dropped Bazooka Tooth in 2003. Here, production was mostly handled by Aesop himself, with three tracks from longtime collaborator Blockhead and one from close friend and Def Jux label CEO El-P. Guest appearances include Def Jux label-mates Party Fun Action Committee, El-P, and Mr. Lif as well as Camp Lo. With this release Aesop hit a higher level of recognition, releasing “No Jumper Cables” as a single and music video, then another single, “Freeze,” shortly after.

In February 2005, Aesop Rock released a new EP, Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives. First pressings of the EP included an 88 page lyric booklet - The Living Human Curiosity Sideshow - with lyrics from every release from Float until this EP; later pressings would come without the booklet, but with an additional bonus track, “Facemelter”.  In addition, a limited number of albums were available direct from Def Jux with Aesop Rock’s graffiti tag on them. This time around, though, Aesop did less production on the EP, contributing boardwork on only three tracks: three other songs are produced by Blockhead and one by Rob Sonic.

Aesop Rock was commissioned to create a 45-minute instrumental track for the Nike+iPod running system, entitled All Day. It was released in February 2007. Distributed via the iTunes Music Store and featuring his wife Allyson Baker on guitar and scratches from DJ Big Wiz, Aesop has described the release as “something that evolved enough that the sound was constantly fresh and attractive, as though the runner were moving through a set of differing cities or landscapes.”

In August of the same year, Aesop Rock dropped his fifth full-length album, None Shall Pass (2007). Here, he reflects on the experiences people gain through personal relationships and maturing with age.  Aesopexamines himself and others, deriving the album and song title from the inescapable judgement one receives from their peers based on their actions.  The album features original artwork by Jeremy Fish, which can also be seen in the video below for its title track.

Aesop Rock’s trippy “None Shall Pass” clip f. illustrations by artist Jeremy Fish

Aesop Rock ”Coffee” clip, featuring a vocal performance by John Darnielle from the Mountain Goats

Aesop has always been categorized as a underground rapper more often than not; aside from his eschewing of the popular tropes of MTV-friendly rap - the bling, flashy cars and institutionalised objectivification of women - his choice of collaborators straddle more toward the Pitchfork market than the Source variety.  Nonetheless, being a white man performing in a predominantly African-American oriented medium, he often gets lumped in with Eminem (particularly during his pre-”Marshall Mathers Album” period.

Spank Rock is a Baltimore, MD collective fronted by rapper Naeem Juwan (aka Spank Rock) and rapper-vocalist Amanda Blank. Other members of the line-up are producers/DJs Armani XXXchange (Alex Epton), Chris Rockswell (Chris Devlin), Ronnie Darko (Ronald Rubarth),  Chris Rockswell and Ronnie Darko (Devlin & Darko) are also part of the Baltimore Bass Connection (BBC), alongside the likes of Pase Rock.  His style is generally described as a mix of underground hip hop, party rap and electro.

Spank Rock began performing among the underground clubs in Philadelphia, PA, where they would get to build their reputation. They would later tour with Hollertronix and M.I.A. as well as Beck (supporting his 2006 “Information” tour).  On May 8, 2007, they opened for Björk at the Apollo Theatre in New York.

Spank Rock’s debut album YoYoYoYoYo was released in 2006 on the Big Dada record label; this album was nominated for a Shortlist Music Prize in 2006.  His most recent release, a 5 song EP titled “Bangers & Cash” made in collaboration with producer/DJ and former Disco D intern, Benny Blanco, was inspired by the “Miami booty bass” sounds of the 2 Live Crew. 

Their single, “Bump”, was named Single of the Year by Xfm London breakfast DJ Lauren Laverne in 2006; that same track was featured at the beginning of an episode of HBO’s dramatic series “Entourage”.

On January 13th, 2007, Spank Rock appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, where he performed “Sweet Talk” and “Rick Rubin”.

They are generous in licensing their songs to video games.  In Need for Speed: Carbon, the track “What It Look Like” appears while “Backyard Betty” can be heard in Madden NFL 07.

On November 8th, 2007, they performed at the mtvU Woodie Awards show in New York City.  A new full-length album is in the pipeline as the band are working on it at the studio.

Spank Rock & Benny Bianco are Bangers & Cash - “B.O.O.T.A.Y.” clip

Spank Rock perform “Lindsay Lohan” live at Coachella 2007. 

Their Friday performance will be the second under the annual Coachella banner. 

 Music