Tue 6/7 @ 8:30PM
It would be easy to dismiss rap as a musical genre if all you ever heard was what’s on the radio (although some good stuff has filtered through there too) with its litany of boasts. But it’s always had its side roads as well as its hits highways. One of those was a (mostly white) movement in the late ’90s and early ’00s dubbed alternative hip hop or occasionally backpack rap.
And one of its prominent practitioners was the deft and thoughtful Aesop Rock (Ian Bavitz) originally from the New York area who began experimenting with hip hop in college in the mid ’90s and soon was putting out critical acclaimed releases on t he respected, groundbreaking Definitive Jux label.
He disappeared from the scene between 2007 and 2012 but returned with 2012’s Skelethon. He’s got a new album now called The Impossible Kid, released in April, that’s earning the sort of kudos that have become routine for him. And he’s back on the road. He’ll perform at the Grog Shop with Rob Sonic & DJ Zone and Homeboy Sandman. Want to go to a rap show where people don’t blather on and on about the big splash they make in the VIP section of the club? This one’s for you. Tickets are $22 in advance, $25 at the door.
Cleveland, OH 44106