Bavitz was born in Syosset, New York and grew up in Northport, New York. While attending college, Bavitz initially recorded and released two self-financed efforts, Music for Earthworms (1997), a full-length featuring underground artist Percee P on two tracks. Bavitz also released a music video to "Abandon All Hope", which was one of the tracks on the CD. The album sold over 300 copies, largely from a grassroots internet-based promotion at his website AesopRock.com and then-popular web portal, MP3.Com. It was a success. With the money he made from his previous release, he then released his Appleseed EP in 1999 which received critical acclaim in the underground hip hop circuit.[citation needed] Both of his early records were produced by long-time friend Blockhead, and underground producer Dub-L. He completed these albums while also working as a waiter.
After his breakthrough success in the underground hip hop and indie rap community, he was eventually noticed by the Mush label and obtained his first record deal in 1999, just a year after he graduated from college. Aesop released his first major album, Float (2000), with guest appearances from Vast Aire, Slug, and Dose One. Production was split between Blockhead and Aesop himself, with one track by Omega One. During this time, Aesop worked at a photography gallery. In August 2001 tragedy struck when Bavitz had a nervous breakdown. The song "One of Four" on his Daylight EP documents his struggles.
Shortly after releasing Float, Aesop Rock signed to Manhattan-based label Definitive Jux (commonly shortened to Def Jux), where he released Labor Days (2001), an album dedicated to the discussion of labor in American society and the concept of "wage slaves". This album was most well known for its single "Daylight". Because of its popularity, Daylight was re-released in 2002 as a seven-track EP, including an "alternative" new version of the song "Night Light", whose paraphrased lyrics simultaneously refer back to, and stand in stark opposition to, the original's. The song "Labor" (from Labor Days) was featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4; it also was the first album in his catalog to break through the Billboard charts, peaking at number 15 at the United States Independent Charts, giving Aesop Rock more recognition.
Labor Days was followed by Bazooka Tooth in 2003. For the first time, production was mostly handled by Rock himself, with three tracks from longtime collaborator Blockhead and one from close friend and Definitive Jux label CEO El-P. Guest appearances include Party Fun Action Committee, El-P, and Mr. Lif (all Definitive Jux labelmates) and Camp Lo. With this release Aesop hit a higher level of recognition, releasing "No Jumper Cables" as a single and music video, then another single, "Freeze", shortly after. A remix of "No Jumper Cables" was featured on Tony Hawk's Underground 2, furthering Aesop's recognition. In 2004, He released Build Your Own Bazooka Tooth and created a contest in which you had to create a remix of an Aesop Rock song using the a cappellas and instrumentals.
In February 2005, Aesop Rock released a new EP, Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives. The first pressing of the EP included an 88-page booklet with lyrics from every release from Float until this EP (the lyric booklet is titled The Living Human Curiosity Sideshow); later pressings of the album come without the booklet, but with an additional bonus track, "Facemelter". In addition, a limited number of albums were available direct from Def Jux with Aesop Rock's graffiti tag on them. In response to demands from his fans, Rock did less production on the EP: three songs are produced by Blockhead, three produced by Aesop, and one by Rob Sonic. During this time he was asked to join The Weathermen to replace Vast Aire.
Aesop Rock was commissioned to create a 45-minute instrumental track for the Nike+iPod running system, entitled All Day. It was released in February 2007. Distributed via the iTunes Music Store and featuring his wife Allyson Baker on guitar and scratches from DJ Big Wiz, Aesop has described the release as "something that evolved enough that the sound was constantly fresh and attractive, as though the runner were moving through a set of differing cities or landscapes."
All Day was followed in August of the same year by Bavitz's fifth full-length album, None Shall Pass released in 2007. The album also contained original artwork by Jeremy Fish. About Jeremy Fish, Aesop Rock said: "Man that guy is my hero. We have a friend in common who hit me up a while back saying that this guy Jeremy Fish had an opportunity to pitch a cartoon to Disney and wanted me to be involved in the music side. I flipped out cuz I was also a fan of his, and owned some of his work." Aesop Rock also teamed up with Jeremy Fish again in a project called Ghosts of the Barbary Coast. Aesop Rock made a song called "Tomorrow Morning", to go along with a slideshow of drawings that Jeremy Fish drew. This was displayed in San Francisco, but was also made available for download online. None Shall Pass had positive reviews from critics and fans, applauding Aesop for his change in sound.
In 2011, Rhymesayers released "Are You Going to Eat That?", the debut album from Hail Mary Mallon, a collaboration between Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic, and DJ Big Wiz.
On July 10, 2012, Rhymesayers released Aesop Rock's sixth studio album, "Skelethon". Its first single, "Zero Dark Thirty", was released four months earlier on April 10. A second single, "ZZZ Top", was released on June 29.
In 2011, Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson of The Moldy Peaches formed the duo The Uncluded. The duo's debut album, "Hokey Fright" was released on May 7, 2013.
