Aesop Rock

Happy New Year!!

defcon — Fri, 2 Jan 2009 01:15:01 -0500

Happy New Year!!

We want to thank all of our artists, writers, readers and fans for an amazing year.

Over at Def Jux we feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to do what it is we do. Speaking for this lowly blog editor, I live out my own personal ambitions every day thanks to the musicians, publicists, and most importantly the patrons involved with Definitive Jux Records.

We've come to know you all through your comments on the site, our myspaces, and your emails/letters and we are so grateful on a daily basis that we have such involved and active supporters. A million times thank you for the continued love over the years, we can only hope to keep bringing you the best in 2009 and we're looking forward to Chin Chin and Cage's newest this spring. It couldn't, any of it, happen without you.

And now some words for the new year from Mr. Aesop Rock .....

happy new year everyone. this blog is unnecessarily long.

2008 was really weird. lots of extremes. some of the best and worst memories of my life occurred in 08 and it will forever be remembered as a bit of a roller coaster. lots of touring and travel. lots of strange times and heartache. too much heartache, really. the type of loss i wouldn't wish on my worst enemies.

and still here were are - 2009. somehow still alive.

these past few months have been very busy for me, and are leading into an even busier 2009. I have been working on some new production gigs that will be announced as soon as the powers that be allow me to speak. i think (and hope) that some of this stuff will be a pleasant surprise to any fans of what i do. keyword - 'surprise'. too vague? well....

heres something a little less vague - weathermen album, bitches. songs are being written and recorded now. NOW! if i werent such a gentleman i'd betray all of my friends and leak this new joint sitting on my desktop right now. i'm looking at it right now!!! its so new!!!! so... so...hang on i'm gonna play it while i write the rest of this...ok better. jesus man i love working with these motherfuckers. you know, i try to steer clear of the incessant braggadocio that is sickeningly prevalent in rap today... the 24/7 pissing contest is really not my thing... but its january 1st 2009 so gimme my day - i ask you - who has an iller crew than us!? who?! nobody. there is nobody in any of rap's 9000 subgenres that comes close to what we bring to the table. period. straight up. this will not be some thrown together back-burner bullshit posse album comprised of mail-in 16s and unnecessary collabs. no filler. *end pissing contest (i win).

To read the rest Click Here!!

HAPPY 2009!!!!

(We will be back up and running in full on Monday January 5th...but check back tomorrow for the first wide sweeping generalization of the new year)

Aesop Rock Interview with The Onion AV Club

defcon — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:20:22 -0500

Last Week Aesop stopped by to chat with The Onion Av Club. We thought the resulting interview was stellar.. See for your self, and CLICK HERE for the rest.

AVC: Your lyrics are pretty vivid, and so are your videos. How visually do you think when you're writing?

AR: I try to make it like a setting. Sometimes it's a story, but even if it's not, I'll just try to describe this particular mood that happened on this particular day, in this place. I like it to be visual. I always attached myself to people who wrote that way, and who said stuff that was like—not only said "There's a bookshelf over in the corner," but added an adjective that helped describe the mood or something. It just helps me. People don't stress enough that when they're writing lyrics, they are writing. MCs are authors, and rock musicians who write lyrics are authors, to a degree. There's so much room to do so much more in rap, which we touched on. To take pride and be versatile, to do something they haven't tried before, and just say, "Let me try this."

Chin Chin Would Like To Offer You Something For Nothing, And We Want You to Keep 25%

defcon — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:15:40 -0500

Seasons Greetings Friends and Family!!

Chin Chin, the funkiest of them all, has been working tirelessly in their Brooklyn Headquarters to bring you all kinds of new and interesting material leading up to the release of their second Jux album, The Flashing The Fancing, coming March 2009. The band was so moved by the joylessness of our current economic crisis, that they wanted to give you a whole EP .. for free in the name of none other than some good old holiday spirit.

Click Here to for your own copy of the 'Go There With You EP' and see for yourself.

We here at jux were inspired by the generosity of the Chin Chinners and Aesop Rock (Click Here for your own copy of HIS new track 'Tomorrow Morning'). So we decided to offer you a very special holiday discount of 25% off of whatever you buy from now until the new year.

So Listen up and dont you forget, when you go to check out of the store enter this coupon code

DJXHOLIDAY

Once again in all caps thats

DJXHOLIDAY

Yak Ballz Fever For The Flavor Survival of The Richest (And Details for Tonight's Show!):

defcon — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:32:22 -0500

Mobb Deep’s Survival of The Fittest was nothing short of an anthem in Queens when I was a youngling gallivanting on foot and public transpo through the galaxy of...

At any given moment, from ’95 to ‘97, you might hear this piano loop banging from the inside of some obnoxious dude's Acura Vigor at the red light outside my mother's apartment. So loud, in fact, that I could vibe to it while in the confines of my tiny room - which faced out toward Franklin Avenue and Main Street in Flushing, Queens. I saw and heard a lot of insane shit….like some drunkard walking down the street ass naked with nothing to cover him but a black hefty bag. Or when some Asian guy, also drunk, backslapped his wife in the middle of the street at 3am and left her laying on the ground where she fell. Shit was real.

Survival of The Fittest is off Mobb’s The Infamous LP that came out in 1995. A bona fide classic and no doubt was neck and neck with Shook Ones Pt. II, as far as popularity. It was between The Infamous and Hell on Earth when I truly felt like Prodigy was one of the Top 5 MC’s in the game and I still stand by that. I specifically remember having this convo/argument with Lif, Cage, and Aesop on tour. None of them really agreed but Lif could see where I was coming from. As a matter of fact, everyone else thought I was crazy, but guess what, Banana Clip Pee is my motherfucking dude and I don’t give a shit what anyone else thinks when it comes to him being top 5 MC’s in the game. Free Prodigy!

That brings me to this months topic: “Survival of The Richest”

I don’t know about you but it’s becoming more and more of a reality to me every passing day that the system is designed to weigh down on you until you are emotionally broken and flat broke. That just seems like where the expression “broke” came from. I know….you are already thinking…”Here’s Yak gearing up to rant some more about some shit I already know again.” Oh yeah? You’re damn right motherfucker. Let’s talk about it though.

In this episode I’m going to tell you how I, Yak Ballz, try to stay afloat, but be advised, that doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you.

Unfortunately if you are poor in America, it is a constant struggle just to get by. It becomes a self defeating cycle of progress where everything goes wrong, as if God is just tipping dominoes that represent our financial problems. Conversely, if you have money, the system is designed for the “rich to get richer,” in which the cycle keeps winning as the money works for itself and continues to pile up. Think of it like a million dollars sitting in the bank collecting interest over time.

When I say poor, I don’t mean poor like you don’t have a place to live, I mean poor like you don’t have more than $1000 in your checking account, ever. You might say well that’s not poor. Ok, now add over $5000 in credit card debt, bills, rent, no health insurance so you’re paying for doctor/meds, and your daily food intake. Not to mention your car is going to crap out tomorrow and you need to buy a new one. No I’m not talking about poor in the extreme 'hobo style' sense. I’m talking that uphill battle poor that may have defeat written all over it. But as the saying goes, “it aint over ‘til it’s over” and I believe the key to survival and not letting the system get the majority* of the best of you is to never let it be over until YOU say so, not them. Essentially, just never let it be over and you should be alright. I hate to say it but you must play the game that all of us, chasing the American dream, must play. It’s called “Stall.” The object of the game is to buy yourself some time, but make sure it’s for cheap and with a low interest rate.

It’s plain to see that people with money have a better quality of life, less to stress about, and if there is a problem a couple dollars can buy the means to alleviate almost anything.... or at least to ensure there is a smooth landing in the near future - a cure within sight on the horizon. When you are “poor,” the descent is turbulent and if it ever comes to it, not even your seatbelt can save you from that dreadful crash landing. When you are broke, it just feels like your plane is taking a nosedive the entire time and gravity is your worst enemy. We’ve all heard the expression “more money more problems,” but I think that is complete bullshit. I think it’s really supposed to be “more money, different problems” because although money doesn’t buy happiness, many times it’s paying for pills, medicine, and treatment that keep people from crashing, burning, and dying. When the money is there, it keeps people like most of us, above just plain surviving .

