I like this thumb

NYC

2010-11-04T03:03:00.001-07:00

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

$lave Chore Decks

2010-10-25T00:34:00.000-07:00

2010

Legends

2010-10-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

The Wire Monopoly

2010-10-07T23:37:00.001-07:00

Rockaway Taco

2010-09-28T23:49:00.000-07:00

Love the vibe in this one. Put Rockaway Beach on my 'places to visit' list for my next trip to NY.

Empire vs Republic

2010-09-28T14:34:00.000-07:00

I have a soft spot for soccer jerseys.

Zoo York, New York

2010-09-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

Zoo used to be the shit, then Ecko bought it and it became shit and now some Japanese company owns it and it's even shittier. But you just can't hate on deck series like these.

2010

2009

Japants

2010-09-21T02:26:00.000-07:00

Parra for James Pants' Japan tour - 2010

Blood

2010-09-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

via Benny Gold.

Roots

2010-09-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

OG Shawn Stussy surfboard.

Hella Huf

2010-09-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Kurupt - Carrol

2010-09-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

Have fun and say fuck you to everybody

2010-09-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

http://mediadefrag.jp/people/profile025jasondill/

I got 36 styles on my mind on my mind...

2010-09-05T14:07:00.001-07:00

RIP Harold. RIP Roc Raida.

MDC

2010-08-31T14:28:00.000-07:00

Not a fan of all of their music but I always loved how MDC reinterpreted their bandname for every album.

Dirtbag crew

2010-08-31T00:48:00.000-07:00

Met Huf, the man himself, yesterday, still stoked. Newest Huf Footwear commercial.

I can't get behind any of that!

2010-08-26T04:23:00.001-07:00

DOOM

2010-08-26T04:13:00.000-07:00

The big fish are just gonna start to eat up the little fish

2010-08-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

Leonard 'Futura 2000' McGurr interview by Jeff 'Staple' Ng. 2010

Bazooka Tooth biatch!

2010-08-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

Artwork by Tomer Hanuka. 2003

Interview by Format Magazine.

Format: Almost all of your cover art so far has been heavily art influenced. Why have you decided to go this route?
Aesop Rock: Well, a few reasons. One is that I did at one time in my life go to art school. Two is that it is no secret that rap music consistently has the worst album covers of any genre, and it’s only getting worse. Three, a picture of me, or my face, or my people, or my most sinister look, just wouldn’t fit. I try to find some artwork that will match the record. I find that way too often artwork is an afterthought. People do the music, then it’s, oh shit the art is due next week, and it gets thrown together. It’s funny cuz people do and forever will judge a book by its cover. Not to mention the artwork for an album is just more of a blank canvas for the musician to create something that will relate visually to the music inside. It all too often goes wasted.

Format: What led you to choosing Tomer Hanuka for the Bazooka Tooth project?
Aesop Rock: I had been keeping my eyes out for artists I was interested in working with. I had a saved copy of the New York Times magazine, where Tomer had done the cover and I thought it was really sick. I could see his style, but I could also see how he was compromising a bit for the story. So, I looked him up further and found that the less he compromised the better his stuff was. I was like, this is who I need, and I need him to not compromise. I just wanted to give him the bare minimum of input and see where he could take it. It was a long shot cuz I didn’t know him at all.

Format: What kind of direction did you give Tomer for the artwork?
Aesop Rock: I went to his apartment. At the time I had about four songs that I knew were being kept for the record. Tomer is not by nature a hip-hop fan, but he’s not anti-hip hop either. He’s just not all about it. I played him the four songs and he was like, your stuff is weird. I was like, so is yours, that’s why I’m here. I told him a few things on what I envisioned as the character for Bazooka Tooth, more like situations he would get himself into, the type of person I felt he was, played some songs, etc. I left him the CD after chilling for maybe three hours. We are both huge Chris Ware fans, so as soon as I found that out, I knew we had something going. That was it. I wanted him to get a taste of the music, a taste of me as a human being, and use that to do what he does best.

Format: How was Tomer to work with? What was the process like?
Aesop Rock: He was awesome. The perfect balance of creativity with a small amount of business, only where necessary. But this is obviously a man that draws all the time. It was great though. I didn’t know him before this and he was inviting me to his home to build about artwork for an artist that he didn’t even know about prior to that. I gave him a couple ideas and a tiny bit of direction, but most importantly gave him some music. A week later he had preliminary sketches done of three different possible versions of the cover. One week after that I was staring at the completed art. It was amazing.

Format: What is your interpretation of the work, and how do you feel it reflects the albums content?
Aesop Rock: Man it was so great to receive the finals. It was very close to what was in my head, and I felt it fit what I needed so perfectly, that even the picture in my head over time morphed into what Tomer had drew. I mean, you can discuss what you want all day, but until you see the characters you have nothing. He really nailed it on the head though. It was the perfect dark, sinister, somewhat funny but more evil cover. Friends were telling me that it was legitimately frightening them, so I knew I had a winner. It reflects the content perfectly. I was going through a really weird time in my life during the creation of that record. The character Tomer created just about sums it up. He looks like he is about to explode in every way.

