Last year, the veteran indie-rap hero Aesop Rock teamed up with the psychedelic producer Tobacco to release the album Malibu Ken. This year, on his own this time, Aesop released an excellent single called “Rogue Wave.” Rogue Wave remains one of rap’s most underrated, consistently inventive voices, so it’s cool to hear that he now has a new project out in the world: A soundtrack to a video game where you play a giant middle finger.
The new Freedom Finger is a side-scrolling fighting game in which you, the player, become a giant middle finger fighting various enemies. The game is heavy on music; it features tracks from people like Ty Segall, Power Trip, John Maus, Metz, and Aesop Rock’s buddy Tobacco. The game also has an original soundtrack from Aesop Rock. And as of right now, you don’t need to play the game to hear the soundtrack.
Today, Aesop has released Freedom Finger (Music From The Game), his soundtrack album. It’s not a proper album, or even really an EP, but it is new Aesop Rock music. The record features three new fully-formed Aesop Rock songs: “Play Dead,” “KWOP,” and “Hand On The Wheel.” They’re all good. We also get instrumentals of those songs and “bonus beats” — quick few-second bursts of instrumental music. Aesop produced the entire record himself, and you can stream it below.
The Freedom Finger soundtrack is out now on Rhymesayers.