In 2018, Aesop Rock teamed up with TOBACCO to form Malibu Ken
How to Be a Carpenter
Aesop Rock Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
Well it takes more than a hammer, boy, you're gonna need blueprints and a will to build, and
Straighten your cap! you look like you've been through a war.
Wipe that grin off your mug, you got a sturdy frame?
Sluggish posture just won't cut it.
You're gonna need schooling, and, and, and take notes!
And god if I catch you yawning again you're gonna regret ever asking for my help,
And dammit you gotta hustle, this is a slacker-free zone
here's a nickel, go get us a ruler and a saw and a drill and lots of graph paper
Yo
I used to have a rope ladder but tattered were the rungs,
I strung it from the highest willow, trying to hug the sun.
The seventh level buckled and I tumbled from the summit,
Now I'm back to re-climb and this time light my cigarette from it.
My stitchin' division to vision warfare's numb enough to soak suddenly in a bullet bath
and skip stones in the morning as I,
Lie in color phantom tantrum explicable, sit and pull the petals off wild flower patches,
Magic happens!
Behold, pity the lowlife parish.
Doom City barracks left remorse coursed on a horse-drawn carriage by the torch of Polaris
To the Badlands, where every bridge collapse right where the crowd stands,
Where the witches are fireproof and every preacher's a madman.
Frigid be the apple seed demeanor towards the bay where the land shark Parliament swims
When they pause to polish they fins.
The better brains will preach the village through the city square
to the light, heavy and middle-weight integrate,
Slept with sticks and stones in my pillowcase.
Ooh my bomb's light simulator picks barnacles off the tugboat belly
Left my spirit home in a shoebox in case I die.
Got a rugged smoke-green halo floatinâ inches off the swamp,
Had that phase when the devil tree contacts a sparkle in my eye.
Now step back from the reservoir and let the settlers drink,
Salvage all priorities and iron out all kinks.
My house ain't made of bricks and straw but never has it crumbled,
'Cause I stitched the brain's rigidity with symmetry,
Come visit me,
It's fascinating.
Now here's how its done, I'm only gonna show you once,
So pay close attention, hear me now or hear me never,
Glue your little eyes to the diagram,
See the plywood, the nails, the glue? You work every inch,
Your domain and you must treat it well.
Keep it clean or it'll swallow you whole.
Where's the T-square, hand me the pliers,
now dammit, oh this will never do!
You have to want the castle, Head Up, shoulders back!
Be the materials, know your limits only to break your limits.
Are you listening? God dammit boy, pay attention!
Try it again. Little bit more juice this time.
Try it again. Yeah a little bit more elbow grease this time.
Try it again. Concentrate, a little more focus this time.
You can kick and scream and yell but damn I'm only tryin' to help.
Try it again. You're not doing it right, here now, y'all watch.
Try it again. Stop sulking, I'm the example, for real, Watch.
Try it again. I'm bout to make it easy for you y'all, just Watch.
You can kick and scream and yell but damn I'm only tryin' to help.
? stinging the hunt
The hunt dispatched a pack of wild dog silhouettes,
All sulking by the skyline, focused with a bonus hunger pain,
My sincere addiction imbalance stems from a vintage grimace slap to the mug of
Ancestral branch camped on the vessels.
Yes and I abide, the laws of the hidden desert survived,
And every peasant presented it on the crescent less deprived.
With the exception of pleasant finale binges on the great endangered interests
of phantom brigades slaving to save that princess.
I double the negative, to no avail, no promised benefits,
just delegates peddling pairs of negatives,
With magnified magnanimous appearance sandy sinners in opinion shut.
Now what of the madness fragments? Stagnant.
I oughta make a vision sing my twix cling to your pigeon wings,
Vision militia indent benders , we've flooded Hell's kitchen sink,
Walkin' eye civility simpleton citizen mixers to kiss the sky in unison
Sinister city-blistered corporate rule-igans.
All I really want's a nickel to feed my little pigs.
? Big Dick three cheers to the product.
Consumer populace feed but never dreamed of the process
When a slanted advantage point sort of makeshift criminals date rape the hostage,
Dream away the blame pain, yeah but it seeps through the cracks,
And drips from the ceiling and smells the rich scent of my tracks.
All I ever really wanted was a jungle, and a jungle I got,
See it ain't the vision it's the plot that makes me stop.
Try it again. I don't want to.
Try it one more time.
I'm not even interested anymore.
The song "How to Be a Carpenter" by Aesop Rock is a metaphor for the process of creating something from scratch. He addresses a hypothetical carpenter and teaches him the importance of having a blueprint, will power, focus, discipline, and the ability to work tirelessly towards a goal. The song encourages one to be persistent in their pursuits, despite the inevitable setbacks and failures, and to constantly strive for perfection.
In the second verse, Aesop Rock shares a personal reflection on his own journey, revealing his struggles to achieve success and maintain it. The lyrics describe his climb to the top, falling back down, and re-climbing with a stronger determination, which he intends to smoke a cigarette from atop the summit. The song is an exercise in patience, dedication, and resilience, reflecting on the journey towards success rather than the outcome.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind