Aeon Grey
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Aeon Grey

Band Hip Hop Spoken Word

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"As paranoid and anti-establishment as ever,"

Iowa’s hip-hop fans now have something they can hold up high and be very proud of. Luke Driscoll, AKA Aeon Grey has knocked one out of the park with his new batch of rhymes and beats, Primate Curriculum. As paranoid and anti-establishment as ever, Grey holds court with a collection of urban outcasts ready to shake the foundations of what society holds sacred. These are not the bling infested boasts of your average MTV rapper, this is smart and scathing social commentary from a young man fed up with “the system�. Take heed Des Moines, this is the new curriculum for the new school. - Art Scene


"Des Moines Register"

Des Moines’ Luke Driscoll raps his way nimbly around jazzy beats, through a fifth album rife with war-time tension and a distaste for soul-killing corporate culture. These 13 hip-hop tracks only improve as the album plays out. - Des Moines Register


"The disc is deep and brooding"

The old rap/hip-hop rivalry between the East Coast and the West Coast is officially dead. Why? Because the Midwest has been responsible for some of the most groundbreaking hip-hop and rap in years. Proof of that can be seen in Minnesota's Atmosphere, or even the up-and-coming scene here in Milwaukee. And now you can add the state of Iowa to that list.

Yes, Iowa. But try not to bring up the fact that aeon grey (no, his name is not capitalized) is from Iowa around the man himself, because he's not a huge fan of his surroundings. And if you listen to his newest offering, marionetteworkbench, you'll hear exactly why.

The disc is deep and brooding, reminiscent in spots of work from Aesop Rock's Bazooka Tooth. Dark and moody bass lines thud along while aeon drops lyrics about his rage against corporate America. He raps about what he knows: being a starving artist hell-bent on creating his work at no matter what cost. And he handles it all-- the anger, frustration, disappointment, and sadness-- with a skilled musical hand.

And as if marionetteworkbench weren't enough to keep grey busy, he also recently released Lost Cause with fellow Iowan wordsmith, Angle. This duo, known as The Paper Cuts, pick up where marionetteworkbench left off.

Lost Cause has all the darkness and emotion grey's album is jammed full of. But the production on Lost Cause feels even more thorough than the prior disc. That's not to say grey's solo disc is lacking, but rather The Paper Cuts have put together an unbreakable brick shithouse of an album.

You may recognize Angle from a feature he did on the Tack Fu disc. Just as he did on that disc, Angle weaves words with ease and clarity, letting us all in on his thoughts and beliefs. He is a perfect match to grey's style, and the two work off each other as if they were the same person in parts.

The fourth track, "Spirits/utopia", is an amazing track about being beat down, but fighting to keep your spirits up. By far, it's my favorite track on the disc, and it's a great example of how eerily perfect these two work together.

So the East and West Coast better get used to being in second and third place, because if people like aeon grey and Angle keep pushing the sound of hip-hop along the evolutionary path, the Midwest may very well stake its claim as the birthplace of the new sound. - Tastes Like Chicken - Wayne Chinnsang


"AEON GREY - PRIMATE CURRICULUM"

This is the second or third album I've reviewed from the Iowa-based MC Aeon Grey, and this kid just continues to get better with every outing. On an album that was backed by a grant from the Iowa Arts Council, Grey proves that he's worth every dime they handed over, and then some. The beats are back and the rhymes are smart as always, but the overall feel and production of this album feels more well thought out and mature than earlier work. Feel the heaviness of "American Dreams" and the intelligence of "Apocalypse How?", and remember the name Aeon Grey while you do so. Because if he keeps up at the pace he's been maintaining the past couple years, it won't be long before the rest of the world catches on. - Tastes Like Chicken - Wayne Chinnsang


"PopMatters.com"

The cover of Aeon Grey’s Primate Curriculum depicts a monkey sitting with his right arm resting on his right knee. Wild, huh? Well, get this—both of the monkey’s wrists are shackled to a boom box. It’s an interesting cultural statement, especially if the “primates” referenced in the album title can be considered symbols of humanity. We’ve seen the interplay of primates and music before, notably on Me’shell Ndegeocello’s album cover for Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape. Known for making bold artistic statements, Ndegeocello arguably turned down the volume of her political acumen on Cookie. By contrast, Aeon Grey cranks it up on his release and, with the exception of one track, the result straddles the line between a concept album promoting human evolution and a rant that laments one social problem after another. The beauty of the album is its commitment to its messages. Grey is quick to point out the problems, whether the problems are intertwined within the educational system ("Violent By"), wrapped up in the political system ("American Dreams"), or merely imbedded within the human psyche ("Nature"). Primate Curriculum is ambitious, experimental, and certainly different from the hip-hop norm. For that, it deserves applause. It appears, however, that the experiments don’t always succeed and, for all the problems Grey manages to target, the album is lopsidedly short on solutions. The strength of the release is its production, handled by Acebandage’s cymbal-laden “S.O.S.” featuring Mike Jupiter, Sabieas ("Makeshift", “Violent By”, and “Resident Evil"), and Aeon Grey himself. Aeon Grey’s production seems strikingly superior to his mostly staccato flow. Often, the delivery of the content, though intense and sophisticated, fails to match the quality of the music. When it does, Aeon Grey is at his best, as demonstrated by “S.O.S.”, “Makeshift”, “Nature”, “American Dreams”, and “Average Joe”. However, the most brilliant track, by far, is “Concrete Flower”, an ode and homage to a woman of breathtaking inner beauty. Both poetic and disarmingly conversational, this song reminds us primates what we should use our opposable thumbs for. - PopMatters.com - Quentin B. Huff


Discography

2001 Aeon Grey - Lousy Person Ep
2001 Babel Section - Fostering Epoch Ep
2001 Scruples - The Parlance of EP
2003 Aeon Grey - Lost in a Crowd Ep
2004 Lost Cause - The Papercuts
2004 Aeon Grey - MarionetteWorkBench Ep
2004 Aeon Grey - Average 12 inch
2005 Cheaper Than War: Volume 1
2006 Aeon Grey - Primate Curriculum
2007 Aeon Grey - Dead Meat EP
2008 Maxilla Blue LP

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Bio

From a modest Mid West upbringing, Aeon Grey has been molded by the cracks of a broken family and a selective education system. Ten years of experience and struggle against the stereotypes of popular hip hop culture, as well as the norms to which Iowans are expected to live by, Aeon Grey continues down the path of self discovery. With no interest in greatness, and no delusions of grandeur, Aeon Grey emerges as nothing more but another 80's baby walking on the broken limbs of humanity with a neuse on his neck, searching for others willing to use the neuse to create a safety net. Grow, build, and create community.