Aesop Rock TOBACCO Malibu Ken

Aesop Rock & TOBACCO team as Malibu Ken for new LP, share "Acid King"

Indie-rap lifer Aesop Rock and psychedelic electronic master TOBACCO (aka Tom Fec of Black Moth Super Rainbow) have teamed up as Malibu Ken, and they’ll release their self-titled debut album on January 18 via Rhymesayers (pre-order). Aesop said:

TOBACCO and I have thrown around the idea of doing a project together since we first toured over a decade ago. I find his production to be something special, and always wanted to see what I could bring to it. We recently found time to record some songs, and Malibu Ken was born. I brought a few stories to the table, but also did my best to let the production dictate the subject matter throughout. We hope you like the soup.

The lead single is “Acid King,” which sees TOBACCO providing trippy, gooey synths that sound nothing like a typical hip hop beat, and Aesop’s abstract style is perfect for it. The song comes with an animated video (directed by longtime Aesop collaborator Rob Shaw) that plays off the album artwork, and is literally face-melting. Check it out, along with the tracklist, below.

Tracklist
1. Corn Maze
2. Tuesday
3. Save Our Ship
4. Sword Box
5. Dog Years
6. Acid King
7. Suicide Big Gulp
8. 1+1=13
9. Churro
10. Purple Moss