Aesop Rock - Coffee ft. John Darnielle

What this video is

Released in October 2007 as a Halloween-timed music video for the single from None Shall Pass, 'Coffee' captures the creative peak of Def Jux's avant-garde underground hip-hop scene and the broader mid-2000s indie-hip-hop crossover moment. The collaboration between Aesop Rock and John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats—two artists celebrated for dense, literary lyricism in their respective genres—was a notable…

Why it matters

Represents a landmark indie hip-hop and indie rock crossover during the blog-era zenith of Def Jux records. The pairing of Aesop Rock's cerebral underground rap with John Darnielle's literary indie folk lyricism was an unusual but critically celebrated genre collision, and the grindhouse horror…

The director

Ace Norton is a Venice Beach-born, third-generation filmmaker whose father is director Bill Norton Jr. and grandfather is screenwriter William Norton Sr. He signed to Partizan in 2007 and has since directed over 80 music videos, commercials, fashion films,…