Last year, Matt Daniels, a New York City resident and self-described data scientist, released his “Largest Vocabulary In Hip Hop” chart analyzing and ranking rappers.
Recently sitting down with HipHopDX during Soundset 2015, Aesop Rock, who had the largest vocabulary, according to the study spoke about his vocabulary and says it came as a surprise to be the most “wordy.”
“It’s a lot of words [laughs],” he said via a segment of Friday’s (June 5) DX Daily. “I mean I knew I was wordy but when you see it in that context, you don’t expect to see that. It feels cool but it’s also strange. [It’s] a weird thing to see in front of you, you know?”
Also during the interview, Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic announced that a new Hail Mary Mallon project is on its way. No title or release date is yet known publicly. HipHopDX spoke with Daniels at time of the list’s release and asked about its criteria and the conclusion it brought.
Watch the full DX Daily segment below:
if his vocab is more diverse than eminems im gonna have to check It.. bc eminems got a pretty impressive vocab list.
You sir have no idea what’s up if you want to compair anyone from Rhymesayers to Eminem. He’s great, but not even close to being on the level.
apples to oranges comparison
im not saying hes on ems level.. but i like lyrically ability and if hes got this then hes worth a check out anyway.
Really? Lots of polysyllabic psat terms? From a drop out that doesnt read books? His “vocab” is painfully limited. He uses lots of words per song, none of them are interesting, challenging or unique. If you took the best 500 words aesop or tech or busdriver even cannabis used, em would have no idea what they meant. There little poetic or artistic merit to ems works, which is why he has the following he does. He never had to dumb his shit down like jayz , hes as dumb as the masses are. But yes hes massively talented. Like a kid banging the fuck outta paint buckets in the subway. He honed a craft and wrote countless clever lines. He never tried to be a literary scholar of an mc, its the blind fans that suck his ass that give him labels and credit hed most likely deny. Funniest mc ever? Hmm redman gets my vote. Fastest? Pretty sure lethal beat twista at that. Most poetic? Eyedea hands down. Most intelligent? 3 way tie cannabis/aesop/tech
Ace Rock is all over the place in terms of his vocabulary. I’m not surprised by this but Eminem uses pretty diverse language as well.
Uses lots of words; has NO idea of their meanings.
He’s said a few times that he makes rhymes out of random sentences that he hears people say or thinks of. He writes a whole bunch of shit in a notebook al day, and then stitches it altogether.
Definitely cannot be a passive listener to his music, but after a decade plus of listening to Float, Apple Seed, Labor Days, etc., I still find meanings for lyrics I never got before. Just listen like 600+ more times, to each song, you’ll get it.
Incorrect. Listen deeper.
Busdriver wins this hands down
I’m a uber ace fan but bus driver is insanely talented
It amazes that many you would compare Eminem to Aesop Rock… Contrary to what many believe, Em doesn’t have an extensive vocabulary… He’s great word placement but vocab? No, he recycles many words regardless of the track’s subject… he’s a cat in the hat Emcee, he just does it well. Aesop Rock’s lyricy is obviously extremely verbose and obscure, but almost never abstract. Every one of his rhymes has meaning. Both practice assonance but to say Aesop can not match Em’s vocabulary is about as ignorant as a statement can get. Take any Eminem track alongside any Aesop Rock track, and when I say any I mean ANY. Count not the amount of words thorough out each track but the amount of unique words so as to not count the same word twice. And not only Aesop either. But a plethora of emcees who have a much larger vocabulary than Eminem’s average catalog of words. Minus the money and the fan base Eminem is an ordinarily great rapper. Emcees such as Aesop Rock, Illogic, Immortal Technique, Rob Sonic, Chino XL, Saul Williams, Gza Genius and so many others have a vocabulary that is far superior to Eminem’s. Em has a huge fan base. He’s good but what really makes him is his fan base. He has this fan base because he was lucky enough to be found by dr.Dre. So many record labels are hungry to sign Aesop Rock but he won’t budge. He won’t sell out. He’s happy where he’s at
Or maybe the amount of unique words you use has no reflection on how good an emcee you are. It’s all about using the Right word at the Right time. You don’t need to use obscure words or even an insanely wide range of words in my opinion.
On point.
Congratulations, Serge, on having the only intelligent, articulate, well crafted comment in the entire thread. Thank you.
Nice breakdown, but I think your comment downplays just how talented Eminem is.
I’m a huge fan of both Eminem and Aesop Rock (both are easily in my top 4), but I think Em is a better rapper. Aesop is an animal, and definitely has a larger vocabulary, but no one can touch Em’s mastery of lyrics and word placement.
Of course, that’s all opinion, and either way, you have a good argument.
Hops in, immortal tech, and madchild
I don’t even know who this is
Im saying you guys have no idea what youre talking about until you look at the study that was done in the first place that placed ace rock in the number one spot. Hey man not everyone can be eminem. Aesop rocks art is a bit too intelligent to be main stream, hence the ranking. I mean he would have to really dumbdown his work to go mainstream. And look at all these ignorant comments all coming from people who never looked at the actual study done that the article is based on. They just got upset that eminem wasnt number one. And then tried to argue. Without actually looking into the study to understand the rankings in the first place.
lol whos this white ASAp Rocky clone? this guy takes dick riding to another level with that name, im mean be original.
Dude,you’re stupid as fuck,aesop rock has been in the game since the 90’s
What a joke of a person you are
Asap Rocky, or whatever that assclown calls himself came up waaaaay after Aesop started making music.
