AESOP ROCK - Mystery Fish | Intellectual Breakdown & Reaction

#AESOP #AesopRock #MysteryFish

[@Joseph-R]

I've been looking for breakdowns like this for so long. I love Aesop but most of his lyrics go over most reactors heads so it's not quite as enjoyable to watch those. Love the content you bring and looking forward to more!

[@BlackishUniversity]

I just heard daylight. WOW!

[@Joseph-R]

@@BlackishUniversity That was the song that got me into Aesop 20 years ago! Legendary track, but I think Aesop refined his music over the years and has gotten even better.

[@rezn138able]

@@BlackishUniversity you have to listen to daylight/nightlight together

[@mrc3885]

Keep looking! A+ for effort but way off the mark as to the song's meaning and general purpose.

[@VD-iu3ib]

Consistent disappointment with every reaction until now

[@psilocinesthesia]

Aes is from Long Island, and now lives in Oregon. His lyrics often refer to urban NYC settings metaphorically with parallels to wilderness. He's a big fan of ironic comparisons between urban and rural, population density and social isolation, petty drama and existentialism, etc. Throughout the song, he's basically describing the streets of Long Island from the perspective of someone living in the streets. The Sun Tzu line is about how one might start philosophizing the struggle of urban homelessness and developing strategies to deal with the challenges of that life (referring to Sun Tzu's status as a martial philosopher), with the example of persistently greeting people he sees every day even though they just yell at him. The "that's amore, bitch" line is him rationalizing that the imagined, one-sided friendliness is akin to real relationships with the people who avoid him as a cretin. It's also an allusion to how it's perceived from the non-homeless populace; they just see a drunk/high bum shouting drug-fueled philosophical ramblings in the subway and avoid or berate him when he speaks to them.

[@kvjackal7980]

You were SO close! Closer than most. Good job. The song is about Aes' experiences seeing/helping homeless people and their struggles in the different places he's lived. Charles Sumner Vincent de Paul Fisher King (film) These are references to homelessness and people who have fought for homeless rights/humane treatment. "...black out somewhere fancy, shaped like the back seat of Aesop's Camry. 'Dude...' " "I step over a body in the door..." This is Aes' describing finding homeless folk sleeping in his car and house. He's made many references in other songs regarding having empathy for the homeless and getting inspiration from things he's witnessed. He was previously part of a hip-hop collective in NY called "Cardboard City." He now lives in Portland, OR which has a very high homeless population. Oh and, "...fried bacteria..." refers to the process of cooking heroin in a spoon/utensil to kill any microbes that may be present. 😉 "Chimera" refers to the mythical beast; a juxtaposition of lowly monsters with the 'divine.' "If you give an address in a river of piss, don't question the mystery fish," literally just means: Beggars can't be choosers. I think the rest was covered by other posters. 🤔

[@BlackishUniversity]

Thank you...I appreciate the feedback. I took a few months off but plan on jumping back in very soon. Glad to hear you like the channel, I'll be diving into his work more.

[@mikeypillow5285]

Dude lived in a barn when he made this album... Check out his therapy sessions on rhyme sayers page. Rhyme sayers is the label he's on. The label carries so many dope mcs

[@shinypigeongames]

Aes is my absolute favorite! Looking forward to checking out the rest of your breakdown videos for him and others 🥳

[@BlackishUniversity]

More to come!

[@seamusobrian9050]

Absolutely loving these extremely indepth reactions I've watched the clipping and aesop reactions but will definitely watch more

[@BlackishUniversity]

Thanks! Welcome to the channel!

