Aesop Rock – “Rogue Wave”

Last year, underground rap veteran Aesop Rock teamed up with Black Moth Super Rainbow synth-sludge producer Tobacco for the collaborative album Malibu Ken. And now, as he continues working on a full-length follow-up to 2016’s solo LP The Impossible Kid, he’s shared a new standalone single called “Rogue Wave.” As he explains:

“Rogue Wave” feels like a long journal entry to me — perhaps in the vein of “Hot Dogs” and “Klutz.” I really enjoy skipping the hook entirely. It doesn’t always work — but when it does it just feels right. To me, this song is a small boat lost at sea, rowing for hours, days, losing all track of time and direction — 360 degrees of nothing but ocean.

I’ve been a little timid over the years to showcase my own drawings, probably because I’ve been out of practice, and also because people know me for my music. That said — I’ve been drawing a fair amount in recent years, and finally decided to collect a lot of the images together for a music video. My long time collaborator and friend Rob Shaw pieced them together in a way that feels similar to the song — an uninterrupted stream of information.

Listen to “Rogue Wave” and watch the video of Aesop’s own sketches below.

The digital version of “Rogue Wave” is out now; a 7″ vinyl version (limited to 1000 copies) including the song, the instrumental, and a two-sided print featuring the artwork and the song lyrics designed by fine artist Justin Kaufman, aka Coro, is out 3/9. A portion of the proceeds from all “Rogue Wave” sales will be donated to the family of skate videographer Kurt Hayashi, who recently passed away. Pre-order it here.