YMMV / Aesop Rock

• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment - The "Superheroes" interlude on Hokey Fright consists of Aesop and Kimya yelling out the names of various sandwiches over a heavy rock beat.
• Broken Base:
  • Whether Aes ever sold out and when he did it are hot topics among the fandom, to the point where there are almost as many answers as there are fans.
  • Hokey Fright, his collaboration with Kimya Dawson (of The Moldy Peaches) under the name The Uncluded. It's a dark and surreal album, but it's really not a rap album (more folkish with a strong rap bent) and he's only on mic for about half of it, so it's not surprising that it's a bit divisive.
  • Bazooka Tooth as well. Depending on which fan you ask, it's either one of his best albums or one of his weakest.
  • His fanbase is also strongly divided on Tobacco's beats for Malibu Ken. Some appreciate Tobacco's electronic/psychedelic style while others would have preferred Aesop to have produced the songs himself in his own style.
• Heartwarming Moments: "Kirby", a song dedicated to his cat.
  • "Blood Sandwich", which is just Aes fondly recalling things his brothers did when they were younger.
  "Just in case of rough waters, I wanna put one up for my brothers"
• Nightmare Fuel: The video for "Acid King" (under the Malibu Ken name) features a creepy-looking cartoon head performing the song, which details the events of the Ricky Kasso murder. As the video goes on, the head's face becomes more and more disfigured by acne and slime...and then the face's skin peels off, revealing the muscle underneath.
• Squick: "Tuesday" (one of the tracks he did with Tobacco under the Malibu Ken name) talks about how Aesop himself is a living embodiment of this trope.
  • His verse on Syrup as well:
  "The dirty dishes are becoming self-aware
  Even the roaches like 'I wouldn't raise my children here'"
• Tear Jerker - Skelethon's "Ruby '81" looks like it's headed in this direction. Ultimately averted, as the Beagle from earlier in the story manages to pull little Ruby out of the pool, thus saving her. The song ends with the assembled crowd saying "Good Dog" to the Beagle.
  • "Get Out of the Car", which is about the lengthy grief and depression he suffered following the death of his friend Camu Tao from cancer.
  "True friendship in a tugboat way."
  • "Purple Moss" is an introspective into Aesop's own lonely and depressed life. The instrumental really hammers home a sense of mellow depression.