Aesop Rock - No Jumper Cables

What this video is

Released in September 2003 as a single from Bazooka Tooth — Aesop Rock's fourth album and first where he handled the majority of his own production — 'No Jumper Cables' arrived during the height of the Definitive Jux label's cultural influence. Def Jux represented a New York underground counterpoint to mainstream rap commercialism, prizing abstract lyricism, dense wordplay, and abrasive self-produced sonics. The…

Why it matters

A landmark single from abstract hip-hop's early-2000s New York underground wave. 'No Jumper Cables' demonstrates Aesop Rock's self-production turn on Bazooka Tooth, typifying the Def Jux aesthetic of dense syllabic flows over self-constructed, turbulent beats. Its crossover via Tony Hawk's…