Aesop Rock

Aesop Rock (born Ian Matthias Bavitz 05.06.14)
Aesop Rock is an American hip-hop artist, best known for his single Daylight in 2001.

Net Worth: Rich Glare posted an online article in 2014 stating that Aesop Rock had a net worth of one million USD.

Childhood: Aesop Rock was born in New York City to Paul and Jameija Bavitz. He is a middle child, with two brothers, Chris (a year older) and Graham (a year younger). The brothers were brought up Catholic, but, as Aesop mentions in some of his tracks, he later became Agnostic due to confusion about the state of the Catholic Church. In 1990, Aesop attended Northport High School before graduating in 1994. He went on to study at Boston University in Massachusetts and gained his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 1998. While there, Aesop met James Anthony Simon - better known by his stage name, Blockhead - who listened to his rapping and decided to promote him and his career. Blockhead went on to become Aesop Rock's producer.

Career: While at university, Aesop Rock self-funded his first album, Music For Earthworms, in 1997. Due to his online promotion and a music video for Abandon All Hope, the album sold over 300 copies, leading to his creation of the Appleseed EP which received good critical acclaim. Both were produced by Blockhead. In 1999, following the success in the underground hip-hop circuit of Appleseed, Aesop Rock was approached by Mush over signing him on for the record label. His 2000 album, Float, featured guest appearances from Vast Aire, Slug, and Dose One. It was produced by Aesop Rock and Blockhead, with help from Omega One on one of the tracks. After the release and success of Float, Aesop Rock signed with Definitive Jux and released the album Labour Days in 2001. The album focused on the pursuit of money and the concept of 'wage slaves'. The most well-known track from the album was it's single, Daylight. Due to the single's success, it was released again as part of the Daylight EP with a new version, Nightlight, which told a different story with largely the same lyrics. 2003 saw the release of Bazooka Tooth. The album was produced almost entirely by Aesop Rock, with three tracks from Blockhead and one from EL-P - the Def Jux CEO. The album had two singles: No Jumper Cables and Freeze. In 2004, Bavitz released Build Your Own Bazooka Tooth which comprised of MP3 files for the instrumentals and a cappellas for the songs. Aesop Rock released Fast Cars, Danger, Fire And Knives as an EP in 2005. This was followed by the album None Shall Pass in 2007 which received great reviews from critics. After the release of None Shall Pass, Aesop Rock made appearances in other artists' work and collaborating in ensemble pieces. He finally returned in 2012 with the album Skelethon, which debuted at number 21 on Billboard's 200 list.

Personal Life: In 2005, Aesop Rock married the guitarist and vocalist for rock band Dirty Ghosts, although the couple were divorced prior to the release of Skelethon in 2012. In August, 2001, Aesop suffered from an nervous breakdown. This is the inspiration for his track One Of Four on his Daylight EP. In 2008, collaborator and friend Camu Tao died of lung cancer inspiring multiple songs on the album Skelethon.