[@_Jake.From.Statefarm_]

Aes has been around since the 90s. He has the biggest vocabulary in hip hop and is considered one of the best poets of our generation. Professors actually use his writings at Harvard according to the Herald. He's the best lyrisist you can find but like you said, many don't wanna be an active listener. You can find the study on his insanely deep lexicon on rolling stone, someone did a study on hip hop vocabulary and he blew everyone out of the water... Every song is like this, most fans would say he hasn't ever put out a bad album including me. He writes songs like this extremely fast according to people who work with him and he also produces all his newer work 2010 on. This song isn't even close to being difficult for him. Check out Oxygen, Daylight/Nightlight as his older work is way more dense. His newer stuff is better just more conceptually accessable to the average listener... You were spot on about this song, except for it's about all the homeless that live by him in SF, outside his apartment in the alley. You'll likely get a lot of request for newer songs, but if you're strictly looking for intellectual concepts... Float and Labor Days are the albums to disect. Cheers. Subscribed and awaiting more Aes content.. PS he's the GOAT and an underground legend.. 😊

[@BlackishUniversity]

Thanks for helping me understand the breakdown and welcome to the channel! I love an intellectually challenging breakdown. I'm gonna check out those songs!

[@_Jake.From.Statefarm_]

@@BlackishUniversity Any time, I'll be that "freind that you can lean on". Cause I'lllll beee thereee.

[@femka]

You are a terrible representive for aesop to new people his new stuff is absolutely better, the old stuf being more dense doesn't mean better (check out the uncluded)

[@madeINaBATHtub]

You did a crazy sick job for ur first time seeing an Aes track! Most ppl who mess with these songs have NO IDEA! Lol But there are also lots of cool analysis videos that totally get it. I know it’s not traditional in most hip hop lyricism, but I kinda love the whole “figure out the meaning, it’s a puzzle” approach. Not proud to admit this, but he’s DEF talkin about addiction and homelessness. When he says “take a dive in the cellophane” I know all to well that he’s referring to pulling pills or little bags of crack/dope whatever it may be out of the cellophane that comes in a cigarette pack, which drug users who smoke (a lot) use to keep their recently purchased goods in since it’s always something you have on you. He don’t mean dumpster diving. And he meant 5 into 5,6,7,8 into the # of things he’s pulling out the cellophane in his pocket/sock or whatever. Damn I hate how I know this….but. Fly with the seraphim referring ti after you mainline heroin. But Eat with the chimera (which lives in the underworld, opposite of heaven) cuz your prob sober when you would bother to eat and feelin like garbage and just miserable. The dragon holding Kools MOST DEF means the one dude your hanging with who has the only pack of cigarettes and it’s a bitch to get one from em. The whole song came together for me after the . Feral army, paranormal, dirty car stuff, it’s definitely about the left behind, the lost, the addicts. Mystery fish = food you get when you ain’t got sh*t, cuz ur broke, ur high and nobody cares.

[@MoCsomeone]

"Make a pipe out of anything Take 5, Take a dive in the cellophane" He's talking about taking a break from his shitty circumstances by making a pipe and smoking drugs. People keep drugs in their cigarette pack cellophane. Then he says "turn 5 into 5678" He means it was meant to be a short break from his problems by getting high but it just kept getting longer until it wasnt a just a quick break. "Back out, black out somewhere fancy shaped like the backseat of Aesop's Camry" He got so fucked up he didn't recognize his own damn car, or that he ended up in the backseat of a car that wasn't his. "Fools ain't shit plus fuck the pigs, They could never understand what Sumner is" is a reference to Charles Sumner. Sumner fought hard to provide equal civil and voting rights for the freedmen on the grounds that "consent of the governed" was a basic principle. He was an american statesman and United States Senator from Massachusetts in the 1800's. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator (he was well known for giving antislavery speeches) Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of the Radical Republicans (you know, before the RNC did the southern strategy and started catering to the racists in the 1900's) in the U.S. Senate during the American Civil War. During Reconstruction, he fought to minimize the power of the ex-Confederates and guarantee equal rights to the freedmen. He devoted his enormous energies to the destruction of the "Slave Power": the influence over the federal government by Southern slave owners who sought the continuation and expansion of slavery. So yeah, "fuck the pigs, they could never understand what Sumner is"

[@_Jake.From.Statefarm_]

It's also important to note that aes references pigs as either 1. The ultra rich (gluttonous swine) and 2. the police but usually the ladder. His song pigs is a prime example of this and most people that haven't dug into the lyrics think he's just hating on cops but he is not.

