Aesop Rock proves time and time again that he can rap about any and everything, even if it's as boring as some pothole coverage. The "Send Help" spitter just offered a new single and music video, "Roadwork Rappin'," and it's a light-hearted loosie that doesn't skimp out on skill.
Mostly, that craft shows up in the rhyme schemes the Long Island MC employs and the specificity with which he describes a construction worker's everyday thrills and pleasures. It might not reflect as much conceptual or thematic variety as a cut like "Checkers," but that's exactly its appeal. You may find yourself chuckling at a horn honk recollection on this cut, and the commitment to the subject matter is something we take for granted far too often.
Furthermore, pair this with a funky beat and a cheekily campy chorus and you have the style of abstract descriptiveness Aesop Rock's known to excel with. It's a fitting single following his Black Hole Superette album from earlier this year, as it balances that expansiveness with Rock's more easy-going and straight-forward artistry.
Aesop Rock's other collaborations this year have been very solid as well, such as his verse on "Welcome Home Warrior" from the new clipping. album Dead Channel Sky. We're sure this won't be the last we hear from him in 2025. But if it is, the 49-year-old certainly gave fans a lot to chew on for what's left. Perhaps this previews something else in the works, or he just really wanted to rap about trucks and bulldozers.
Aesop Rock – "Roadwork Rappin'"
Quotable Lyrics
I welcome any symphony of back-up beepers beeping,
It’s music to my ears, I rather it to sleeping,
A welcoming cacophony of drills and demolition,
The crashing and the clanging, the decibels of engine
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