Back in the day, Avirex made jeans to match its Butter Softs, backpacks and headphones, and Pumas were the daily uniform of choice to help carry the torch through the underground. The Impossible Kid is a throwback to heady lyrics over space-age, handcrafted beat mining by Aesop Rock himself with a little help from his friends in the form of MAGNET’s hometown Philly-reppers, the oft-sung, self-described blisscore band Grimace Federation. Writing of bliss, Aesop Rock has blissfully, if not accidentally, stumbled into a 20-year indie hip-hop career amassing a legion of not so much fans as rabid maniacs ready to feast on even a fart of his that might hit wax. (Audibly, that is; sorry for the visual.) From blunted bedroom nights with a drum machine to two decades down the line releasing one of the finest true hip-hop offerings since Moment Of Truth. Always listen to the Weathermen.
—Scott Zuppardo