[@BlackishUniversity]

Thank you! Wow. I don't think I've ever broken down something as complex....and this is one of only two songs I've explored from him. I appreciate the help. I'm going to attempt two or three more of his songs tomorrow. I'll be looking forward to your review.

[@MoCsomeone]

@@_Jake.From.Statefarm_ yes, very true. He does use pigs as the capitalist pigs variety as well as the police being pigs. Pigs is a great song

[@MoCsomeone]

@@BlackishUniversity You are most welcome. Thank you for putting so much thought and energy into Aesop Rock. If you have room for a few requests, please do "Kodokushi" (a newer track that I've been bumping on my subs cuz the beat thumps so clean) also check out "Coffee" (older track that I still can't get enough of) and you 100% definitely need to do "Daylight/Nightlight" which, yes, are two songs but they need to be played together since they play off each other intentionally. Also always make sure you pull the lyrics up for all Aesop Rock like you did with this track. It really boosts the quality of an Aes breakdown. Keep up the fantastic work man!

[@_Jake.From.Statefarm_]

@@MoCsomeone yeah I told him about daylight/nightlight and my personal fav oxygen

[@goinnowhereslow]

Thrilled to see another channel dedicating thought to Aesop reactions, I was very happy with your breakdown and look forward to seeing more. Also really hope you enjoy the music. He has lot of dense songs and I'd be happy to see you upload any from him but especially hoping for content off of The impossible kid album

[@BlackishUniversity]

Thank you and welcome to the channel!

[@brianhansen6189]

“Make a pipe out of anything” to smoke something with

[@rotisserieprotocol3582]

This line resonates with me because of my college days. He has a way with words.

[@garinbaker_]

well done breaking this down brother 🙏🙏. Take a look at ‘Jazz Hands’ next!

[@-user_redacted-]

"This is one of those songs that each time you listen to it you pull something else from it " That describes nearly every Aes track. And believe it or not, this is from one of his most accessible albums.

[@AlexanderSololoff]

Chimera are also fish that live in the deep deep ocean, so he eats (or lives ) at the lowest but flys (or when he gets high) he feels close to heaven there is no middle ground for him

[@chrisjanet1125]

Aesop is a genius

[@stephensemp8634]

Aesop moved to a barn in middle of nowhere Oregon and wrote this album.

[@stephensemp8634]

It’s the first track on the album… This was probably about his travel from the Bay Area to the barn in Oregon, beginning the journey to clear his head.. the video promos to the album to this album are gold if you want to get to know Aesop.. it was like the first album where he actually took his inaccessible language to actually star giving access to he is.

[@stephensemp8634]

More Aesop like this please… a thorough examination is much appreciated.

[@VD-iu3ib]

I've got a take on the first 9 minutes... Aesop is describing the progression (or lack there of) of what was (and still is) the inevitable path for people lost in the chaotic ecosystem of a human city I think

[@mrc3885]

Love these videos. I've been listening to Aes for over 20 years, daily. You're almost 9 min into your video and your interpretation, while extremely well made and thought through, is so interesting to me. I heard this song for the first time when it released and up to your 11 min mark, in my mind, Aes just walked out into the city, from his apartment, and he's describing his walk through his dynamic and Urban-Dickensian neighborhood. (Sumner is a county in NY) This song has nothing to do with Aesop Rock being homeless. This song is simply Aesop going out for a coffee and going back home. Within that context he explores the filth, hopelessness and diminishing will to remain within the city life while. The last portion of the song is him deciding he's getting out and Aes did move away from the city. He simply couldn't go out for a coffee without being confronted with crime, wild animals, possibly dead people passed out in front of his front door, homeless crazy people.