Format: You studied painting at Boston University. Do you feel studying art has made its way into your music at all?
Aesop Rock: I would say yes. I mean art was a huge part of my life from when I was quite young to a year or two after graduating in 98. I find myself having different views on things that can only be explained by my background. It’s hard to describe, but the amount of looking and studying of people and/or objects in art school definitely applies to writing.

Format: Who are some of your favorite visual artists?
Aesop Rock: Well I have a pretty broad spectrum of favorites. I went to a very strict and old school thinking school. It’s hard to not say Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc. I also had a large attraction to graffiti growing up, so in that sense I’ll take people like Ewok, Gaze One, Ghost, etc. I also like a lot of the illustration stuff that’s going on right now in the newer, younger galleries, like the Barry Mcgees and the Jeremy Fish’s, etc. I am as I mentioned a massive Chris Ware fan as well. Henry Darger, Degas drawings I liked a lot. I don’t know, I could do this forever.

Format: Finally, when are we going to see some of your artwork grace an Aesop Rock cover?
Aesop Rock: (Laughs) I don’t know. It’s been a while. I painted for very many years of my life but I stepped out of it as music took the front seat fully in about 99 or 2000. It’s hard to have the confidence to do it these days. I guess it’s not impossible, but we’ll see. When I stopped painting I was doing massive work, stuff that I would never be able to fit anywhere right now, so I’d have to totally re-approach the medium. I’d like to try it all again. We shall see…

Who's the man who kills for fun?

2010-08-25T08:41:00.001-07:00

Mr Blue Sky

2010-08-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

Ain't a damn thing changed boy

2010-08-24T11:04:00.001-07:00

10 Deep. 2006.

Dill for Supreme

2010-08-24T00:21:00.001-07:00

2010

Excursions

2010-08-22T14:54:00.000-07:00

Lyrics To Go Q-Tip tee by Alife. 2008

Hopps

2010-08-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

π

2010-08-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

SSUR*Plus

2010-08-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

The old SSUR store on Mulberry Street.

NEW YORK: SSUR Plus - The best bloopers are a click away

The less older SSUR store on Spring Street.

The current SSUR store on Elizabeth Street.

I should dedicate a post to the interiors...

RIP Keenan

2010-08-22T13:41:00.002-07:00

Chocolate Evan Hecox graphics

2010-08-22T13:41:00.000-07:00

Some of Evan's work for Chocolate.

Miles Davis quintet

2010-08-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

By Western Edition. 2009.

Rebel Ape

2010-08-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

by SSUR.

OG Futura website

2010-08-22T13:08:00.001-07:00

Get lost on a webpage.

http://home.dti.net/futura/

FUTURA 2000 at Colette

2010-08-22T13:07:00.000-07:00

2001.

Ruslan Karablin

2010-08-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

aka SSUR

If you were here...

2010-08-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

By Steve 'ESPO' Powers.

Philadelphia

NYC

Skyline

2010-08-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

Huf Etch A Sketch Skyline graphic by Benny Gold.

Huf Giants

2010-08-22T12:43:00.001-07:00

San Francisco Giants inspired tees by Huf. 2007.

IRAK

2010-08-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

Ubuy.

Make your mark on society

2010-08-22T12:10:00.001-07:00

Shut Skates Ed Koch for Mayor tee as worn by Judah Friedlander (30 Rock)

This one always gives me chills

2010-08-22T12:03:00.001-07:00

Loved him some adidas

2010-08-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

Images from the early years of X-Large LA, taken from Gino Ianucci's Epicly Later'd.

The number one feel bad crew of the season

2010-08-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

Top 5

2010-08-22T11:05:00.001-07:00

Believe it or not.

2010-08-21T14:25:00.001-07:00

Inspiration

2010-08-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

Boards to bikes

2010-08-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

Julien and Cards.

RIP Justin

2010-08-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

Nine

2010-08-21T13:43:00.002-07:00

Supreme Whalers

2010-08-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

Supreme Hartford Whalers inspired hockey jersey teaser.

Edit: Man they fucked this one up with that Aztec graphic on the front.

Julien

2010-08-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

Mac Lethal

2010-08-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

Girls learn sexiness, women teach class.

I like this *thumb*

NYC

$lave Chore Decks

Legends

The Wire Monopoly

Rockaway Taco

Empire vs Republic

Zoo York, New York

Japants

Blood

Roots

Hella Huf

Kurupt - Carrol

Have fun and say fuck you to everybody

I got 36 styles on my mind on my mind...

MDC

Dirtbag crew

I can't get behind any of that!

DOOM

The big fish are just gonna start to eat up the little fish

Bazooka Tooth biatch!

Who's the man who kills for fun?

Mr Blue Sky

Ain't a damn thing changed boy

Dill for Supreme

Excursions

Hopps

π

SSUR*Plus

RIP Keenan

Chocolate Evan Hecox graphics

Miles Davis quintet

Rebel Ape

OG Futura website

FUTURA 2000 at Colette

Ruslan Karablin

If you were here...

Skyline

Huf Giants

IRAK

Make your mark on society

This one always gives me chills

Loved him some adidas

The number one feel bad crew of the season

Top 5

Believe it or not.

Inspiration

Boards to bikes

RIP Justin

Nine

Supreme Whalers

Julien

Mac Lethal

I like this thumb