Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
List Price:
Our Price: $13.99
You Save: $0.99 (7%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $8.95 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Artist: Aesop RockEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2007-08-28
Music Label: Def Jux
Soundtracks:
- Keep Off the Lawn
- None Shall Pass
- Catacomb Kids
- Bring Back Pluto
- Fumes
- Getaway Car
- 39 Thieves
- The Harbor Is Yours
- Citronella
- Gun for the Whole Family
- Five Fingers
- No City
- Dark Heart News
- Coffee
Free Music Notes for None Shall Pass
Free Music Review: How does he keep doing it???
Hit: 5 Stars
So, to me, it seems that early on in their careers rappers/emcees need to decide if they're going to be class A or class B:
class A releases a couple amazing albums but then becomes artistically spent and sticks around as a hollow shell of their former selves selling albums on reputation and glimpses of their former glory: Nas, Eminem, 50 come to mind.
Then there's class B whom you have to wait ages for new material, but when it finally comes out they continue to amaze: Breeze Brewin, Dr. Dre, El-P.
Then there's Aesop Rock, who's in a class of his own. He doesn't let more than a couple years go between an EP or LP, and seemed to drop amazing versus on everyone else's album in between, and yet with every new release the quality is easily as good as the previous one, if not better. It blows my mind when a rapper is as prolific and inexhaustible as AR is. Aesop doesn't try to draw fake buckets from his empty artist's well, rather I picture his well overflowing nonstop and it's all he can do to attempt to frantically catch even half of it.
Although Blockhead is back I don't really see this as a step backward toward Labor Days and Float like others seem to. Everything is so refined and AR seems so comfortable and at home (almost in an "I'm dope and know it" sort of way) just as he was in Fast Cars and Bazooka.
One nice innovation that worked out splendidly was the live instrumentation including the guitar riffs his wife lays down. As soon as I heard it scorch into the opening track I was like "oh, no you didn't just tastefully share a track w/ block and Aes did you! yes you did!" It works perfectly and it's yet another new take/direction for AR musically.
All in all, the realist in me keeps waiting for Aesop to stop either dropping so frequently or become a hollow shell of his former self, but the fan wanting both quality and quantity has yet to be disappointed. Here's to having our cake and eating it too!
None Shall Pass Poster
Aesop Rock has always avoided courting mass appeal in favor of lyrically battering tomes and musically unrelenting blitzkrieg. With None Shall Pass, things have changed. There's nothing like a brisk jog to help chill out a few notches, so after the digital-only release All Day--an album in conjunction with Nike, meant to be heard while on a 45-minute run--it's no surprise that the following album from indie hip-hop's most aggressive MC is radically more accessible than his previously feral discography. Throughout, None Shall Pass supports the rapid-fire delivery and surreal world-view that longtime fans have come to adore, but finally, Aesop throws the masses a bone via backing tracks loaded with hooks aplenty and riffs to spare. "Catacomb Kids" spins a coming-of-age tale atop a guitar line worthy of the best in early '90s rap-rock. "Fumes" stutters forth on the most slithering, syncopated drum cadence in the whole Aesop archive. The ambling instrumental behind "No City" is a dead ringer for Portishead. All told, only a few of these songs sidestep a new commitment to accessibility that should mark None Shall Pass as Aesop Rock's breakout record. At last. --Jason KirkCreated over a 2 year period following his last release, None Shall Pass documents not only a vast amount of personal change that Aesop experienced over this time, but also deftly depicts scenes and stories relative to all ages of life. The majority of production duties have been handled by Aesop's longtime partner Blockhead, while label mates El-P and Rob Sonic each make offerings. Aesop himself confidently produces a handful of his own tracks as well.
Created over a 2 year period following his last release, 'None Shall Pass' unravels retrospectively, documenting not only much personal change that Aesop experienced over these years, but also scenes and stories indicative of all ages of life. Forgoing the typical stance of braggadocio everpresent in underground and mainstream hip-hop alike, Aesop Rock investigates and examines himself and others on this album; likening the title phrase to the inevitable judgment that everyone must ncounter by their peers based solely on their actions. The majority of production on 'None Shall Pass' is handled by Aesop's longtime partner BLOCKHEAD, labelmate and friend ROB SONIC and AESOP confidently producing a large portion of his own tracks, not including a trademark dystopian banger by DEF JUX label-head El-P ("Gun For The Whole Family") and features the MOUNTAIN GOATS' JOHN DARNIELLE on the album closer (and second single) "Coffee". DJ BIG WIZ also has a large presence on the album, appearing on 13 out of 14 tracks and offering a devastating rebuttal to those that say the art of scratching is dead.
Rap & Hip-Hop Music CDs
Music Genres
Top music charts in Random hip-hop albums
Rick Ross - Port of MiamiRelease date: 2006-08-08; Music CD
Best price: $6.97
Price in other shops:
Common - Finding ForeverRelease date: 2007-07-31; Music CD
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops:
Jurassic 5 - FeedbackRelease date: 2006-07-25; Music CD
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Jim Jones - Hustler's P.O.M.E. (Product of My Environment)Release date: 2006-11-07; Music CD
Best price: $6.14
Price in other shops:
The Game - Doctor's AdvocateRelease date: 2006-11-14; Music CD
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
Fort Minor - The Rising TiedRelease date: 2005-11-22; Music CD
Best price: $6.87
Price in other shops:
Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit GoldRelease date: 2008-04-22; Music CD
Best price: $10.78
Price in other shops:
Aesop Rock - None Shall PassRelease date: 2007-08-28; Music CD
Best price: $10.86
Price in other shops:
Black StarRelease date: 2002-06-04; Music CD
Best price: $9.97
Price in other shops:
Jurassic 5 - Quality ControlRelease date: 2000-06-20; Music CD
Best price: $7.45
Price in other shops:
Top Rated Albums
Kanye West - GraduationRelease date: 2007-09-11; Music CD
Best price: $4.89
Price in other shops:
Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit GoldRelease date: 2008-04-22; Music CD
Best price: $13.28
Price in other shops:
KalaRelease date: 2007-08-21; Music CD
Best price: $6.14
Price in other shops:
Brother Ali - The Undisputed TruthRelease date: 2007-04-10; Music CD
Best price: $8.49
Price in other shops:
Aesop Rock - FloatRelease date: 2000-11-06; Music CD
Best price: $7.90
Price in other shops:
Sage Francis - Human the Death DanceRelease date: 2007-05-08; Music CD
Best price: $11.53
Price in other shops:
Talib Kweli - EardrumRelease date: 2007-08-21; Music CD
Best price: $7.46
Price in other shops:
Aesop Rock - Labor DaysRelease date: 2001-09-14; Music CD
Best price: $10.99
Price in other shops:
El-P - I'll Sleep When You're DeadRelease date: 2007-03-20; Music CD
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops:
Atmosphere - Sad Clown Bad Summer Number 9Release date: 2007-07-24; Music CD
Best price: $4.13
Price in other shops: