Stanisland Magazine

New hip-hop EP Miami Lice: Season Four from Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman’s Lice project is a diverting listen.

There’s a real excitement when Homeboy Sandman and Aesop Rock drop individual projects. Their passion for the game is clear, with a desire to craft exemplary bodies of work that few can match. While their capabilities are discussed within hip-hop circles, they’re lauded — perhaps not enough. Today, they release their latest Lice collaboration, Miami Lice: Season Four.

Miami Lice: Season Four Review

Once again, there’s chemistry, mellow, albeit predictable. The production is whimsical, though engaging enough to provide a foundation for the two to lay consummate rhyme schemes loaded with an impeccably creative lexicon.

From the get-go, Rock and Sandman disperse a wide range of multi-syllabic commentary with wizard-like use of the English language, taking advantage of idioms and an abstraction few can contend with.

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Throughout Miami Lice: Season Four‘s 27-minute runtime, it presents amusing lyrics and experimental music courtesy of Aesop Rock‘s own compositional talent. The two remain in sync, like a tennis rally; they synergise through their own verbose space, like on the opening track “Who Sent You“, where Homeboy spits: “Girls and boys, abduct the world, the world’s annoyed, it wants to whine/ I burn no cross so I don’t get cross when you cross the line.” On tracks like “Burnt Mauve“, they trade bars, interchanging with intricate wordplay. Aesop Rock once again raps his chin off: “The ferryman is here to usher you to fire and frost/ Catch you as an eidolon,” before Homeboy Sandman chimes in: “Up the volume on a nascent hum/ Cats be spacing ’cause I said it in an ancient tongue.”

The Verdict

Overall, it’s enjoyable, fun, and waggish in its manner, where the two prove once more that when they show up, they really do show up. So far, they — let alone as Lice — prove they rarely falter. You can never go wrong with an album/EP from either rapper, and if you see their collaborative efforts, expect the rumble of thunder.

Full Tracklist

All tracks are produced by Aesop Rock.

1. Who Sent You?
2. Uh‑Oh
3. Moving Day
4. Burnt Mauve
5. The 1
6. Homework
7. The Burgers
8. Evolution

Stream It

You can stream the full extended play on all major platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube) as well as a digital download from Bandcamp.