Aesop Rock is gearing up to release his new album The Impossible Kid, due April 29. Last month saw the release of his intense new single, alongside a stunning video, Rings, and today he has released another new track and accompanying video, Blood Sandwich.
While the Rings video saw Aes’ body sliced, dissected and unravelled, and his mini-series on Funny or Die sees him attend a therapy session with a cartoon bear, the Blood Sandwich video sees another type of unraveling: reflection on childhood.
The video begins with Aesop receiving a VCR and a missing persons ad – about himself. The video, titled “Little League 1987,” depicts Aesop playing baseball, quickly rap-splaining that he was eight years old at the time, and playing his first Little League game with his brothers. A gopher begins running around the field, at which point we see the angry coach brutally club him to death with the baseball bat.
The video and music quickly pauses and changes, as Aesop begins to reflect on his two brothers. The tone immediately feels sombre and dark, while spindly keyboards begin to create a more rock-heavy instrumental. In this verse, Aesop talks about growing up in a religious household with his brothers and mother, who believed that the devil carried through music. He goes on to talk at length about getting tickets to see metal stalwarts Ministry, and how his brother issued a typically teenage death threat when his mother wouldn’t let him attend.
Reflecting on these memories, and noting that he hasn’t spoken to his brothers in a while, inspires him to pick up the phone and get in touch. We see them gluing together some tiny bones, which then comes to life using the same incredible stop motion animation we saw on Rings.
The Impossible Kid comes out on April 29 via Rhymesayers Entertainment. Pre-order digital and physical copies here.
The Impossible Kid Tracklist:
01. Mystery Fish
02. Rings
03. Lotta Years
04. Dorks
05. Rabies
06. Supercell
07. Blood Sandwich
08. Get Out of the Car
09. Shrunk
10. Kirby
11. TUFF
12. Lazy Eye
13. Defender
14. Water Tower
15. Molecules
Image: Youtube