To me, Aesop Rock's career can be separated into two distinct eras: (1) his time spent in New York City (during which he released Float up to Bazooka Tooth), and (2) his move to California (the location from which he has released None Shall Pass, Are You Gonna Eat That?, (a collaborative effort with Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz under the moniker Hail Mary Mallon), and, on July 10, will release his latest album, Skelethon).

 Those albums produced in NYC started off sullen, only to grow more and more apocalyptic. But upon his west coast arrival, Aesop Rock seemed to adopt (forgive the world's worst pun) a sunnier disposition. ... And this first single, "Zero Dark Thirty," contains a reference that dichotomy: "Hello, here's where a tale of caution/ Pounds coffin nails to bootlegs of Hawkwind." Aesop dropping the name of God's, AKA Lemmy Kilmister's (yes, that is an Airheads reference), original band, Hawkwind, shows he has lightened up slightly and is no longer as dark or gritty as, say, Motorhead/he once was.

But my subjective parsing of bars is beside the point. Check the track:

Let's be honest: if you're on Allen Street looking for bars playing myriad sub-genres of Rock -n- Roll, you won't be searching for long.  Hip-Hop, on the other had, is much harder to come by.  Thankfully DBGB's (253 Allen Street) holds it down with Hump Day Hip-Hop.

Starting at 10pm, veteran DJs Shuteyes and Charlie the Butcher turn Duke's Bohemian Grove Bar into a Hip-Hop hotspot. But, you may ask, can't I just sit at home, shuffle my iTunes, and get the same effect? Well, in addition to these two spinning, I'm told there will be some special guests in the mix, so this sounds less like a night of passive rap enjoyment and more of an exhibition of turntablism (and maybe even MCing?) for one to behold. ... Also, there's sure to be socializing, if you're into that whole "meeting people" thing.

For now, check Shuteyes flexing (with fellow multi-talented local artist, Definition—one-half of Hip-Hop duo 25 Metro) in another facet of Hip-Hop: production.

"Y'all sound like old Jay; y'all sound like old Nas/ Y'all sound like Coldplay; y'all sound like Oprah/ Me, I sound so dope, brah. Money out the chocha/ Bet you wish you was hot, don't ya[?]"

Ahh, what would Hip-Hop be without self-aggrandizing punchlines? Those cited come from Greedhead Entertainment artist, Big Baby Gandhi, who appeared on my radar when Diplo's label, Mad Decent, released his first mixtape: Big Fucking Baby. Overall, it was an average mix of dubious production quality, but the opening track, "Gandhi Mandhi Mandhi," (on which he rhymes to a sample with no beat that ends in a smooth-as-hell horn solo) was too good to be ignored.

Now, Big Baby Gandhi returns to prove he's no mediocre MC with a second mixtape, NO1 2 LOOK UP 2, and as many ego-boosting lyrics as there are stars. Gleaning contributions from other producers on this joint (BBG produced every track on Big Fucking Baby) could account for the noticeably tighter lyrics. ... And I don't mean to say that the beats (especially Gandhi's own) don't shine in their own respect, but rather that this effort is so on point I now anticipate a proper album release from Big Baby Gandhi.

Download NO1 2 LOOK UP 2 in its entirety HERE.

... But first check out the track "Boogie Nights":

Colin Stetson, saxophonist for the Arcade Fire, comes to Soundlab (110 Pearl Street) tonight with special guest (and fellow Arcade Fire member), Sarah Neufeld. On top of his work with the aforementioned band, Stetson is currently a member of Bon Iver, and over the years he has been asked to perform (both live and in studio) for the likes of Tom Waits, Lou Reed, David Byrne, Feist, and LCD Soundsystem. A lot can be written about his collaborative work, but tonight should be an experience with Colin Stetson's "unique solo voice on saxophones."

This clip alone doesn't do his work justice, so check out an entire album HERE, or a captivating solo performance HERE. Doors are at 8 and advanced tickets are $12.

On the real, I don't need another reason to argue that Hip-Hop is the greatest of all art forms.

... But rapper Blueprint has given me another by incorporating my second favorite form, the book, into the full expression of his latest work. From paying dues with his crew, Greenhouse Effect (now simply Greenhouse), to running his own label (Weightless Records), releasing his solo homage to a golden year in Hip-Hop: 1988, and being one-half of the MC/producer duo Soul Position (alongside RJD2), (all the while offering a slew of instrumental albums and free EPs), 'Print's work ethic is unquestionable. It's no wonder that it took until just last spring for the second proper Blueprint record, Adventures in Counter-Culture, to drop.

To follow that up, on April 16 'Print will release The Making of Adventures in Counter-Culture, "a necessary companion-piece" that seems anomalous in an age that values quantity over quality. Instead of rushing to the next half-baked idea, he delves deeper into his work, "taking the reader through the creative process behind every song on the album – and describing in rich detail the circumstances that lead to his social commentary, his personal transformation, and [the] album." Complete with lyrics and chapter illustrations by artist Adam “ILLUS” Wallenta, this complement looks to be both very promising and, in itself, another achievement for a tireless MC.

