Aesop Rock, born Ian Matthias Bavitz, is an American rapper and producer known for his dense, highly visual writing and unusually rich vocabulary. Active since the late 1990s, he has become a major figure in independent hip-hop through abstract, introspective lyrics often touched by dark humor and backed by experimental production. With albums such as Labor Days, None Shall Pass and The Impossible Kid, Aesop Rock has built a distinctive and influential body of work within alternative rap.