[@tomfoolery5680]

himself. Some other tracks to check out are Fast Cars Danger Fire and Knives, Daylight/Nightlight, None Shall Pass, Drums on the Wheel, Long Legged Larry, 9 to 5ers Anthem, and Kirby. Those are a little easier to get into when you're new to him. My favorite track from him is Battery. All of his records are esoteric, even the most basic.

[@TheOfficialDjGorge]

please do any more of this

[@willowallen3202]

I really enjoyed your reaction some other Aesop rock songs I'd love to hear your thoughts on our jazz hands which is a favorite of mine off of his newest album and Ruby 81 which is one of his more simple songs but is incredible and how it gets its point across

[@clydeclark616]

The line "you can never understand what sumner is" this was a street or local spot where aesop was living (portland at the time I think) that whole bar is just a personal conversation he added to the song

[@dvancebum]

He is from New York but lives in the North West now I believe

[@dvancebum]

Check out Jazz Hands , None Shall Pass, 11:35, Mars Attacks, Jumping coffins

[@terrestrialgmusic]

Im pretty sure all the talk about vivarium and chimera he's referring to having lunch with a single mom.

[@zacherysmith8637]

5 minutes into the video ... still on the 2nd line ... damn, Aes

[@BlackishUniversity]

lol. I think that all the time. You can legit pause every other line and try to decipher.

[@BifMcFly]

He spent months living a barn in the middle of nowhere when he wrote and recorded this album. This track is about that. And his experiences growing up in New York. And the extreme between them.

[@brianhansen6189]

He actually has a track with Del The Funky Homosapien, the rapper on that Gorillaz track you were singing

[@BlackishUniversity]

I feel like it's been forever since I've heard Gorillaz, thanks! I'll check it out.

[@roccy5735]

Hey think when he says make a pipe out of anything he could mean like a smoke pipe, like turning a soda can into a pipe or whatever

[@thatchzembo1001]

Stings real name is Gordon Sumner

[@terrestrialgmusic]

So "take a dive in the cellophane" he means he's smoking a nick bag. "Make a pipe out of anything" if you've ever hung out with stoners- they are pretty inventive when you don't have smoking gear.

[@iesika7387]

@@l3ul2t considering "smells like Medallin", it's crack

[@psilocinesthesia]

As for other Aes songs to check out, you really can't go wrong. Daylight & Nightlight, Flashflood, Big Bang, Gopher Guts, Blood Sandwich, None Shall Pass, Zero Dark Thirty, 9-5er Anthem, No Regrets, Rings, Jumping Coffin, The Gates, Pizza Alley...the guy just doesn't have a bad song, and never fails to deliver. If you want something more straightforward, try Kirby or Long-Legged Larry.

[@OliverCBabcock]

my understanding is this song is about the neighborhood and apt he lived on the corner of Howard st in the bay area

[@rotisserieprotocol3582]

I really enjoy your breakdown of this song and to be honest it is a song I listen to because I think it bops. But a song I think you should check out is Flamingo Pink (obviously by Aes). All of his songs are incredibly dense like this (Mystery Fish) but this has a much different tone than this and it really has some good lines and maybe you'd enjoy breaking it down.

[@thedangerpickle]

Pleeeease react to Aesop Rock- Cycles to Gehenna, Drums On The Wheel, or Jumping Coffin

[@dagrimmreepa]

Make a pipe outta anything, take 5. Weed, 5 hits. Becomes 5678. He's a stoner. He moved into a barn to get away from people, that's what the opening 4 lines refer to, and the hook.

[@kiwisheep9911]

This was excellent! I would love to see you react to Pizza Alley by Aesop.

[@BlackishUniversity]

I'm about to do pizza shop for you. I'll have it up this afternoon. Jumping into it now!

[@BifMcFly]

"Make a pipe out of anything" is in reference to a smoking pipe. "Take 5 take a dive in the cellophane" cellophane baggie you keep the smoke in. "Turn 5 into 5678" minutes wasting by in the moment of influence.

