None Shall Pass

None Shall Pass
Studio album by Aesop Rock
Released	August 28, 2007 (2007-08-28)
Genre	Hip-hop
Length	63:45
Label	Definitive Jux
Producer	Aesop Rock Blockhead El-P Rob Sonic
Aesop Rock chronology
Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives (2005) None Shall Pass (2007) Skelethon (2012)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	74/100 [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	B− [3]
BBC	favorable [4]
Entertainment Weekly	A− [5]
HipHopDX	4.0/5 [6]
Pitchfork Media	7.5/10 [7]
PopMatters	[8]
Slant Magazine	[9]
Spin	favorable [10]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[11]

None Shall Pass is the fifth studio album by American hip-hop artist Aesop Rock. It was released on Definitive Jux on August 28, 2007. ^[12]

Music

The album features production by Blockhead, El-P, Rob Sonic, and Aesop Rock himself. ^[13] The album features more live instrumentation than Aesop's previous work, including guitars by his then-wife Allyson Baker of the Dirty Ghosts; other instruments used on the album include bass and drums. ^[14] Guest appearances include DJ Big Wiz, Cage, Breeze Brewin, El-P, Rob Sonic, and John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. ^[13] The album's artwork was done by Jeremy Fish. ^[15]

In the leadup to the release of None Shall Pass, Aesop stated that his goal with the album was to increase his focus on storytelling: "I wanted to capture certain parts of my life, like when I used to skateboard a lot or when I was at junior high or when I was a kid. I want to almost take myself out of the equation, I didn't want to rap about 'me me me', I wanted it [to be] more visual and paint pictures of things." ^[14]

Release

Following its release, None Shall Pass debuted at number 50 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 13,000 copies in its first week through independent hip-hop label Definitive Jux. ^[16]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Keep Off the Lawn"	Ian Bavitz	Aesop Rock	3:45
2.	"None Shall Pass"	Bavitz	Blockhead	4:03
3.	"Catacomb Kids"	Bavitz	Aesop Rock	4:07
4.	"Bring Back Pluto"	Bavitz	Blockhead Aesop Rock [a]	4:29
5.	"Fumes"	Bavitz	Blockhead	5:00
6.	"Getaway Car" (with Cage and Breeze Brewin)	Bavitz Christian Palko Paul Smith	Blockhead Aesop Rock [a]	3:15
7.	"39 Thieves"	Bavitz	Aesop Rock	4:15
8.	"The Harbor Is Yours"	Bavitz	Blockhead Aesop Rock [a]	3:58
9.	"Citronella"	Bavitz	Aesop Rock	4:53
10.	"Gun for the Whole Family" (with El-P)	Bavitz Jaime Meline	El-P	3:53
11.	"Five Fingers"	Bavitz	Aesop Rock Blockhead [a]	4:06
12.	"No City"	Bavitz	Blockhead El-P [a]	4:28
13.	"Dark Heart News" (with Rob Sonic)	Bavitz Robert Smith	Rob Sonic	3:59
14.	"Coffee" (with John Darnielle)	Bavitz John Darnielle	Blockhead [b]	9:34
Total length:				63:45

Bonus Edition

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"None Shall Pass - DJ Big Wiz Megablast Mix"	DJ Big Wiz	23:34
Total length:			87:19

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^[b]} Blockhead is credited for producing "Coffee", but Aesop Rock produced the hidden track "Pigs", which starts at 5:15.

Personnel

Contributing artists

• Allyson Baker – guitar (tracks 1, 3, 8, 12 and 14)
• Carson Binks – bass guitar (tracks 3 and 8)
• Derek Layes – bass guitar (track 4)
• Big Hollis – additional vocals (track 1)
• Camu Tao – additional vocals (track 1)
• Rob Sonic – additional vocals (tracks 1 and 8)
• El-P – additional vocals (track 7)
• DJ Big Wiz – scratching (all tracks except 10)

Production

• Ken Heitmueller – mastering
• Joey Raia – mixing
• Jeremy Fish – artwork, layout, design

Charts

Chart (2007)	Peak position
US Billboard 200 [17]	50
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [18]	35

References

1. "None Shall Pass by Aesop Rock". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
2. Brown, Marisa. "Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass". AllMusic . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
3. Gordon, Scott (September 5, 2007). "Aesop Rock: None Shall Pass". The A.V. Club . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
4. Pattison, Louis (2007). "Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass - Review". BBC . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
5. Drumming, Neil (August 24, 2007). "None Shall Pass". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
6. J-23 (September 5, 2007). "Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass". HipHopDX . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
7. Crock, Jason (August 28, 2007). "Aesop Rock: None Shall Pass". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
8. Boeckel, Gentry (August 30, 2007). "Aesop Rock: None Shall Pass". PopMatters . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
9. Keefe, Jonathan (December 14, 2007). "Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass". Slant Magazine . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
10. Golianopoulos, Thomas (September 19, 2007). "Aesop Rock, 'None Shall Pass' (Def Jux)". Spin . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
11. Chadwicked. "Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass". Tiny Mix Tapes . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
12. Ayers, Michael D. (May 29, 2007). "Aesop Rock Taps Into 'Bizarro World Darkness'". Billboard . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
13. "Aesop Rock Opens Gates for 'None Shall Pass'". Spin . May 9, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
14. "Aesop Rock Interview". Caught in the Crossfire. August 14, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
15. "An interview with Aesop Rock". BrooklynVegan . August 27, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
16. Cohen, Jonathan (September 5, 2007). "'High School Musical 2' Starts Third Week At No. 1". Billboard . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
17. "Aesop Rock Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
18. "Aesop Rock Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2016.

External links

• None Shall Pass at Discogs (list of releases)