Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name
Aesop Rock, is an American
hip hop recording artist and producer residing in Portland, Oregon. He was at the forefront of the new wave of
underground and
alternative hip hop acts that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was signed to
El-P's
Definitive Jux label until it went on hiatus in 2010. betterPropaganda ranked him at number 19 at the
Top 100 Artists of the Decade.