All Day: Nike + Original Run
October 22, 2007
"All Day: Nike + Original Run" by Aesop Rock
Nike Sport Music, 2007
NYC underground rapper Aesop Rock seems like an odd choice for Nike's "Original Run" series, which commissions 45+ minute tracks intended for use while exercising. Known more for his off-kilter, hyper-literate rhymes than for his beats or musical composition skills, AR manages one of the better entries in the series (saying a lot when you're up against the likes of Crystal Method and LCD Soundsystem). Eschewing vocals for the most of the track, AR focuses entirely on making a living, breathing piece of music. It's classical in its grandeur, repeating themes an motifs in a way that escalates the gritty urban atmosphere with an almost preternatural control of mood. Instead of just being a repeated beat to keep rhythm while jogging, the music is a pastiche of throbbing baselines, stuttering guitars and brief, impressionistic vocals. It's one of this enigmatic performer's best works to date.
[ Back to Review-o-Matic menu ]
This page is part of www.zombieunderground.net. If you're not seeing a menu on the left, please click here to reload.
Everything on this site is the © author (please see the "About" section).