Responsible for all but revolutionizing the entire face of underground hip-hop in the early portion of this decade with a slew of potent and influential releases such as 2000’s Float LP, 2001’s monumental Labor Days LP, and 2003’s Bazooka Tooth to his most recent EP/book, 2004’s Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives, Aesop Rock (aka Ian Bavitz) has proven that resting on his past laurels is all but forbidden. In the last year alone, Aesop has released a 45-minute workout mix for Nike+, a short story in collaboration with visual artist Jeremy Fish, and scored music for two short films. 2007 finds Aesop delivering his next full length album, the highly anticipated None Shall Pass on Definitive Jux.
Created 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 deftly depicts scenes and stories relative to all ages of life. Production is a vital strong point on this album, with the majority of production duties handled by Aesop’s longtime partner Blockhead. El-P and Rob Sonic each make offerings, while Aesop himself confidently produces a large portion of his own tracks as well. The duality of Aesop’s hectic stream-of-thought coupled with the complex production on this album makes no exception to Aesop Rock’s consistent pedigree, blazing a trail far ahead of his peers with an album that will be followed for years to come.
