Like I mentioned in my Lyrics Born concert review, artists like Aesop Rock, El-P, Company Flow and most of the Definitive Jux roster did not mix well with me when I first learned and heard of them. I couldn’t wrap my mind around their more unorthodox style of hip hop. It would take me years to warm up to those artists.
That partially explains why my exposure to Aesop Rock was rather limited. I remember a song with him and Del from the Think Differently compilation. A local artist dropped nearly 3 Aesop Rock songs during his guest host/DJ set on my Suite Delight radio show last year.
Within the last six years, I have been paying a bit more attention to the modern music scene and that includes the hip hop music that I turned my back on. During that time, one Aesop Rock song managed to be the beacon of light that led me to the Corona Theatre. That song is called None Shall Pass. I discovered it from a blog and have loved it since. As much as I love the song, I was aiming to hear and hopefully discover more gems in Aesop Rock’s discography while he was in my hometown.
I entered the Corona Theatre an Aesop Rock novice surrounded by Aesop Rock experts. Those in front of the stage were especially enthusiastic during the performance. The saying fish out of water seems apropos.
Had Aesop Rock performed None Shall Pass that night, I would have made myself at home and my way to the front of the stage area. Alas, there was none of None Shall Pass during those two hours. The closest to None Shall Pass that night was him saying those three words while talking to the audience.
A recent browse of Exclaim Magazine prior to the Corona Theatre show told me Aesop Rock dropped a new album. Conversations with patrons at the end of the show revealed that most of the songs performed at Corona Theatre were from the new album Skelethon. Judging by the hands in the air for most of the night, the onus is on me to discover my next None Shall Pass on that and his other albums.
