Jeff's Best of 2025 - #10: Aesop Rock - Black Hole Superette

Aesop Rock has been in the game for close to three decades now, and still remains at the top of the more underground / independent scene. I honestly don't know why he's not everyone's favorite rapper, but (especially in the last few years) he's become one of mine, and Black Hole Superette, one of two albums he released this year, is Aesop Rock at his best.

Aesop Rock's more recent albums have been thematically aligned in scope, even when they somewhat veer from the topic. Black Hole Superette definitely gives off the sort of vaporwave vibes that play well in some circles, but I'm personally more impressed by his continued ability to put together ideas in such a complicated delivery at one moment before jumping in with a song about forever-multiplying snails in the next. The unexpectedness is as enjoyable as the journey, and I went back to this album so much over the year that it was impossible for me not to consider it a favorite.

Songs of note: "Checkers," "Movie Night," "1010Wins," "Send Help," "Bird School," "Snail Zero"