Malibu Ken

Malibu Ken

With trap and mumble rap the dominant sound of the decade, it's this kind of experimentation that the genre needs in order to remain fun and fresh.

Malibu Ken is pure fun for total weirdos.

With 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.

Malibu Ken is wonky, unique electro-psychedelic thunk that is somewhat pretty. It's crisp, sensational perplexity, and very hard to overthrow.

Tobacco'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.

Random references and non-sensical metaphors aside, Malibu Ken is proof that abstract hip-hop is very much alive. While cloud rap and trap beats continue to grab headlines and garner streams, the potential of experimental rap may lie within the marriage between two aging and well-established artists.