None Shall Pass

Definitive Jux Records
Jeremy Fish

I looked into the music video “None Shall Pass” by Definitive Jux artist Aesop Rock. The animation begins in black and white with a man walking to a time card machine. He then walks into an upside down skull, which flies away. It emerges out of a large skull building at the end of a block resembling New York City. As the skull flies above the city we venture down to street level as the citizens begin to emerge as the day begins. We cut to the skull flying as color creeps in, which signifies the coming day. More people begin to emerge from their buildings and are now in color. A pig falls from the sky and lands on a man's head that turns into a stop motion version of Aesop Rock’s head. More citizens continue to come out as Ace walks across the town dressed as a lion this time, as this happens a shadow passes over the screen which is the skull flying around. We then see an aerial scene of the skull flying through the city. Inside the skull you can see the navigation system. It displays the different animals moving towards the skull building. Flying worms flank the system. As this drops off the screen we are moved through the skyline of the city. After the skyline stops we see a crowd of the different people rushing about their day. This scene continues until two “men” face-off. Thought bubbles pop up and they begin changing appearances, illustrating how everyone in the “rat race” is the same. The camera goes through the crowd until it changes to the flying worms driving a truck to a line forming outside the skull building. We go inside the building and see the line leading to a door. As each person enters and exits they are either hit with a rock or are thrown roses. I believe this is a depiction of judgment at the end of life. The rock signifies hell, while the roses represent heaven. The video cuts back to Ace walking and rapping. The crowd scene returns; as well as the face-off. This time they don similar facades until they achieve their initial look. It cuts back to Ace walking and the line leading to the door. Yet this time everyone is drinking and seem to be partying. As the song ends the man operating the skull clocks back out and he walks out of the judgment door. As we walks out he is hit with a rock, this illustrates that even those who judge people below them must be judged. The video then rewinds back to the beginning showing the cyclical lifestyle that is being led.

I believe that the animation for this music video is put together amazingly. Jeremy Fish, the artist behind the video, has a very abstract style that is completely unique. It pairs very well with Aesop Rock’s lyrical style. The instrumentals on the song lend to the effectiveness of the animation because it has a silly vibe as does the depictions of the characters in the video.