Described as surprising, analytical, dark, mysterious, lyrical, & jealous. Rhymes that make one think. Mush. 2000.

The MC Paul Barman-friendly raps flipped by Aesop on his acclaimed 2001 Labor Days release generally didn’t register on most hip hop traditionalists scales. And Bazooka proves that he’s even less interested in appeasing the boom bap crowd. On "We’re Famous", Def Jux label head El-P and Aesop go after the, ahem, critics who might not view their futuro sound collages as legit hip hop. El-P raps "I laugh at critics claiming, 'Hip-hop’s over'/ F*** you, hip-hop just started." This being the first release where he handles the bulk of the production, Aesop intentionally goes all Def Jux, programming as many ultramodern found soundscapes on "NY Electric" and "The Greatest Pac-Man Victory Ever" (peep the sampled sounds from the classic video game) as is alienly possible. While his wordy and nearly incomprehensible verses on "Freeze" or "Mars Attacks" will either grate on the nerves or rate near genius, middling they’re not. It’s just a shame that the lack of soul in his rotating rap deliveries tends to undermine his masterful storytelling capabilities (like, who else writes brilliantly random songs about goings on in their life at 11:35 P.M. on January 21st ("11:35")). Fabolous fans run for cover, this is extreme backpacker rap at its grimiest. --Dalton Higgins