Black Hole Superette

Alright, I just want everyone reading to know, I did not forget about this site. I’ve just been very busy finishing up everything I need to graduate highschool and keep everything moving. I’ve also been working on adapting this site into more short form video and audio content and less writing, so be on the lookout for that, here’s the review for Aesop Rocks new project..

Aesop Rock dropped Black Hole Superette, and if you’re even adjacent to underground or abstract hip-hop, you probably have heard of the guy already, especially if your in the east coast. He’s the blueprint for a certain type of weirdo rap fan — you know, the ones who grew up on Labor Days and None Shall Pass like scripture. He’s always been kind of a mythical figure: dense lyrics, a voice that sounds like it was carved out of concrete, and a style that’s more all over the place than linear. Even in his 40s, Aesop isn’t slowing down — The Impossible Kid and Garbology were both proof he’s still pushing himself.

But Black Hole Superette, It kinda caught me off guard. This one leans even harder into the abstract — like, Aesop’s already hard to follow sometimes, but here he’s off in another galaxy. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s definitely his lane, just amplified. What really stood out to me though were the hooks. They actually stick, which isn’t always a given with Aesop. Tracks like “So Be It” and “1010WINS” have choruses that are weird but catchy in the best way.

Also, the features? Man. He doesn’t overload the album with guests, but the ones he brings in absolutely deliver. Armand Hammer shows up on “1010WINS” and it’s just filthy in the best way. Open Mike Eagle slides in with a soulful hook on “So Be It” that adds a ton of flavor. And Lupe Fiasco and Homeboy Sandman on “Charlie Horse;” Unexpected and incredible, six minutes of straight bars with wildly different energies that somehow mesh perfectly.

Lyrically, Aesop is still in his bag, it’s dense, referential, hilarious, and borderline incomprehensible at times. “John Something” is a good example: apparently about an artist who came to speak in Boston in 1996? It’s cool but kinda loses itself in its own tangle. Then again, that’s part of the charm. Aesop’s rapping is like a puzzle that’s not always solvable, but fun to sit with.

Production-wise, this thing slaps. It’s glitchy, jazzy, off-kilter — very boom bap, but filtered through some interdimensional junkyard. Some tracks drag a little in the middle; I wasn’t huge on “Snail Zero” or “The Swell”, but the album bounces back hard toward the end. “Steel Wool,” “The Red Phone,” and the closer — which has this cinematic, orchestral sample that totally blindsided me — all hit hard.

In the end, Black Hole Superette is just another reminder that Aesop Rock is still one of the most unique voices in rap. He’s not reinventing himself, but he’s clearly still evolving, especially when it comes to hooks and collaborations. It’s not perfect, but it’s weird, ambitious, and weirdly fun — which is pretty much exactly what I want from an Aesop Rock album at this point.

AESOP ROCK - BLACK HOLE SUPERETTE
RATING - 8.3

FAVORITE TRACK - 1010WINS

GENRE - Hip-Hop, Rap