Aesop Rock feat. Hanni El Khatib - Kyanite Toothpick (REACTION) First Time Hearing It

[@bryanbenn4018]

Busenitz is a reference to skateboarder Dennis Busenitz. Aesop Rock skates (and is actually pretty good at it), so he incorporates a lot of references to skating.

[@michaelmahoney5012]

'i'm on that twelve o'clock' is a reference to doing wheelies on the aforementioned dirtbike. 12 o'clock meaning the front tire is pointed at twelve o'clock. 'you on that road rash'. you cant hang. you cant wheelie. love that line because aes references poppin wheelies in other songs too "i can hold a wheelie for a decade, circle round the buroughs like a bird to a headache'

[@ar8670]

this was an instant favorite of mine when i first listened to this album. great react as always.

[@anthonyv6962]

100 percent agree.

[@SaeedReacts.]

Great song! Sounds awesome!

[@Joseph-R]

Oh yeah, "how's my driving? drivers start dialing, drives like a man who dies trying" is one of my favorite lines in the album

[@anthonyv6962]

Tonka Truck are or were high quality metal toys for kids. In the 80's the metal was replaced by plastic. Usually dump trucks and bulldozers other construction trucks. They were about the size of a shoebox maybe larger. How it works into the song I'm not sure. Kyanite is an aluminosilicate mineral. Bauhaus and Brutalist are both forms are architecture. Dennis Busenitz is a pro skater who skates for Adidas and has a long running shoe with them.

[@SaeedReacts.]

Yooo! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these questions i had. Appreciate you!

[@ju4408]

@@anthonyv6962 Tonka's slogan was "Real tough toys for real tough boys." I think that's the direct connection, but also maybe the change to plastic/safe/fake. My mom still has a scar from a Tonka truck I threw at her when I was a 3 year old, 40 years ago. Toys back then did damage.

[@maineiacial]

Bauhaus is a band

[@anthonyv6962]

@@maineiacial the band took the name from a style of architecture. The following line mentions Brutalist another style of architecture that in fact is tangentially related to Bauhaus.

[@maineiacial]

@anthonyv6962 they also mention mobius and minor threat...describe their architectural styles for me please

[@bestbuy208]

I love Hanni El Khatib's catalog you should start with his first album "Will The Guns Come Out"

[@wjadam024]

yoooooooooooo "hit 'em with the Cheshire cat" aesop, doom, def for life

[@colbypennington4641]

All of ITS is fire. I think they make more sense the more you listen to them 🤣

[@knutt81]

ITS not a cult.

[@timithius]

Thumbs up to "The School of Aesop Rock". 🙂

[@SaeedReacts.]

I will be in the front row :)

[@timithius]

@@SaeedReacts. Awesome!!! Enjoy the show.

[@damienperry5758]

13:50 also, Operation: DOOMsday was the name of an MF DOOM album. Not to say you’re wrong, just to point out a double entendre. Also, I never noticed the “find peace, find meth” double. That’s frickin dope

[@martynelson3013]

Great reaction! All good, I don't get the song as a whole yet but I'm pickin' up parts and puttin' 'em together each listen. 🩸🗝😎

[@alexlefkowitz]

Yeesss. Great track. Great reaction

[@SaeedReacts.]

Fire! Thanks again for this request, Alex!

[@christianbedelean2807]

I would also thank you Alex for helping to bring a new take on an THE favourite lyricist. What's the score, if you will? Still aching for Difficult and some comedic storytelling like The Harbor Is Yours 😅

[@christianbedelean2807]

That No City audible prose and metaphors, hmm? 😄

[@mmmmike0]

"The currency is crystal & deconstructed Elantras." I think he's referring to a Hyundai Elantra. Like so the people in the city are bartering with drugs and stolen car parts.

[@SaeedReacts.]

Oh, thanks for letting me know about that. I don't know too much about cars :p

[@billeverts5297]

Since Tonka makes children's toys, I see "Tonka-trucky" as simply "childish."

[@SaeedReacts.]

Makes sense!

[@maineiacial]

keep the light meter guessing is a reference to photography and being able to 'see' someone. dreaded french exit refers to the guillotine, cuttin heads. for the sight seeing lensman is a loop back to the photographer/onlooker/critic. like he says in other songs...party over here, ill be over there...

[@knutt81]

"What's the frequency Kenneth!?" Yt algorithm took me to a mini doc about that. Should check it out.

[@maineiacial]

you on that credit line im on that cold cash is a reference to rappers who are mediocre boosting eachother up to gain credit when they have one record where AR has been in the game since before their parents had sex.

[@maineiacial]

he has another bar in another song that goes That's why it's odd to see a pile of imperfections and flaws Ascend a pedestal to patronize the rest of the cogs. after this he says i know some shit about ya heroes that ya wouldnt believe. this bar right here says alot when a certain record mogul is facing charges for human trafficking

[@SaeedReacts.]

Thanks for explaining that one!

[@fleeness]

Cryptic wisdom...love it lol

[@SaeedReacts.]

He definitely has a lot of it :)

[@AbsInABox]

Sanderson xD He meant Elantra the car

[@christophermartin-xq7lz]

To me, Tonka Trucky means hard and heavy. as the old toys were all metal and were not light at all.

[@anthonyv6962]

This has been one of my favorites from the project since the first listen. Keep up the reactions, you always have good insight. On a side note you should really listen to "Carolina Drama" by the Raconteurs a side project of Jack White. It's one of the best storytelling songs I know of. It paints a vivid picture in your head.

[@SaeedReacts.]

Thanks for that recommendation! That title sounds familiar so it might be on my list

[@beesknees4352]

@@anthonyv6962 totally agree, great recommendation