Aesop - Black Libra CD

Aesop may be the most underrated lyricist in the Living Legends crew. Hailing from Fresno, he holds the belt for dropping some of the earliest releases from the crew (starting in 1996). He's released 10 solo albums in his tenure, and has one on deck since 2006. The reason you never hear about Aesop is because most of those albums are out of print.

I own 4 albums by Aesop, and this is definitely my favorite one. Aesop has the most visceral, energetic flow in the crew. The most alluring thing to me, is that he always sounds hungry and grounded in strict humbleness. He's your everyday type of guy with some very insightful things to say. And comparatively, there are some excellent standouts on this album, such as "Hit List", "He's so Fresh!!!", & the lush "U Can Feel This". The crowing moment on the disc would be "Love Your Life". A very inspired tune with instantly memorable production. It's light on posse tracks for a Living Legends release, but Basik & The Grouch do stop by for a dope track on "Give em What They Want". The production is straight banging on this album. P. Original produces most of the album, but Roddy Rod, The Grouch & N8 the GR8 stop by to drop some beats. LL fans will notice Aesop's production is quite a bit different here than his past works with Elusive's darker production. It actually works out to be a nice change in formula.

If you dig this album, I would definitely recommend picking up "The Supahuman" (1997), which is his second best, featuring dope production from Elusive (a producer not to be slept on!). Overall, this is one of the finest solo joints in the entire Living Legends crew. Definitely don't sleep on this hidden gem.