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Jan 22, 2019When the last few tracks roll around, it becomes clear that Tobacco and Aes are sticking with the same formula for the album’s duration. Tobacco will gradually layer more variously-filtered keys, Aes will find something to chant for the chorus, and then some distorted vocals will close the track out. Two albums of this might get tiring, but for 34 minutes, it works perfectly despite the predictability.
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Jan 22, 2019With its 34-minute runtime, its cartoon cover art, and the pervading levity of Tobacco’s beats, Malibu Ken may seem at first like a minor work. But there’s nothing diminutive about a record this sharply written. It’s a side project every bit as substantial as Aesop Rock’s proper albums. That it also happens to be more fun than most of them is a bonus.
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Jul 25, 2019While there are a few tracks that take left turns, most of the album follows a similar template and sound palette, which leads to a sense of sameness for such a short album. Malibu Ken is an Aesop Rock joint, which means it is worth listening to you until you decipher every pun and metaphor. If it feels less weighty and consequential compared to his solo albums, maybe that is point.
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Mar 11, 2019Malibu Ken is wonky, unique electro-psychedelic thunk that is somewhat pretty. It's crisp, sensational perplexity, and very hard to overthrow.
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The WireMar 7, 2019Tobacco’s beats sound like a mescaline trip through a haunted theme park from Scooby Doo, while the Def Jux legend in a different lifetime raps about an eagle snacking on a cat like a churro. Pretty standard stuff really. [Mar 2019, p.65]
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Jan 22, 2019Tobacco's production throughout the album isn't quite as lo-fi or dirty-sounding as his solo work, and his presence is clearly felt, but he doesn't overpower Aesop. The two are a fitting match for each other, and their collaboration works as well as fans would expect.
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Jan 22, 2019The result is an influx of psychedelic mania that ends up enhancing his counterpart’s festering lyrical voyages. Random references and non-sensical metaphors aside, Malibu Ken is proof that abstract hip-hop is very much alive.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 27 out of 29
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Mixed: 1 out of 29
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Negative: 1 out of 29
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Mar 8, 2020what a joke for real this ain't real rap therefore ZERO u all need help for real im bout to get another account shut down
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Feb 14, 2019
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Feb 4, 2019