Following up on last year’s consciousness-expanding Malibu Ken project, rap’s most verbose MC/producer Aesop Rock has just released a new standalone single as he works his way toward a new solo full length.
“Rogue Wave” comes paired with a video shot by longtime visual collaborator Rob Shaw, bringing to life a plethora of images sketched by Aesop himself.
Scene from the “Rogue Wave” video
“Rogue Wave feels like a long journal entry to me – perhaps in the vein of ‘Hot Dogs’ and ‘Klutz,’” states Aesop, referencing his standalone singles from 2017 and 2018, respectively.
“I really enjoy skipping the hook entirely. It doesn’t always work – but when it does it just feels right. To me, this song is a small boat lost at sea, rowing for hours, days, losing all track of time and direction – 360 degrees of nothing but ocean. I’ve been a little timid over the years to showcase my own drawings, probably because I’ve been out of practice, and also because people know me for my music. That said – I’ve been drawing a fair amount in recent years, and finally decided to collect a lot of the images together for a music video. My long time collaborator and friend Rob Shaw pieced them together in a way that feels similar to the song – an uninterrupted stream of information.”
“Rogue Wave” can be found on various digital streaming platforms including Apple Music and Spotify via Rhymesayers Entertainment.
Scene from the “Rogue Wave” video
Along with the digital stream, there’s also a pre-order for a 7″ vinyl version (limited to 1000 copies) which features both the song and the instrumental, and includes a two-sided print featuring the artwork and the song lyrics, all designed by fine artist Justin Kaufman AKA Coro. The 7″ vinyl, an associated raincoat-yellow longsleeve shirt design, and a couple sticker packs featuring Aesop’s sketches from the video are all available for preorder now here.
Recently, a good friend of Aesop Rock’s, Kurt Hayashi unexpectedly passed away. Kurt was a well known skate videographer and he also shot the music video for Aesop’s “Hot Dogs” single. A portion of the proceeds from all “Rogue Wave” sales will be donated to the Hayashi family in Kurt’s honor.
You can follow @AesopRockWins on Instagram.
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