About a week out, Aesop Rock was trying not to think about his upcoming tour.

“In the past I’ve been known to overthink all of this s—, and end up working myself up into a frenzy months before anything even happens,” the New York City rapper, born Ian Matthias Bavitz, said via email. “Over the past couple years I’ve done my best to prepare, but not go crazy with it all. I’ve tried to remind myself that the stage is supposed to be fun.”

Aesop Rock has been doing a lot of thinking lately. He turned 40 in June, a little more than a month after the release of his seventh solo studio album and first in four years, “The Impossible Kid.” The record, which was fully produced by Rock, finds the normally cryptic lyricist taking stock of his life and career in some of the bluntest — and darkest — material he has released.

It’s also some of the funniest, with songs such as “Kirby” (an ode to his cat of the same name) and “Blood Sandwich” (which features two stories about his two brothers) striking a balance between dry observation and heartfelt poignancy. His current tour, which kicks off Friday in Eugene and hits the Domino Room on Saturday, also bears Kirby’s name: the Hey Kirby Tour. It’s fitting, as Rock explained:

“My cat is awesome, and I got her soon after moving into the barn, so she was sorta co-piloting the whole s—,” he said. “I write about s— that inspires me, and she does.”

Other songs tackle his long struggle with depression and anxiety, his tumultuous relationship with his family, visits with his psychiatrist and his regrets over not pursuing his visual art further. “Rings,” the album’s second track, references how the rapper “used to draw,” something that fell by the wayside along with his skateboarding when his hip-hop career began taking off in the late ’90s.

Now living in Portland, Rock has started to make time for both again.

“I kinda slowed down when music picked up, but I always tried to at least keep a sketchbook going,” he said. “Lately I think I’ve been trying to do it more often — it was such a source of joy when I was really about it, so I do try to tap into that. Skateboarding is basically the same story — it was everyday in my youth and shaped who I am now maybe more than anything. Eventually it slowed, then it came back as just a way to get to the store, and then in the past couple years (I’ve) been hitting the skate park a lot. It’s not (that) tough to balance because I love all of it — I just try to get it all in.”

It would seem the process of making “The Impossible Kid” has given Rock new perspective on art, music, skateboarding and life in general. He wrote and recorded much of the album on his own, holing up for a year in a “barn in the woods.”

“What I think has been exaggerated (partly on purpose) is that it’s not like I cut myself entirely off from the world,” he said. “I was off the grid, but not ‘off the grid.’ I was more isolated than maybe ever before in my life, but certainly not … in a cell somewhere miles from civilization.”

The decision to produce himself carried over from his 2012 album “Skelethon.” Although he had help from guests such as ex-wife Allyson Baker (guitar on “Blood Sandwich), frequent collaborator Rob Sonic and Chuck D (whose phone-recorded voice appears on “Lazy Eye,” a song inspired by some advice the Public Enemy emcee gave Rock), at this point in his career he prefers to keep his solo material solo.

“I’ve been making beats since the beginning, but I think in the last handful of years I’ve been able to find a sound that represents me as much as my writing style,” Rock said. “It feels weird to me to present a solo album in which I only did 50 percent of the work. I like being able to say, ‘I made this,’ and feel confident that that statement is accurate. It’s all in an effort to further push myself and my music.”

However, Rock said he is always working on new music. His discography bears this out: Despite long stretches between solo records, including five years between “Skelethon” and its predecessor, “None Shall Pass,” Rock has continued to produce and collaborate with other artists. Most recently he released his second collaboration with Homeboy Sandman under the name Lice, “Lice 2: Still Buggin’.” Before “The Impossible Kid,” he also released collaborations with Moldy Peaches singer-songwriter Kimya Daweson (2013’s “Hokey Fright” album, as The Uncluded) and rapper Rob Sonic as Hail Mary Mallon (2014’s “Bestiary”). Sonic and Sandman are both on the Hey Kirby Tour, opening the door to live performances of some of this material.

Rock is also gearing up for the release of two films he composed music for: action film “Bushwick” and comedy “Infinity Baby.”

“When they surface is somewhat out of my hands,” he said. “Beyond that I’ve got a couple projects going — but I tend to not make any announcements until these things are fully realized.”