My Opinion
To be honest I don't think either of these rappers are very good. I've tried listening to Aesop Rock but his flow is just terrible, the beats on his songs can't really be called music and his metaphors are way too obscure;they are almost completely nonsensical. A$AP Rocky uses nice beats for his songs, but his lyrics are so stupid that they're on the same level as Aesop's tangled mess he calls lyrics. It's kind of funny really these two rappers are like polar opposites in every single way.
The Facts
First off, Aesop Rock is a veteran of the industry, since he originally got in the game in the 90's. He is also well respected by the Hip Hop underground community. He was a white rapper before it was cool (*cough*Eminem*cough*Asher Roth*cough*Yelawolf) so I guess I'll give him some props for that. Aesop gets no props for his name since he admits that his friends used to call him Aesop and he liked the word rock; that's weak!
Now, A$AP Rocky definitely wins when it comes to mainstream success. He has connections with Drake and AraabMuzik and his style of rap is what's popular nowadays (Not necessarily good, but undeniably popular.) A$AP Rocky gets props for being named after Hip Hop legend Rakim. He also gets props for the acronym A$AP which means, Always Strive And Prosper or Acronym Symbolizing Any Purpose.
The winner
This is a tough one...they both suck so bad. I'm going to give it to A$AP Rocky since he makes better songs.
Youre obviously a young clownass faggot. You dont know shit about real hip hop.
ReplyDeleteWhoa, chill out petey boy. You feel like a big man hiding behind the the anonymity of the internet? Listen I know what is "real" hip-hop in my opinion, maybe your opinion of "real" hip-hop is different than mine. Please tell me what kind of hip-hop you think is "real" and maybe then I'll take you seriously.
Deletebtw thanks for giving me my first comment! :) (Even though you had to be a typical internet douche).
how you gonna say aesop gets no props cuz his boys called him aesop, that's solid comradery. So using your logic if i rap and get big and name myself the notorious l.i.l that's iight? Or if my names 6pac that must be original as fuck right? Originality is dying slowly and you givin/ props to a dude that obviously stole that dudes name. Use common sense homie
DeleteHe gets props because his parents named him after a hip-hop great(His real name is Rakim Mayers). If you don't think that deserves some props then that's your problem, but i think it's pretty cool. Also I'm almost 100% sure that A$AP never heard of Aesop (The rapper or the original). A$AP = ASAP. It's just a a moniker that everyone in A$AP Mob slaps in front of their nickname (A$AP Ferg, A$AP Twelvy). The reason why Aesop gets no props(From me) is because the creation of his name has no reasoning behind it.
Deletehow can you give someone props for what his parents named him. that has nothing to do with his rapping. if his parents named him mortimer and he became a dope rapper that'd be soemthing else because he'd have to overcome having a shitty name getting clowned all the time. and your excuse that you can't understand or follow an Aesop song says more about you and your attention span/amount of learning than it does about aesops music. you could take almost any aesop song and just read it as a poem. can't believe you went with the hollywood ass rapper who's put no time into the game and only has a following (a weak one im sure) because he's being promoted in the mainstream. you take away his promotion and make him rely on his skills and the would die in the underground with no one to mourn him.
DeleteListen...If I was only comparing pure rapping skills then obviously Aesop would win, but this is NOT a rap battle faceoff, it's a cultural faceoff. And if you think Aesop Rock has had a bigger cultural impact well then you, my liberal friend, are living in your own little bubble.
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DeleteYou have no idea what you're talking about. You are in no position to judge two rappers. Oh, and if you think Aesop's lyrics are non-sensical you're an idiot...
ReplyDelete"his metaphors are way too obscure;they are almost completely nonsensical". The key words here are WAY TOO OBSCURE, and ALMOST COMPLETELY NONSENSICAL.
DeleteReal rap is the use of vocabulary to express an idea thoughtfully whilst still retaining a style personal to you. This is just about a unanimous definition for rap music as a whole. Let's take a sample here shall we?
DeleteAesop Rock:
"Daylight"
" His origami dream is beautiful, but man those wings will never leave the ground without a feather an a lottery ticket, now settle down."
Aesop is saying that it is great to live the creative life of a rapper or artist, they can create beautiful things for a living. But no matter how beautiful you make an origami bird, it is still going to stay grounded, it is only made of paper. This origami bird is a symbol for a struggling artist without money, gifted but not successful
The bird is a metaphor for how, while the American Dream is doing what you do for a living, it really isn’t a dream at all without money. You could be much better off winning the lottery than if you put your life into creating beautiful things. The lottery ticket to the artist represents the same thing as a feather does to the origami bird- without it, it is difficult to succeed...
A$AP Rocky:
"Purple Swag"
"That pimp shit, she ain't plan to fuck, I pick her up, I still hit. That's Swag bitch."
A$AP Rocky is saying that he picks up a girl that isn't willing to fuck him, but he somehow ends up fucking her anyway. He believes this means he has "swag" or "style".
You know, come to think of it, you're right. A$AP is a much better rapper. SWWAAGGGG NNIIIGGGAAA!
HAHA well put, prime example on how dumbed down all these toys are. This blog is probably the funniest shit I read in awhile, I needed this been a shit day.
DeleteTo the author of this blog, you don't have a critical ear get over it. Unless you're trolling, in that case congrats and keep it up.
the reason aesop's lyrics sound like nonsense to you is because you're one chromosome away from downs syndrome and don't know what real hip hop is, enjoy your swag rap bullshit
ReplyDeleteHe over complicates his "music", has an awful delivery and his voice is so monotonous it's ridiculous. And I already said that both of these rappers suck, so why would you think I'm a lil wayne swagfag? I think the only reason you like Aesop is because you're a lil hipster ass bitch lol
Deletehonestly if you think Aesop is deep that just means that YOU don't know what real hip hop is.
over complicates for whom?, hip hop is a big arena. i personally like complex metaphor and honest observations on the human condition. but hey im a spergass nobody from the uk raised on africa bambata and grandmaster Flash who has no problem understanding aesops lyrics. "real" hiphop phahh irrelevant. is it any good = do you get something out of it? does it illuminate truth, strife,hope, life describe our flaws and failings, sum up anger, give voice to the unheard, present hope?. as For ASAP rocky ....."will he survive the milligrams of middle ground
DeleteThey pump into the pinstripe pentagrams over tinsel town"
time will tell
comparing these 2 rappers is like comparing apples and ICBMs. Come on bro Aesop all the way.
ReplyDeleteYeah I know, but I did say that these two rappers are opposite in every way. The main reason I chose these two is because my swagfag friends were bumping him at the time and I remembered that one of my hipster friends was trying to get me to listen to him a few years ago, so I decided to compare them. Plus you have to admit their names are similar.
DeleteAesop is living legend and when future generations look back at the early years of hip hop they will wonder how he wasn't exalted by the masses. Then they'll figure it out soon after when they realize that about 80% of the most beloved shit of our time is garbage
Delete^That will never happen. Aesop's lyrics are not deep at all. All he does is use a few uninspired metaphors to explain himself,here is an example "I did not invent the wheel I was the crooked spoke adjacent" OoOoOoO!o.O that's so deep mang!
DeleteHe didn't invent "the wheel"(HipHop) but he is "the crooked spoke adjacent"(Outsider who doesn't fit in, but yet still apart of "the wheel"). Wo0o0oaah brah! That blew ma mind...
Like I was saying, all he uses is weak metaphors, obscure references to pop culture ( I must obviously be an uneducated sheep if I don't get all of these references). Worst of all though is the fact that his voice is a monotone mumble and his beats are garbage.
Obscure ≠ Poetic
As far as I see it, Aesop is just a failed MF Doom. Listen to MF Doom if you want to hear some actual poetic and creative rap.
Listen to Nas, Lupe, Black Star, Eminem, Binary Star, Dead Prez, The Fugees, KRS-1, EL-P, Jean Grae, Common, Immortal technique, Public Enemy, The roots (Hell...even Kid Cudi is deeper than Aseop, imo).
How do you not like Aesop but you like all these other VERY similar artist's?
DeleteAdmit it bro you hate Jew's and your grandparents are Nazi's.
I dunno Mathew, maybe because all those "very similar artists" are much better than Aesop?
DeleteOK I admit it, my grandparents were nazi, my parents are alqueda, and I'm a north korean spy. HAIL OSAMA JIN UN!
