Aesop Rock
Daylight [Reissue]
RHYMESAYERS
When my editor first pitched me on reviewing the reissue of Aesop Rock’s 2002 EP Daylight via carrier pigeon (some folks still do things the right way) I replied to the pigeon on my air conditioner with a bold thought. “Is there a chance,” I cooed, “that ‘Night Light’ is better than ‘Daylight’?” Of course, the answer was no—I knew this because the pigeon flew back to my editor before I could even finish the question. Despite knowing this in my bones, despite my dear messenger’s flight confirming as such a second time, I still kind of think…maybe…just a little bit…that “Night Light” is not the best [Editor’s note: That’s right.], but maybe my favorite song on the EP [Editor’s note: I’ll allow it.]?
If you’re reading this like, “WTF is this nerd talking about?”—a brief primer. Aesop Rock is one of the great rappers in the history of underground hip-hop, and his best song of all time is probably a track called “Daylight.” It’s perfect because you can listen to it while walking in New York in both summer and winter. It’s probably better in winter, but if you’ve got a summertime argument, I’m all ears. If you think this metric isn’t an objectively good way to rate music, you must be one of those annoying people who thinks New York doesn’t matter as much as New Yorkers think it does. Guess what, you’re wrong. Aesop Rock is from here. This place has history. I’m walkin’ here! To get a dollar slice! Etc., etc. Man, I’m hot right now.
While the new edition of the EP doesn’t really tread new territory—the claim being that it’s on vinyl for the first time with a special “Night Light” variant—it’s never a bad time to heap praises on Aesop, and on the one-two punch of “Daylight”/“Night Light.” The two are less two halves of a whole than mirror opposites, with the legendary former track an ode to the breakthroughs that make life worth living. The latter squashes those dreams, and turns any potential paradise into a toxic apocalypse in which flowers turn black and music is sucked of value in favor of potential profit. OK, I made that last part up, but maybe we have some thinking to do if dystopia sounds preferable to the current model.
Take a look at one of the most famous lines on “Daylight”: “Life's not a bitch, life is a beautiful woman / You only call her a bitch ’cause she won’t let you get that pussy / Maybe she didn’t feel y’all shared any similar interests / Or maybe you’re just an asshole who couldn’t sweet talk the princess.” Then, there’s “Night Light”: “Life’s not a bitch, life is a beotch / Who keeps the villagers circling the marketplace out searching for the G-spot / Maybe she didn’t feel y’all shared any similar interests / Or maybe you’re just an asshole; maybe I’m just an asshole.” Something certainly happened to the narrator of these songs in between recording sessions, eh?
All this meandering to say that while “Night Light” might always be overshadowed (sorry) by its sunnier predecessor, there are plenty of reasons to heed the call of the dark side. Come and join me, even if not a single pigeon in the flock is willing to listen.