I’m one of those people who is what they call 'a starving artist'. Ironically I’m always hungry but I try not to spend frivolously on food and luxuries, although at times I do give in. I’m one of those people that buys things I don’t need for the same reason that fat people eat comfort foods; with the thought that it’s going to make me feel better about myself. But the good feeling is always short lived and 99% of the time I’m back where I was before I spent that $100 bucks on a hoodie and a hat because I got the shopping bug from a tall cup of café mocha from Starbucks 20 minutes before. All that aside, I’ve made a list of 10 tips to live by during these times. Alas these may not be the answers, and I don’t follow them religiously myself, however. I know what it is to be in a squeeze and sometimes you just gotta put your guard up, buckle down, weather the storm and push through it all in order to maintain survival.

-Go grocery shopping - Eating out right now is not the move in today’s economy.

-Find different ways to make money - Get your hands in different things. Work the angles. It’ll help you get ahead if you ever break even.

-Take the train - When gas prices soar...

-Stay healthy to avoid seeing a doctor - Take vitamins, exercise, eat and sleep well because those doctor visits, tests, and pills will fuck you so bad if you have no insurance.

-Live below your means and don’t go out - Thinking about going to the bar? Unless you ain’t paying, you shouldn’t be playing. Might as well wipe your ass with those bills and watch them spiral down the bowl because they are good for one time, and one time only when drinking away your sorrows of being broke.

-Try to cut out on the monthly bills that are luxuries you are used to having but aren’t necessary i.e. netflix, telephone landlines, sattelite radio, on demand cable (you can watch damn near anything on the net nowadays). - My dude Alaska will provide you with a link to a fucking ham “sangwich” if you need one. Seriously, holler at him for any TV show, music, or movie link or where to get them. He’s good for it. My word.

-Make your own coffee - ‘nuff said.

-Consolidate your debt and pay it off - Interest is like an STD that you don’t cure, it just keeps growing and growing and growing until you can’t get any more pussy because it just kept growing.

-Use your bank's ATMs - The ones on the street charge you that service fee that irks the shit out of me every time.

-Save Save Save - It’s time for all of us including me to start.

If you haven’t already seen it on Definitivejux.net, below is my new music video for the song Dirt Empire from my latest record, Scifentology II. Dirt Empire is produced by Jux’s own Aesop Rock. This video is directed by Jonathan Cannon and Michael Schaeffer for Charlex. The concept of “Dirt Empire” is loosely connected to the concept of this blog as well. It’s all relative.

For more about Dirt Empire and the concept visit HERE.

Lastly, I want to thank all of you for reading my two cents in my blogs every month, coming to shows I play, listening to my music, and supporting Independent Hip Hop. 2008 has been a year of all time highs and lows. Happy holidays to you and yours. Be back in full effect come January ’09 to start a new year of Fever For The Flavor.

PEACE!

Yak Ballz is Playing tonight in Allston MA!!

Check it out!!

Happy Holidays From Aesop Rock and Jeremy Fish! The Ghosts of the Barbary Coast Available for Download NOW!!

defcon — Tue, 9 Dec 2008 18:15:08 -0500

Aesop Rock's New Track, Tomorrow Morning, is NOW AVAILABLE! For free download!!! CLICK HERE!

The track, which was debuted last week in San Fransisco, at the opening of Jeremy Fish's new show 'Ghosts of the Barbary Coast' was made available in limted quantities to show goers attached to a woodblock print of a piece from the collection.

For those of you who were not on the west coast or or in San Fran to catch the show, fear not!! The Free MP3 is coming equipped with a Quicktime slide show of the entire collection of Ghosts...

SFWeekly explains ....

