Aesop Rock exorcising emotion

From "Labor Days" to dark days, Aesop Rock has spent the past decade using both the struggles of the working class and plenty of struggles of his own as a supremely effective artistic catalyst.

Rock really came into his own on his aforementioned third disc, released in 2001, which was an indie hip-hop hallmark with its murky, ominous production values and Rock's equally dazzling and puzzling wordplay, which is less a stream of consciousness than a roaring river of as much.

In July, Rock dropped "Skelethon," his sixth disc and first in five years, which sees the MC weathering a divorce, the cessation of his former record company and a litany of other hardships, turning uncertainty and emotional turbulence into one of the most gripping albums of the year.

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.