But you just keep on trolling, little internet warrior.
Aesop rock has been raping longer than asap rocky, so he didn’t copy any names, maybe look stuff up before you go off about something that you don’t know shit about!!
Pathetic little douche bag.. Wannabe Internet Hip Hop expert.. Go do your Homework and come talk again when you got some knowledge before you talk shit like that.
You Toy!
Ffs rocky isn’t on his level and as has been pointed out to you he been in his grind underground a lot longer than rocky, maybe try listen to the white clone and ya will change ur mind … But maybe not as your only “feeling” black men …..
Aesop’s been around since before Asap Rocky had ever even held a mic! Lol
Please stop talking. You don’t know what you are talking about. Aesop Rock has been breaking mics before ASAP Rocky broke his mommy’s water.
Hahahahahahahaaaa and some stupid just said Aesop Rock stole Asap’s A.K.A oh God shame on you BOY!!!
how is k rino not number 1?
This nigga on asap rocky dick so bad its pathetic.
actually aesop rock been around a lot longer then some weak ass asap rocky.
Lol what? Aesop Rock been putting shit out since like ’97. Gtfo kid
You are a idiot Kevin lort
You fail at life u lame ignorant retard
Except he’s been doing this shit since asap rocky was in the second grade
Lort is Trol backwards yall some dumb ass niggas gettin catfished when he even gave away a hint.
You are a moron. Educate yourself before you spew ignorance.
*prepares for shit storm of ignorant asap rocky fans claiming aesop rock is dick riding off asaps name*
Ace rock may not be the most accessible but he is a monster and eats dictionaries for breakfast
4EVER A$AP
FUCK THE IMPOSTERS!
You stupid as fuck. None of asap mob could even cover aesop rocks best tracks. You tween age hypebeast bitches are a disgrace to hip hop culture
The ignorance people say is dumbfounding,aesop and el-p have been doin this shit 20yrs thats almost longer than any member of A$AP Mob and most of you have been on this planet !!
Thank you.
I just read that no one had mentioned supernatural or anyone from freestyle fellowship,WOW
Or busdriver! His vocabulary is on par for sure!
5 out of the Top ten are Wu. Damn.
Only fuckin wit da real A$aP gang. #MOB
That is the real. Real recognize real.
Aesop is a name taken from a fable… read your history books. It has nothing to do with A$ap for starters.
Secondly aesop rock has been selling albums and has been independently successful as ap hip hop artist since before a$ap rocky even wrote his first rhyme. Yet again, read your history, this time your hip hop history.
Come correct, or kindly leave the table now.
This nigga has no shame smh. #OnlyOneA$AP
How dumb are you? Aesop Rock has been kicking it since the 90s…
this study has no integrity at all if they pick a clone/troll rapper as a number 1. this kid is obviously clowning black people and the rap game with this bullshit. he is a disgrace and should never be mentioned amongst the REAL asap mob.
Lmfao you fools. Aesop rock isn’t trying to clone shit. He’s been in the game much longer than your a$ap mob you scrubs. You think you know hip hop, but clearly you have no idea. Your comment is the real disgrace here while we’re on the subject. Your dumb ass thinks he’s trying to be mentioned among the asap squad bahahaha. He’s in a different dimension lyrically. Not even comparable. Asap should bow to him and take notes.
– Salty Aesop Rocky
Your one ignorant motherfucker. Just because he ain’t black. He’s one of the most original dudes out there. He’s stayed underground for years. He’s not about the money or fame and didn’t even ask for this title so how can you hate?
Amen relentlessmc. These fools talking shit and yet they have know knowledge of the real scene what so ever. They just know what on the top ten charts. Fucking bums. Also ASAP Rockys flow ain’t even that nice. If it weren’t for the beats the synthesizers and studio production he wouldn’t be shit.
It is nice choice, making more income $28/ hour from laptop at my home. My brothers friend has been earning 17k for one months and she works about 11 hour a working week. I make 8k past month, it is in real easy and happier ,
here you can checking—– paybuzz900.tk
My GOD you people need to do some RESEARCH first before saying ANYTHING about Aesop Rock!! It’s so goddamned shameful and embarrassing… As soon as I saw this article i KNEW there would be a whole comments section filled with “This fool stole A$AP Rocky’s name, blah blah blah…” I can almost guarantee AesRock was killing shit before A$AP Rocky had memorized his first rap song. Do yourselves a favor and get caught up with your Hip-Hop history so you never make the same mistake again.
dis fool stole A$AP Rocky’s name. smh. swag
smh
da guck he did ASAP rocky just hit the scene dude. Aesop has been around for like 20 years.
Aesop Rock has been around for a long time, child. And it’s AESOP, not ASAP…. Aesop’s Fables? No? Sit down and shut up.
the uNiverse is giddy it got as far as Aesop’s(Ian B) lyrics, then add in his ability to wrap his tongue around em…!!! i can be reading his lyrics to a song i listen to multiple times daily for a decade and still can’t keep up with his tongue! even if cat-in-the-hat rappers could think as complex as Ian B, their tongues couldn’t spit the thoughts out
Omg people are so stupid. These people HAVE to be kidding. Aesop Rock has been around since the 90’s. A$ap Rocky is only 27 years old and started in 2007. Reading is fundamental.
Aesop Rock is and will always be the most revolutionary lyricist of all time. No one will ever change that. I always felt blessed to grow up with him in my ear. There aren’t many true vocal poets left in this world.
What a beautiful mind..