XD
Funny... you mention the line "I did not invent the wheel I was the crooked spoke adjacent" and explain the metaphor, and say its crap, which it isn't... but show a GOOD one from A$AP... I mean blow me away. I wanna see/hear one of his metaphorical rhymes that takes it to the next level! Show me what ya got...
DeleteIt's even funnier that he named Lupe.. and Lupe named Aesop the GOAT. And DOOM's last track was with AES. LOL.
DeleteYou're not going to win this one. Aesop is one of the best writes of all time. If you don't like his voice, fine. That is practically all you can claim.
lol! Rakim is an islamic name super common on the east coast (or New York). I'm Kareem Abdul and my mama was NOT thinking of Kareem Abdul Jabar the basketball player when she named me!
ReplyDelete2 different worlds of music and audience, you cannot compare the 2. If your talking "culture" ....still, you CANNOT COMPARE THE 2!
This post is so funny. I had a great time, thanks!
I actually didn't even think about that lol
DeleteI'll do some more research about the names and update the post if necessary.
Mathew, this has nothing to do with religion, lets keep it in music ya?
ReplyDeletebut Anthony, i do have to admit, the rappers you just mentioned are FUCKING great rappers.... but i would certainly add Aesop in there!
ReplyDeleteNah, I just can't accept him as a good rapper. Most of his lines are obscenely obscure allusions to random pieces of pop culture. Also I find his flow to be boring (He mumbles...).
DeleteWOW this anothy guy is really quite the Douchebag!
DeleteTOP 5 and dont ever forget:
-EyeDea
-R.A. TRM
-Aesop
-NOEX(Devin lee)
-Meechy Darko
umm aesops name is actually pretty good- aesop is also a greek poet, so thats why his friends called him aesop i guess, because he has great lyricism
ReplyDeleteI admit that you have a point. I'm going to do some more research on both rappers names and update the post if necessary.
DeleteYou should of done research BEFORE you even did this.
DeleteAesop Rock is 1,000x more lyrically talented than A$AP Rocky.
ReplyDeleteThat's true but, rap is about more than lyricism. Flow is also very important and I think A$AP beats Aesop in that category.
DeleteDefine your idea of what "flow" is... what elements comprise "flow" that you are comparing them with?
DeleteI really think you're grasping at nothing in this comparison. You have an opinion, but a very uneducated one at that (you really don't know anything about Aesop, who he is and has been in the underground hip hop culture[i.e. his legacy], and how many hip hop artists he has affected, nonetheless non-artist hip hop heads he's truly affected), and you are trying to make a comparison just so you "have a voice on the internet". Great. You spoke. Unfortunately you showed a bunch of intelligent people that... well that you aren't that intelligent, or that you at least didn't do any real research.
I saw Aesop Rock 10 years ago... small venue, great show. And he was a HUGE underground hip hop artist at the time. At the time, A$AP would have been four years from getting into the industry. My point? Legacy... who has done what... who have they affected. You make poor assumptions, because you have no clue who Aesop Rock is, or has been. He's an underground hip hop legend. And you're comparing him to a guy who has comparatively done nothing in the mainstream market. Remember, to do a fair comparison, you need to assess and compare each artist in their own market/culture/scene... i.e. what had Aesop done for underground hip hop, compared to what A$AP Rocky has done for mainstream hip hop/rap? Is he a legend? Will he ever be a legend? One of the best ever amongst his peers? Aesop got there... a while ago. A$AP hasn't even been able to sniff anything close to that.
No, rap isn't more than just lyrics. Lyrics always count, i don't know where the fuck you been but you surely don't know shit about Hip Hop music at all. Get your facts straight before you compare someone who raps like shit to a legend who has influenced Hip Hop so much
DeleteCome on dude...
ReplyDelete"I split my lip kissing the winter, nursed my blister in the sun, strung a hammock between spring and when the willows turn to blood."
"Swag bitch"
...yeah, tough call.
Aesop has pretty good flow, his lyrics can take an age to decipher sometimes and in my opinion Blockhead creates interesting beats, his taste for percussion has always been a key reason Aesops tracks sound so unique.
ReplyDeleteHave a listen to Labour days, in particular "9-5ers anthem" and tell me he doesn't have flow. the mans a story teller, thats hard to do.
This was written by an idiot. The moment you said Aesop sucks anything else said went down the drain.