The latest collection of works is Fish's personal love letter to SF, as he intends to "gain a better understanding of San Francisco's formative heroes, and honor them in my drawings, paintings, and sculpture, as well as finding parallels to the early days of San Francisco in today's contemporary San Francisco, and the cyclical nature of this city and its ill behaviors.

***Because the slide show is a 50MB file please be patient with the download speed. If there are any problems with downloading please contact customerservice@definitivejux.net immediately.

Yak Ballz New Video for Dirt Empire and a Message From The Man Himself.

defcon — Thu, 4 Dec 2008 12:25:56 -0500

What up everyone? This is the premiere of my first music video! It's for the song "Dirt Empire" on Scifentology II and it is produced by Aesop Rock.

It was done by a production company called Charlex and I couldn't be more grateful to have such a talented group of people to work on what I think is one of coolest things I have ever been a part of in terms of my career. It's been a long time coming and I'm really happy with the result. I hope you will be as well. Special thanks the good people at Charlex, to my friend and brother Michael Schaeffer for hooking this thing up, and Jonathan "JC" Cannon who conceptualized and directed it. Enjoy "Dirt Empire" and pick up your copy of Scifentology II if you haven't yet.

Best,

Yak

We need as many comments as possible to help climb the Youtube Charts. CLICK HERE to leave a comment directly on the Youtube Page and while you're at it, Rate it 5 stars, Favorite it, and Subscribe to Yak Ballz TV.

The Daily Jux for Tuesday December 2nd

defcon — Tue, 2 Dec 2008 18:13:50 -0500

Lots of ground to cover here guys...

First off we announced a Hawaii date that you will want to take vacation time for...ready for this? Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic, El-P, Cage, The Mighty Quinn, Mr. Dibbs, and DJ Big Wiz will be heading out to the islands on January 16th of the new year. Details here.

Chin Chin and Cage both have east coast dates on December 12th, and both are worth checking out!! (Chin Chin Here, Cage Here)

Aesop Rock has gotten some more glowing press for his guest spots on the new DJ Signify album 'Of Cities' - XLR8R has the story. The Mighty Underdogs also got some love on their video for 'I want you Back'- So Much Silence has the story.

Yak Ballz wants to show you some live footage from "Coffee Break For Heroes and Villains" Radio show on WFMU 91.1:

Phew, hope that helped you all work off some of your turkey stupor, more tomorrow.

Till next time,

-The Editor

Aesop Rock-Jeremy Fish Ghosts of the Barbary Coast

defcon — Tue, 2 Dec 2008 17:41:37 -0500

Just a reminder!!

In two days time, at the opening of Jeremy Fish's new show 'The Ghosts of the Barbary Coast', Aesop Rock will premiere his new song Tomorrow Morning which will be played at the opening throughout the night. The track will be available on a series of USB flash drives that are connected to a wooden print of Fish's work. These will be available in an very limited quantity on a first come first served basis at the opening itself. CLICK HERE for details.

HOWEVER, do not fret if you live far away from these events, after the show, the track will be available here at Def Jux in an UNLIMITED quantity for your listening pleasure.

Check back here for more information as we draw closer to this historic occasion.

Building Robots with Cage, Aesop Rock, and Sean Martin!

defcon — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:47:48 -0500

The Daily Jux for Thursday November 20th

defcon — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:58:26 -0500

First things first,

You NY area folks better be heading out to Southpaw tonight, if you need a reminder why, head HERE, but for a quick rundown peep the flyer:

Next up, we told you a little while ago that Aesop Rock is featured on the new DJ Signify album Of Cities.. Well now the track 'Low Tides' is up for all to hear on Aesop's Myspace.

From the man himself;

hey

i uploaded a new track i am featured on by DJ Signify. The song is called "Low Tide" and is availiable on his new record "Of Cities". I also rap on another song on the record. enjoy.

best
a.r.

Tomorrow will see a Mr. Lif-Junk Science show in Northampton and The Mighty Underdogs hit Reno with Zion I - More on that to come.

Today's Daily Jux is dedicated to female serial killers because.. well you just needed another reason to feed your raging mysogyny, now didn't you?

Till tomorrow,

-The Editor