#8: Aesop Rock
Let me say this before people start sending me hate mail; you're not gonna find people like 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, The Game, etc. on this list. Those guys aren't good. Just an FYI.
While this dude has some amazing work to his name, I'm throwing him on here for one reason and that's "None Shall Pass." I think it's maybe the most lyrically complex rap to come out for years. The rhymes are just weird: "Colorfully vulgar poacher out of mulch/ Like 'I'm 'a pull the pulse out a soldier and bolt'/ Fine, sign of the time we elapse/ When a primate climb up a spine and attach." I'm still trying to figure out the exact meaning of the song, but from what I can tell it's a very convoluted commentary on modern day rap: "What are we, to heart Huckabee are fuckery suddenly." I think that's a stab at artists like Kanye who try to be cultured and esoteric by suddenly going to fashion shows and posting Basquiat paintings and architectural pictures on their blogs, when they either have no idea what they're talking about or are interested in the most shallow, purely monetary and faux-classy way. It's hidden under layers of rhetoric, but Aesop has a lot to say if you look hard enough.
Here it is: godly.
And here's an AWESOME REMIX (using Passion Pit's Sleepyhead)
