Aesop Rock is the type of artist who has held a veteran presence in Hip-hop since his debut record. Over the past few decades, the emcee/producer has crafted a discography that plays like a series of novels, each one capturing a chapter in Rock’s life as he navigates success and modern trappings. His consistently conceptual albums become more complex and impressive with every release, highlighting the artist’s tireless creativity and ever-growing arsenal of technical prowess. Rock has very little to prove, yet he consistently returns to remind the Hip-hop world of exactly how he earned his longevity and a cult-like fan base.
Black Hole Superette is his latest expansive deep dive into the artist’s refreshing perspective and head-spinning rhyme schemes. For 18 tracks, the self-produced effort places another feather in Rock’s cap, while honoring his unspoken promise to the listener: the promise of never repeating himself and growing alongside them.
Black Hole Superette is a sprawling journey through Rock’s honed lyrics that spill over the colorful production work. The artist sounds as hungry as ever, with verses filled with intricate rhyme schemes, as if Rock doesn’t already have a discography that proves he is one of the more innovative voices Hip-hop has had in recent years. The track list of Black Hole Superette comprises short stories, each tackling a different aspect of modern life and the pitfalls of becoming too deeply entangled in the trappings of technology and social status. It is almost meta the way Rock tackles the concept of the album. Rather than detailing characters’ emotions, Rock takes a bird’s-eye view of these scenarios and paints beautifully immersive and emotionally vivid stories.
When you think of Hip-hop, two of the more essential elements are lyrics and beats, and Black Hole Superette has immensely refreshing examples of both. It is crucial to reiterate that Rock produced the entirety of this LP, making the wide-ranging nature of both all the more impressive. Throughout the tracklist, Rock seamlessly transitions between storytelling tracks and straightforward, no-hook rapping, capturing just how sweeping the artist’s talents truly are. While Black Hole Superette follows a concept, the LP seems to double as a victory lap for Rock, as he showcases his raw talent and earns legendary status.
Immediately upon pressing play, it is clear that Rock is in an entirely new headspace than we’ve heard from him before. Lyrically, Rock has never sounded sharper and more present. Whether he is spinning an imaginative tale (“John Something”), bringing the mundane to life through vibrant wordplay (“Movie Night”), or simply rapping his ass off (“Ice Sold Here,”) Rock is putting on a clinic for his peers. With Rock’s past releases leaning on their concept, Black Hole Superette is a refreshing departure from the narrative-driven LPs we’ve come to expect from the artist. While there is an underlying connective tissue at play, Rock keeps it broad enough to allow for moments of subtle deviation that highlight a side of his artistry we haven’t seen in years. Moments like the posse-cut “Charlie Horse” and the warping “Steel Wool” reintroduce the artist’s venomous, directionless verses and animated flows.
Production-wise, Rock has never created such an all-embracing tracklist. Sonically, the tracklist follows dark undertones and electronic blips to give Black Hole Superette its consistency, but this feels like a sonic trick considering just how diverse this tracklist is underneath the surface. The fact that this LP can incorporate the awkward, eerie, and electronic tendencies of “Send Help” alongside the nostalgic grit of moments like “The Red Phone” and “EWR – Terminal A, Gate 20” is a testament to Rock’s ever-evolving production techniques. Despite all these musical twists and turns, Black Hole Superette never feels disconnected, thanks to Rock’s signature production tones, which allow the LP to straddle a delicate balance between daring experimentation and familiar territory.
Black Hole Superette is an album for those who miss the album experience. In a world where deluxe versions are released before albums are a week old, making LPs feel like a playlist more than a focused work, Rock counters these new norms in more ways than one on his latest LP. The honed, detailed effort is a jaw-dropping look into the artist’s storied career as he harkens back to his roots just as much as he expands his sonic universes.
