The Impossible Kid (album)

The Impossible Kid is the seventh studio album by American hip hop artist Aesop Rock. It was released on April 29, 2016, through Rhymesayers Entertainment. The production was handled by Aesop Rock himself. The cover art was created by Alex Pardee.

To accompany the release of the album, Rob Shaw directed an abridged shot-for-shot remake of The Shining using small figurines, which was set to the album in its entirety. Additionally, music videos were created for "Rings", "Blood Sandwich", "Lazy Eye", "Dorks", "Kirby", "Shrunk", and "Get Out of the Car"; released eight years after the death of the song's subject and Aesop's good friend, Camu Tao.

Reception
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, The Impossible Kid received an average score of 85 based on 11 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Kyle Mullin of Exclaim! gave the album an 8 out of 10 and said: "For years, Aesop Rock has been beloved for his ambitious, loquacious lyricism, but on The Impossible Kid, he's reached new artistic heights by using that elaborate wordplay to offer us a simple yet powerful glimpse at his scarred psyche."

Track listing
All songs written and produced by Aesop Rock, except where noted.

Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

Musicians

 * Aesop Rock – lead vocals
 * DJ Zone – scratching
 * Grimace Federation – synthesizer (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 13, 14), Rhodes (3), guitar (4, 12), organ (6)
 * James Lynch – bass guitar (2)
 * Hanni El Khatib – additional vocals (3)
 * Rob Sonic – additional vocals (5)
 * Allyson Baker – guitar (7)
 * Carnage the Executioner – beatboxing (11)
 * Kimya Dawson – additional vocals (11)
 * Chuck D – additional vocals (12)
 * Onry Ozzborn – additional vocals (13)

Production

 * Aesop Rock – executive producer
 * Brent Sayers – executive producer
 * Slug – executive producer, project coordinator
 * Joe LaPorta – mastering
 * Joey Raia – mixing
 * Skye Rossi – project coordinator

Design

 * Jason Cook – project coordinator
 * Alex Pardee – artwork, layout