Aesop Rock really has been busy this past few months. The veteran wordsmith and underground-rap legend has recently teamed up with Homeboy Sandman on Triple Fat Lice, their third collaborative EP, following Lice and Lice 2: Still Buggin’. He’s also just been credited with scoring the fantastic little low-budget indie action movie “Bushwick.”
Choosing not to take it slow, Rock is following up all this activity with another release in the form of “Hot Dogs.” The track is a standalone benefit single, meant to raise money for Grind For Life, a cancer-support charity founded by the cancer-survivor and pro skater Mike Rogers.
The track is a dark, chorus-less example of Aesop Rock doing what he does best, spitting extreme multi-syllabic rhymes in his beloved particularly verbose style. The beat is eerie and industrial, offering a welcome creep-factor to the entire song.
The video is also an exercise in contrast, showing off pro skater Jake Gascoyne ollie-ing and kickflip-ing his way through a dark and murky downtown, jumping over and annoying various bystanders, all played by Aesop himself. If it weren’t for the sinister-soundtrack to this entire affair, the Kurt Hayashi directed video may have even seemed fitting for a particularly emo skate punk cut. A touch of warmth is added, however, as Gascoyne meets a dog friend near the end of the video and takes him home.
Check out the music video for “Hot Dogs” below.
Photo Credit: Brett Padelford