Aesop Rock “Fast Cars, Danger, Fire & Knives” LP February ‘05 “What’s a troop’s recipe for treacherous times? I tell ‘em fast cars, danger, fire and knives …” The legion of fans that follow Aesop Rock's every move is ever growing, and next year's 'Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives' EP should win over more to the tribe. The eclectic rhyme-sayer who burst onto the radar with his first album Float, raised the stakes with his universally acclaimed Definitive Jux debut Labor Days, followed it up with the anthemic EP Daylight, and cemented his place as a star in progressive hip-hop with the epic 2003 LP Bazooka Tooth, now drops his most Dangerous and playful project ever with the EP ‘Fast Cars, Danger, Fire & Knives.’ Perfectly straddling the divide between artistic progression and NYC grit, Aesop has constantly evolved over his career, with each release strengthening his song craft and production while continuing to collaborate masterfully with his main-man Blockhead & other brethren. The release of ‘Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives' sees Aesop at the peak of his creativity. A CD only EP release, the packaging will be a match for the music. The first 20,000 copies will include "The Living Human Curiosity Sideshow", a perfect-bound 80-page book of lyrics spanning his career along with new artwork and photos, committing Aesop's stunning use of language to paper for the first time. If rappers are the new writers, Aesop is a hip-hop laureate that the whole world will finally now be able to testify to. “It’s tough to legislate when scum tongue down a dinner plate of booze, coke, heroin… I bite the hand that feeds, chew the steak and spit the knuckles back. Stitch him up and give him dap before his brothers rubberneck..” -- Food, clothes, medicine On “Fast Cars” Aesop exudes a confidence that never interferes with his hunger, over the best production he's ever had, both by himself and with friends such as Blockhead and Rob Sonic. The vitriol and intensity have combined with hooks and song craft to great effect. The bass booms and tracks bang as never before. The punch lines cut, chorus’ swing and narratives spit tales of the battle between cynicism & hope in a modern world filled with contradiction and struggle. The hip-hop super-hero Bazooka Tooth continues his mission to blaze clean the streets, raising his gnarly grin again in the face of false-prophets. Thing is, he’s having a lot of fun this time around, and so will all of us. Blockhead sets off the EP with the infectious piano-funk of the title track as Aesop dances up all over the song that is clearly one of his strongest of all time. “Number Nine” is an alarm call banger also from Blockhead that is laced with eerily funkadelic soul. “Zodiaccupuncture” is a bounce track featuring blazing word play and an infectious hype-man chorus by CamuTao. “Holy Smokes” finds Aesop musing seriously on his spiritual history and conflicts with the Church over a gothic Blockhead concoction. Rob Sonic provides a space monster head-nodder for “Winners Take All”. Contributions from CamuTao & El-P on “Rickety Rackety” fire up the mayhem on a playful rapid cut where the three MC’s trade quips old-school posse style yielding a fresh & exhaustive classic. The EP is anchored by the anthemic slow-grinding rock of “Food, Clothes, Medicine,” a prescription for mad urban survival & unity. Over five albums of futurized funk, Aesop Rock has been blowing minds with detail-driven narratives and dexterity defying word play. From the early self-distributed records Music For Earthworms and Apple Seed, his first album Float on Mush Records all the way to his Bazooka Tooth opus his singular voice has filtered tales of Long Island and New York City life through a highly personal lens. And that voice continues to reach out and touch an enormous amount of people with no signs of slowing. “United we stand ‘til all the parties click. I divide and conquer, cuz frankly I’d rather sit. These are them rat races. Machine or man, sprocket or fat laces..” – Food, Clothes, Medicine