ReplyDeleteAlso his flow is amazing and unique, and dont even get me started on the lyricism, symbolism and metaphors just because you simply cant understand nor comprehend something doesnt make it bad just means YOU cant understand nor comprehend it. I recommend you give RapGenius a check out it was made for people like you.
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ReplyDeleteA$AP Rocky's music is mostly targeted for listened to by thugs (and those who look up to thugs) who cruise the streets, sell drugs, do drugs, rob people, and go to clubs like there's no where else in life to go.
ReplyDeleteAesop Rock's music is targeted for individuals seeking knowledge and the betterment of themselves in the form of complex metaphors over non-contemporary production tailored specifically for Aesop Rock.
When you say "flow" I'm assuming it's your lack of a better term for cadence and delivery. Since you bring that up I can't help but point out and compare the range of production styles each one of them are capable of rapping over. A$AP Rocky seems to stay close to the 70/140 bpm and sometimes 90-95 bpm beats and he sticks to generally the same delivery each time. Pretty decent if that's what you like I guess. Now, Aesop Rock on the other hand, if you're listening closely enough, his delivery and style is different on nearly every single song he has made. Songs like Daylight, Holy Smokes, Citronella, Dry Spell, Oxygen, Coffee, Dark Heart News. No City, 5 Fingers all have completely different styles. He delivers a bludgeoning amount of words into a bar that I'm sure A$AP Rocky would hurt himself trying to do. Bottom line Aesop Rock could rhyme like A$AP If he wanted to but A$AP could not rhyme like Aesop if he wanted to, so in terms of "flow" like you say, A$AP doesn't hold a candle there either. But it's all based on preference I guess.
Personally, I've broadened my vocabulary from listening to Aesop. I've learned things about history, past figures in pop-culture, deep life lessons, and unique perspectives on sensitive subjects. It's just me, I have the capacity to listen to and comprehend his "overly obscure" wordplay. When I listen to A$AP Rocky I feel like I'm being taken back several steps, but that's just me, his music doesn't cater to my specific personality. The only thing A$AP Rocky's music can possibly do for me constructively is give me insight into a wannabe thug's thought process, and that's really about it.
Choose your favorite based on who you are as a person.
THIS.
DeleteI was gonna reply but you just said what I wanted to, just much better than I could.
DeleteI was gonna reply but you just said what I wanted to, just much better than I could.
DeleteAesop's Ruby '81 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUPbZJ1h-yg
ReplyDelete"All he does is use a few uninspired metaphors to explain himself".. you gotta admit thats not true...
man.... wow... u are comparing a retard "swag" gang-banger wanna be "hit da club" "fuck da bitch" shit flow by the way... to a freaking philosopher like Aesop rock with flow unlike any other.... couple chromosomes short if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteWhat you have said is like saying Miles Davis is a shit musician because he didn't do music like Destination Calabria.
ReplyDeletewho are your favorite rappers? I would like to know what horseshit you think is "good" considering you obviously have no taste at all.
ReplyDeleteon the cultural face off tip. A$AP was given record deal/promotion so that when Aesop Rocks art is mentioned it'd get lost, so his arts impact would be dilluted. The record labels/radio owners force feed us garbage on purpose & they fear Aesop Rock, Def Jux, Project Blowed, Alpha Pup...IF AESOP ROCK WAS TAUGHT TO TEENS, SUICIDE RATES WOULD DROP! So, impact on culture, Aesop Rocks would smash all bitch rap so the 1% use A$AP to squash Aesop. Listening to Aesop for 14 years and he makes 99% of rap out there sound ssssoooooo pathetic. Folks try & quote Eminem to me & it's laughable.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe this thread is still going. One has a dollar sign in his name therefore he is a douchebag. One is named after a great ancient story teller and is one of the greatest story tellers in hip hop. One has a mouth full of gold teeth and raps about stupid BS...
ReplyDeleteHow is this even a debate?
And Aesop's beats? They really can be called music. Just to mention that..
ReplyDeletethe person who wrote this is an idiot
ReplyDeletethe person who wrote this is absurd. you have the depth of a tepid puddle water in a pothole on a city street.
