By Daniel Paiz

Little by little, Aesop Rock’s “Black Hole Superette” is massive in the best way possible. Aes has been working on his production for some time now and the beats on this project are quite enveloping. There’s a range of sounds from intimidating and aggressive to laid-back period pieces that mellow one out.

The verses are honestly quite typical of the discography Aes has had over the years. Ten solo albums are staying power, and Rock is full steam ahead with this project being his third solo album since 2020. The number of times a listener should replay these tracks might not be ideal. That shouldn’t dissuade anyone but rather speak to the grander picture Aes paints with his rhymes.

Stand Out Tracks

Two tracks Consistently On Repeat

“So Be It” and “Black Plums” are surprisingly the two tracks that kept nabbing this listener’s attention over the other 16 tracks. “So Be It” makes sense because it’s a track that often aligns with this writer’s taste; it’s a song about existentially exploring one’s situation and how one isn’t far away from things being much worse. Slightly existential, slightly nihilist, but most importantly reflective.

“Black Plums” sounds very timely. This track is one that highlights how people are both trying to live their lives but also do so at the cost of communal growth and lack of community. Each track possesses sections that accurately depict this listener’s reception of the album as a whole.

“So Be It” had the following lines that lingered in one’s ears around the 1:34 mark:

Circumvent the tall man, searching for eternal peace, nervous from the surface of making the perfect worker bee, to what end, to what even is biodiversity? I mean, four walls, full hours, no change of clothes, low water, lyme dry, whole grain oats, whole worth rapping what you can make with your bare hands?

Lots of reflection happening in this track, but this portion in particular sticks out. All the effort, all of the thoughts, and anxiety that goes into building a skill set and the foundation around that; then, tying that into where the skill set takes one, which also leans on the existential debate of being. How one builds is also in question as there’s the use of your hands versus other means of doing so.

These lines also bring up being put into positions where it feels producing something is one’s purpose. In reality one is robbed of their identity and self, for the sake of others’ gains or visions. Aes stirs up questions folks have vocalized before, but as a portrait from his own vantage point. More art from the perennial artist.

“Black Plums” also had an interesting set of lines to check out:

100 years in the future I bet some photo exists, of some historic moment happening somewhere close to the crib, maybe some heavenly zealot yelling, wieldin’ of peace, there I am in the back enjoying that seasonal treat, oblivious and doing my version of enjoying a rose

This verse highlights how one lives their life often independent of society. This track reflects on the disconnect between people today, but also how individualistic things are in the US. There’s also a playful bliss Aes is critical of for our current age today, as it seems it’s the rule and not the exception. The beat interestingly draws in the listener, almost as if calling one to groove out and remain unaware; it’s a clever balance between verse and sound.

The Posse Cut

Okay so it’s not a really a true posse cut. For Aesop Rock though, who doesn’t often have multiple rappers on one track, it kind of feels like one. A summit of some of the most lyrically dexterous emcees out there, artists who favor layered meanings with double entendre galore. Seemingly overtly abstract at first, the more you listen to these lines the better the picture comes into focus. This listener doesn’t begin to claim expert understanding of these rhymes, but multiple listens has shed a bit of light.

Aesop Rock, Homeboy Sandman, and Lupe Fiasco have discographies that I can do little justice explaining succinctly. The best way to get an idea of their skillset is listening to their music. For the track “Charlie Horse”, where Aes receives bars from Homeboy and Lupe, there’s a candy store of lines to review. Each emcee had some stand-out lines, and they follow below. For Aesop Rock, resonating lines follow as:

Propeller hats still in motion, no actual developments

there is not a satellite of any worldly origin, that points to a location this impossibly inordinate

Homeboy Sandman had some good stuff as well. What caught my ear follows as:

Mumbling guff my infrastructure wasn’t built on a grid, I’m just taking me a shot in the dark, but if you’ve never taken off, then take a walk in the park

I know you feeling hollow from following these fools, get with the Mr. Fix It that don’t even need tools

Lupe Fiasco always has layered gems for listeners to witness. What stood out visually the most for me was the opening portion of his verse:

Take a break from persecuting idolatry, in the countryside with hunting knives as it runs and hides, ’cause I want and try and hold it by the underside, then jump and dunk a pumpkin pie, stuff a stocking with a thunder thigh, I want to put things into things, principally in vitro fertilize kings into queens

The range of words used, the images chosen from each artist, all sound fairly different. However, they merge well because of how each emcee differentiates themselves from each other. The track’s title of “Charlie Horse” makes sense, as each verse essentially involuntarily makes the listener immobile. All of the double entendre, all the packing of syllables together to deliver their message of top-tier rhyming, disallows one from walking away from the track. This track entrances one to revisit what’s been said. That’s not an easy feat to accomplish.

Final Verdict

This project is 18 tracks layered with beats ranging from futuristic and aggressive to smooth and reflective. Aesop has outdone himself sonically, as each track has a musical landscape providing just the right setting for each song. The different worlds that arise out of these songs are not faraway places in the cosmos, but rather different realities each person encounters in daily interactions.

Home life and public interactions, mundane inconveniences at an airport or convenience store, and past memories and present experiences; all of these instances interact, and impact how life unfolds for each one of us. Every interaction leaves a mark, even if it doesn’t seem like it.

Along with the three tracks listed previously, “Snail Zero”, “Steel Wool”, “Send Help”, and “John Something” are all standout tracks as well. Each song feels self-contained addressing a different topic. That’s another element of interest for this project: each song has its own story but adds to the overall concept and soundscape as well.

Few artists deliver such layered rhymes along with such a varied spectrum of beats. Aesop Rock delivers in both areas quite well. When a project sounds better the more you listen to it over time, you’ve found something worthwhile revisiting.