Skelethon

Skelethon
Studio album by Aesop Rock
Released	July 10, 2012 (2012-07-10)
Genre	Hip-hop
Length	55:10
Label	Rhymesayers Entertainment
Producer	Aesop Rock
Aesop Rock chronology
None Shall Pass (2007) Skelethon (2012) The Impossible Kid (2016)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100 [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
BBC	favorable [3]
Consequence of Sound	B [4]
Drowned in Sound	9/10 [5]
HipHopDX	3.5/5 [6]
NME	6/10 [7]
Pitchfork Media	8.2/10 [8]
PopMatters	[9]
Spin	7/10 [10]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[11]

Skelethon is the sixth studio album by American hip-hop artist Aesop Rock. It was released through Rhymesayers Entertainment on July 10, 2012. ^[12]

Music

The album is entirely produced by Aesop Rock himself. ^[13] Guest appearances include Allyson Baker, Hanni El Khatib, Rob Sonic, Kimya Dawson, Murs, and Blueprint. ^[14] The album's artwork was done by Aryz. ^[15]

Aesop has described death as a recurring motif on the album, stating:

It felt like everything around me was dying: people, relationships, all plant life in my apartment, you name it—it's dead. That's where the Skelethon title came from, and imagery associated with shit dying is prevalent. That said, I don't think there are many "sad" songs. It's more just like "ahhh I'm exploding"—I want it to sound urgent. ^[16]

Release

Music videos were created for "Zero Dark Thirty", ^[17] "ZZZ Top", ^[18] and "Cycles to Gehenna". ^[19] A music video for "ZZZ Top" features the martial arts master Patti Li. ^[20]

The album debuted at number 21 on the Billboard 200 with 14,000 copies sold in its first week. ^[21] It has sold over 52,000 copies as of April 2016. ^[22]

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Skelethon received an average score of 79% based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". ^[1]

It was listed by HipHopDX as one of the "Top 25 Albums of 2012". ^[23]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Leisureforce" (featuring Allyson Baker and Hanni El Khatib)	4:43
2.	"ZZZ Top" (featuring Allyson Baker)	4:15
3.	"Cycles to Gehenna"	4:00
4.	"Zero Dark Thirty" (featuring Rob Sonic)	3:21
5.	"Fryerstarter"	3:28
6.	"Ruby '81"	2:33
7.	"Crows 1" (featuring Kimya Dawson)	4:19
8.	"Crows 2" (featuring Rob Sonic and Murs)	2:30
9.	"Racing Stripes" (featuring Kimya Dawson)	3:23
10.	"1,000 O'Clock"	3:58
11.	"Homemade Mummy" (featuring Rob Sonic)	2:46
12.	"Grace" (featuring Hanni El Khatib)	3:38
13.	"Saturn Missiles"	3:37
14.	"Tetra"	4:41
15.	"Gopher Guts"	3:58
16.	"Dokken Rules" (deluxe edition bonus track; featuring Rob Sonic [24] )	3:59
17.	"BMX" (deluxe edition bonus track; featuring Blueprint and Rob Sonic [24] )	3:34

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
US Billboard 200 [25]	21
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [26]	1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [27]	5

References

1. "Skelethon by Aesop Rock". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
2. Jeffries, David. "Aesop Rock - Skelethon". AllMusic . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
3. Kennedy, Adam (2012). "Aesop Rock - Skelethon - Review". BBC . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
4. Freed, Nick (July 17, 2012). "Aesop Rock – Skelethon". Consequence of Sound . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
5. Thomas, Sean (November 23, 2012). "Aesop Rock - Skelethon". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
6. Cooper, Roman (July 18, 2012). "Aesop Rock - Skelethon". HipHopDX . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
7. Cashmore, Pete (July 8, 2012). "Aesop Rock - 'Skelethon'". NME . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
8. Weiss, Jeff (July 10, 2012). "Aesop Rock: Skelethon". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
9. Small, Colin (August 27, 2012). "Aesop Rock: Skelethon". PopMatters . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
10. Reeves, Mosi (July 10, 2012). "Aesop Rock, 'Skelethon' (Rhymesayers)". Spin . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
11. Rag, Ben. "Aesop Rock - Skelethon". Tiny Mix Tapes . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
12. Horowitz, Steven (July 10, 2012). "Aesop Rock "Skelethon" Album Stream". HipHopDX . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
13. "Q&A: Aesop Rock Worked Harder Than Ever for Sixth Album, 'Skelethon'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
14. "Aesop Rock Announces Album Details | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
15. "Juxtapoz Magazine - ARYZ for Aesop Rock "Skelethon" Album Cover" . Retrieved January 15, 2017.
16. Cohen, Ian (May 16, 2012). "Aesop Rock - Interview". Pitchfork . Retrieved November 13, 2023.
17. Norwood, Charlie (May 1, 2012). "Video Premiere: Aesop Rock, 'Zero Dark Thirty'". MTV . Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
18. Suarez, Jessica (June 29, 2012). "Aesop Rock Gets Revenge in "ZZZ Top" Video". MTV . Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
19. Weiss, Sam (August 22, 2012). "Video: Aesop Rock "Cycles To Gehenna"". Complex . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
20. Eakin, Marah (June 29, 2012). "Today in music videos: Aesop Rock calls on kung fu master Patti Li for "ZZZ Top"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
21. Kaufman, Gil (July 18, 2012). "Frank Ocean's Channel Orange Album Sales Land Him At #2". MTV . Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
22. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016.
23. "HipHopDX's Top 25 Albums Of 2012". HipHopDX . December 26, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
24. "Skelethon (Deluxe Edition) by Aesop Rock". Bandcamp . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
25. "Aesop Rock Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
26. "Aesop Rock Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
27. "Aesop Rock Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2016.

External links

• Skelethon at Discogs (list of releases)