ReplyDeleteand while were at it. the true definition of rap as it was well before your foolish time, was the expression of "the struggle"(of which aesop so deftly translates) whether it be personal, cultural, political, societal. to compare some gloryhound Queer like ASAP whose life purpose(outside of money, hoes, and the like) is non-existent to someone like Aesop Rock is the most obtuse, asinine thing in the world. the dude looks not just at things like "The game" or "Hoes" or "Drugs" around which most popular rap currently subsists. he looks at the very nature of life as it is. what it is to exist in this society and to fight to define yourself against the forces of popularism and plurality. if you are too ignorant to get that then you should quite simply learn to keep you malformed opinions to yourself, and any of the people around who would be so mentally and emotionally stunted to deny such quality.
don't judge him because you can't comprehend what he does, or because you'd rather feed some culturally deficient leech like ASAP(who would be his own success temporary success above leaving some sort of legacy. something to show his life was not a waste of flesh and oxygen). deny him for a valid reason. but not because he didn't talk about hoes or drugs enough. or didn't have enough SWAG.
Wow. The fact that you can't understand Aesop Rock and his flow simply shows you like manufacturered shit. Let's manufacturer a name so I seem cool, so only Drake can use a basic name, everyone else needs to come up with a new moniker.
ReplyDeleteThe name of a mc does not matter, it's about his message and how he is delivering his message.
People still argueing about a 5 year old blog. However, I am glad most people see that Aesop is way better and the autor pretty much wrote shit. How is it a bad thing that his lyrics contain obscure metaphors? That makes his songs great. You actually need brain and study his words to fully understand what he is singing about. Meanwhile on the other hand a$ap's vocabuly consists out of SWAG BITCH NIGGER YOLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
ReplyDeleteAesop Rock is easily the greatest rapper of all time and possibly the greatest writer for generations to come.
ReplyDeleteAsap Rocky is "cultural" brain cancer. Aesop Rock is weapons grade art. It's almost unanimous amongst these comments Aesop sings a lullaby to Asap's skill with a stunning rap pedigree pressed against his throat. I found this thread while googling images of Aesop Rock as references for portrait practice. I couldn't believe people are trying to compare the two.
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ReplyDeleteThis is such a shallow post. You fall back on the argument of "our opinions are different", but your opinion exists in a void without context or understanding of what you're actually discussing. It's a weak tactic. If you don't understand Aesops metaphors then maybe you need to read more, have more social interactions, pay attention to the world around you and generally be more observant. A lot of what he talks about in his music is an analysis and succinct commentary of events, people and society at large. It's not elitist, he talks a lot about everyday things, but he uses unusual words in unusual ways. If you actually pay the smallest amount of attention you might pick that up.
ReplyDeleteLol, one day you'll realize that your opinion is really meaningless and everything your saying IS an opinion and has no basis in fact. In MY opinion you don't really have the ear it takes to be a music critic, I get the feeling you are influenced less by lyrics/composition/production and more by your own personal prejudices/beliefs relating to the culture of hip-hop.
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ReplyDeletei wonder if, after all these years have passed, if you have figured out how unfortunate this blog entry was
ReplyDeleteNot to seem like another one of these unrelentingly angry Aes fans in the replies, but it's true that there's really no competition here. A middling vocabulary is all you need to understand the vast majority of his music, and while his beats may be unconventional, they're at the very least creative and much less repetitive than most mainstream artists... like A$AP. Also, Aes's flow is just like his beats. The best artists typically frame their flow around the music itself, not just the time signature. Kanye is a good example of this.
ReplyDeleteJesus Christ. The comparison is horseshit. ASAP is garbage commercial play. Aesop is smart. Obviously not in it for the money because he has the chops to do it. Bring in any of the current hit beat makers and a studio rep to tell him the make the hooks and take the money and he’d be a hit. Obscure lyrics or not, given a palatable beat and hook, rap has proven lyrics, no matter how dumb or smart, don’t matter. Aesop is cerebral. You have to dig into his shit. It’s not for everyone because everyone doesn’t want to have to think when listening to music. Most people want to be spoon fed. That’s rap/rock/country.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I’ve seen people shit on Aesop for just rapping about being on the outside looking in which is true to a degree but what about all these other rappers that just talk about bitches, getting high, getting drunk, their pussy is the best, etc.? Everybody has a lane and sometimes they give you something outside of that lane but the lane is the course. Aesop deserves respect for how he uses words, metaphor, and his flow while choosing to be an intentional anti corporate rapper.
You fuckin' dorks ain't a source of the art
You can't be cooler than the corners
Where you source all your parts