Finally, before you think this is some all-too-intellectual nerd rap, I feel this will be one chapter to which most of us can relate:

Tonight at Merge (439 Delaware Avenue) the Vinyl Retentives (three DJs: Needles Numark, Fjordan Turlingua, and King Eider) will be spinning nothing but vinyl early into the morning. Now, I can't tell you what exactly will be played (as the invitation promises "wax from all genres past and present for your listening pleasure"), but I can say this:

I love Merge. It's one of those places where I always end up having more fun than I expected. Even if I wind up there without pre-planning, there always seems to be something dope going down ...  and tonight looks like no exception. It starts at 10pm, and, best of all: there's NO COVER. So walk on in, get yourself a drink (alcoholic or otherwise), and start wigglin' it!

Also, to avoid that awkward in-person moment, I've made a selection from my own record collection that I'd like to request in advance:

Good. The world would be a much better place of more people did. What does Portishead have to do with this post, though? Well, Geoff Barrow (DJ and instrumentalist for Portishead), under the moniker Fuzzface, has teamed up with avant-garde record label Stones Throw to release Quakers.

According to the Stones Throw website, "Quakers is a hip-hop collective boasting 35 members which orbits around a core of three producers: Fuzzface, 7-Stu-7 and Katalyst." The "35 member" claim is a bit far-fetched. (I wouldn't, for example, count the Hip-Hop mixtapes that were once so prevalent—even released by major labels—as albums featuring a "Hip-Hop collective.") But on an album boasting 40+ tracks, I'm excited to hear how contributions from so many MCs make multifaceted an album that will certainly be anchored by its production.

Unfortunately, out of all those tracks, only one ("Smoke" featuring Jonwayne) has been released so far. But before you start fretting, remember: one hasn't much longer to wait: Quakers' eponymous debut is due out March 27. ... And if this track is any indication, Quakers will be a welcome accompaniment to all the warm weather activities you're anticipating.

On Aesop Rock's 2003 LP, Bazooka Tooth, El-P stated that "true veterans'll give dap to those who started it, then hungrily move the fuck on and come with that new, retarded shit." Nearly a decade later I'm writing about his new single, "The Full Retard," wondering how detractors can respond to the flawless logic of an MC/producer who is the embodiment of that end ("true veteran" status) achieved by his own plainly-worded means. To put it another way: constant innovation is the key to longevity and El-P is living proof.

While Public Enemy parallels are unavoidable with this track, most remain one-dimensional, comparing only El's production style to that of the Bomb Squad, but he continually displays Chuck D-like mic mastery here. ... And if Flavor Flav wore a clock "to let you know what time it is," the physical object is absent on El-P only because you can't rock the more symbolic Doomsday Clock. So, take the advice that had to be sampled from the late rapper Camu Tao (still dearly missed) and "pump this shit." Who knows how long we have left?

... Well, it's safe to say we have until May 22, since that's when El-P's entire album, Cancer for Cure, is set to be released.

Find the full lyrics: HERE

Jesse Boykins III comes to school us on World Soul with the Red Bull Music Academy: Session Buffalo tonight at Soundlab (110 Pearl St.). A singer-songwriter, his soft R&B croon keeps you anchored to Earth with accessible lyrics about our shared experience on this planet while electro-soul beats and spacey synths attempt to take you away. (Picture Maxwell leaving his Urban Hang Suite in 2012 to make clubs dance.) Bolstered by upstate talent Tim Tones (Rochester), Mario Bee, and ABC DJ, tonight is sure to keep your body moving. 18+ with a $5 cover. Doors at 9.

In 1987, Jason Pierce's then-band, Spacemen 3, released the album The Perfect Prescription, featuring the song "Ode to Street Hassle." If that homage to Lou Reed wasn't overt enough, Pierce (AKA J Spaceman) in his current incarnation, Spiritualized, reminds you of his affinity with the first single from their seventh studio album, Sweet Heart Sweet Light: "Hey Jane."

By now, you're probably familiar with the psychedelic gospel J Spaceman has been preaching, and if that's the case, "Hey Jane" won't be any sort of transformational experience. But for some it may be an interesting use of the life/death dichotomy in song. The press release even regarded it as Spiritualized "at their most vibrant; full voiced and utterly sublime" (read: a return to their soaring Rock -n- Roll after an album of acoustic-tinged downers followed Pierce's well-publicized brush with death).

Frankly, it wouldn't take much persuasion for me to agree that J Spaceman's work has been on the decline since Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, but, to be fair, I haven't heard this entire album. Either way, one must admit that in the music world Pierce has become an institution, and institutions, musical or otherwise, remain as a result of their inertia and crumble only long after their time has passed. So, "don't just do something, sit around instead." It's a much more comfortable position from which to anticipate the inevitable. ... And as you're lounging, listen to this song. Everything is relative, right? So what's eight minutes wasted on one song you may not consider Spiritualized's best when you could have spent the even more time listening to that Lou Reed/Metallica album. Hell, you might even like the jam enough to pick up Sweet Heart Sweet Light when it's released April 16th.