About ten years ago, my tastes in rap music took a severe
left turn. I became enamored with the “Undie”
movement. It was around that time that I
discovered Aesop Rock. After reading a favorable
review of his album Labor Days in an
issue of Entertainment Weekly, I went
out and bought a copy. It ultimately proved
too eccentric for my tastes. Though I
eventually moved on to other things, I never totally turned my back on underground/independent
Hip-Hop. That open mindedness has allowed
Aesop’s new video, “ZZZ Top,” to show up on my radar.
Perhaps my tastes have grown more eccentric over the past ten
years, because Aesop sounds much more accessible now than he did back in 2001. This is due, in large part, to the
production. The erratic drum pattern is
looped into an extended solo, giving it the classic feel of breakbeat. Overall,
the track emanates a gritty 70’s rock ambience which is enhanced by electric
guitars. The lyrics are impenetrably
abstract, though Aesop’s rapid fire flow makes his word collages go down relatively
easy.
If the opening titles don’t reveal the video as a clear homage
to 70’s exploitation cinema and martial arts flicks, the plot most certainly
does. It has Aesop playing bodyguard and
chauffeur to an unassuming woman (Patti Li) whom he drops off at a night job in
an empty warehouse. Once inside, she’s accosted
by a group of goons who begin to violently interrogate her. Meanwhile, Aesop realizes that his client has
left her belongings in the car and urgently doubles back to return them. Shortly thereafter, the little lady is
reveled to be much more than she seems.
Homages of this type need competent people both in front of
and behind the camera to be truly successful.
To this end, director Pete Lee has aligned himself with martial arts
instructor Patti Li and fight choreographer Vlad Rimburg. The three prove to be an unstoppable trio,
crafting a mini tribute to a small handful of martial arts classics. The warehouse setting instantly calls to mind
The Raid: Redemption. The throwing knives play like a parody of
Bruce Lee’s wooden darts in Way of the
Dragon. They also facilitate to the
single best moment in the entire video.
“ZZZ Top” isn’t suited for all tastes, but it will surely
please the fringe audience it’s aimed at.
It belongs to the same tradition as the Spike Jonze clip for “Sabotage”
by the Beastie Boys. It also shares
space with other similarly themed (though largely forgotten) videos, such as
the ones for Jeru’s “Ya Playing Yourself,” and RZA’s “Tragedy.” Undie
rap might not be the most listenable form of Hip-Hop around, but it’s always
good for pleasant surprises such as “ZZZ Top.”
Been digging Aesop since that Daylight EP, he's amazing with the metaphor. Lyrics are real hip hop academia....
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