Labor Days

Rating

Album: Labor Days
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Labor	More Info...	0:02
2)	Daylight	More Info...	0:04
3)	Save Yourself	More Info...	0:05
4)	Flashflood	More Info...	0:04
5)	No Regrets	More Info...	0:04
6)	One Brick (Feat. Illogic)	More Info...	0:04
7)	The Tugboat Complex Pt. 3	More Info...	0:03
8)	Coma	More Info...	0:04
9)	Battery	More Info...	0:05
10)	Boombox	More Info...	0:05
11)	Bent Life (Feat. C-Rayz Watz)	More Info...	0:05
12)	The Yes and the Y'all	More Info...	0:04
13)	9-5ers Anthem	More Info...	0:04
14)	Shovel	More Info...	0:04

Album: Labor Days
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Labor	More Info...	0:02
2)	Daylight	More Info...	0:04
3)	Save Yourself	More Info...	0:05
4)	Flashflood	More Info...	0:04
5)	No Regrets	More Info...	0:04
6)	One Brick (Feat. Illogic)	More Info...	0:04
7)	The Tugboat Complex Pt. 3	More Info...	0:03
8)	Coma	More Info...	0:04
9)	Battery	More Info...	0:05
10)	Boombox	More Info...	0:05
11)	Bent Life (Feat. C-Rayz Watz)	More Info...	0:05
12)	The Yes and the Y'all	More Info...	0:04
13)	9-5ers Anthem	More Info...	0:04
14)	Shovel	More Info...	0:04

Performer Notes

Personnel includes: Aesop Rock, Illogic, C Rayz Walz.
Producers: Aesop Rock, Blockhead, Omega One.
Every once in a while an MC comes along who has the ability to reaffirm listeners' faith in hip-hop as a medium for intelligent, poetic, personal expression. Aesop Rock is one such MC, and LABOR DAYS is his defining statement. A flagship artist of the underground label Def Jux, Aesop Rock brings a style that is blisteringly fast, impossibly dense, and overflowing with metaphors, images, puns, references, and narratives. Rock's voice and attack--a rapid-fire, somewhat nasal monotone--borrows from Kool Keith and Eminem, yet his highly literate rhymes are uniquely his own.
Aesop Rock's music is the antithesis of flashy, R&B-based commercial hip-hop, and his politically conscious, culturally aware lyrics are galaxies removed from the thug/gangster themes of hardcore rap. Intriguing samples, featuring instruments like flute and sitar, flesh out the beats, but this is lyric-centered hip-hop, and Rock gives us plenty to absorb. Absorbing character-based narratives ("No Regrets") and slicing, alliterative tunes ("Daylight," with its infectious, memorable chorus) are testaments to the rapper's sophisticated lyrical superiority.

Professional Reviews

Spin (12/00, p.233) - 7 out of 10 - "...Aesop's voice is a rich, flat bass cut with a thin growl....exploring variations within timbre to access a vast emotional range....he purrs contentedly, knowing that his vision will always poke through the haze."

Entertainment Weekly (9/28/01, p.74) - "...[The] ambient grooves make the Wu-Tang Clan seem tired, while the hyper-enunciated rhymes make KRS ONE sound like a stutterer..." - Rating: A

Uncut (11/01, p.103) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...An esoteric and gripping ride..."

Alternative Press (p.104) - "Songs such as 'Labor,' '9-5er's Anthem' and 'Daylight' -- which is considered his best song to date -- reflect on the frustrations and struggles of employment."

The Wire (1/02, p.40) - Ranked #45 in Wire's "50 Records of the Year 2001".