[@doomtho42]

Your analysis of the lyrics is really good for the most part, although there is at least one part that I think you slightly misunderstood (I say “at least” because I paused the video right after this part, so there may be one or a few more little things later on). You alluded to the possibility of the person described as being a “crackhead” (I know that term sounds kind of derogatory, but it’s such a common colloquialism and honestly, in my experience, even people who smoke crack use it - and yes, unfortunately I was addicted to both crack and heroin, so that is first-hand experience), and you were spot-on - the line “peg leg, smells like Medellin / middle of the night, make a pipe out of anything” is referring to smoking crack (Medellin = the city in Colombia, famous for being the home of Pablo Escobar, and also a commonly used term for referring to anything cocaine-related), using whatever the person has on hand as a crack pipe (side note: there’s nothing worse than having enough cash to buy a dime, but your pipe just broke and you don’t also have the $3 to get a new stem and chewy/choy/chore, because that means you either have to smoke with whatever tiny little stem you have left or try to make something serviceable out of foil or a can or whatever else you can find - and you’re gonna lose out on all your push-thru hits too). Similarly, the next couplet where he says something like “take 5, dive in the cellophane” is referring to pulling a rock out of the cellophane it’s being stored in, and I assume the “take 5” bit is in reference to how much time between hits a person would take while smoking crack - and 5 minutes is just about right. Then the 2nd line of the couplet is “turn 5 into 5, 6, 7, 8” - which I believe would be referring to the habit of a crack user breaking their rocks up as they get to the bottom of their stash, so as to get more hits out of it, though it is possible I’m mistaken on that (I don’t think I am, but it’s possible). As an interesting bit of trivia, I’ve heard from a fairly trusted/reliable source that Aes himself used to have a bit of a crack habit. Obviously I don’t know that for sure, and even if it is true I absolutely don’t judge him or think it should change a thing about what anyone thinks of him or how people view him - the only reason I mention it at all is because I think it might give some insight into his awareness/understanding of the experience.

[@Br1han]

Great breakdown. Song is about his experience moving to san fran(i believe) and living amongst homeless/vulnerable people. Thats a basic understanding, anyhow

[@BlackishUniversity]

I thought that one was rough, then I got to Daylight. jeez. lol. I can't wait to get into more, I'm gonna aim for something more recent.

[@Br1han]

@Black(ish) University klutz is decent one to check out. Relatively straight forward. Cheers, brother

[@erik9775]

Love Aes Could you peep Daylight by Aesop Rock? Also, Prisoner 1 & 2 by Lupe Fiasco

[@johnnybags2324]

Great reaction. Check out his song “Long Legged Larry” if you wanna go to the opposite end of the complexity spectrum. You should also hear “Get Out of the Car”, “Shrunk” and “Kirby” in that order to get a deeper understanding of who Aesop Rock is as a person. They’re from the same album as “Mystery Fish”.

[@BlackishUniversity]

I'll check them out! Thanks for giving me a few to get started with. I didn't realize he would have such an extensive catalog!

[@johnnybags2324]

@@BlackishUniversity the amount of songs he has is insane

[@MrTotalybadical]

Subbing for more aesop. you should check out PROF.

[@shawndinkins9329]

i need help because im changing the world

[@skydoom8991]

I think he said "sunder"

[@ygrahol]

Hello. I have a request when you get time please. Check out Culture Sick, Marlon Craft and Bluffing please. Thank you so much

[@rezn138able]

You check out fryerstarter

[@BlackishUniversity]

not yet

[@rezn138able]

@@BlackishUniversity it’s another song about something so simple but ace goes full send. Pure substance no filler.

[@kingbicgaming8673]

Take a dive in cellophane is a drug reference make a pipe also a drug reference

[@kingbicgaming8673]

In fact this is all off

[@Tracer_Sweat]

St.Vincent de Paul is a thrift store