Shabazz Palaces - Most important musical group/moment in Seattle since Nirvana at OK Hotel?

forget seattle, most important moment in underground rap since i dont know when?

i think the vinyl comes in some sort of felt sleeve!

so does the CD version, fwiw

LP sleeve feels soft and sort of velvety/felty, but i think it's just nice paper?

This is one of the best albums I've heard all year and I rarely listen to hip hop. It has an authentic cross-genre appeal. I guess that in the end being released through Sub Pop was undoubtedly a sign that it would be picked up by white indie kids such as myself.

raises eyebrow at inauthentic cross-genre appeal

I phrased it wrong didn't I? I meant that it's an album that has the potential to attract listeners that usually listen to other genres and it doesn't even seems like it's trying. Some artists and albums try too hard.

kind funny how many factory sounds from the sp404 end up on the shabazz records (lots of drum sounds, the "break!" sample etc).

the new lp is growing on me, though at first i kept turning it off and going back to the eps. the first two + last two songs would have made a killer ep.

his rapping is really what holds the album together imho - the beats/music are great but they are very disjointed and fractured, the vocals are what keep it tied together

totally, i don't think it would work at all as instrumentals

stevie/contenderizer OTM upthread about this stuff being like a sequel to J. Beez Wit Tha Remedy-era Jungle Brothers, seems like the most obvious reference point to me.

hoping this grows on me cause after 1st listen it sounds like a dude fucking around with new gear/programs

that rawness is kind of what i like about it, especially on the eps (which don't even sound properly mastered to me). i never have that sense of "how the fuck did he make that beat?", but he still has a sound and knows what he's going for & what works for his vocals.

o_O

http://dreamhamptonfilmvideo.blogspot.com/2010/04/i-am-ali-2002_13.html?utm_source=BP_recent

ok, this was the amazing, previously unknown first song they performed when i saw them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJdiUNDoYZw&feature=player_embedded#at=32

ANOTHER REGAL GUN BEAT TO THUG TO

the persona non gratis in this palace been on sacred dirt
peacock swatches of color off my leathers burst
rosé wristwatches whisper time in pleasure verse

was just listening to the album...

and shit yeah, i remember that! esp the "pilgrim marketing plan" intro line and "bop hard." where'd it come from? (and wonder why it got cut)

Apparently, it's an itunes bonus track.

http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/shabazz-palaces-concert/20054896-3738457.html

if someone gets a direct link plz post. making you sign up to download a recording you don't own the rights to is bullshit.

http://www.mediafire.com/?5nzyyg4hv37225x

here's shabazz live on KEXP in May, no signup required. the same exact songs + more.

ok so i really listened to "of light" a lot and the other EP and dug the hell out of it, but never really read anything abt shabazz palaces....is the dude from digable planets???????

yep Butterfly/Ishmael Butler

surprised you couldn't tell from just his voice!

yeah i guess now i hear it, but you know, this seemed to be bubbling up around the lil' b/oddfuture hype and i guess i just sort of assumed they were a bunch of weird kids or something....digable planets in 2010 just wasn't something that would ever come to mind i guess

anyway v cool to see a dude be able to reinvent himself and make a comeback

yeah pretty unusual (Doom, Kool Keith being the other exceptions)

"you corny, nigga"

for some reason this seems like the funniest hook I've heard all year

probably cuz of deej tbh

yeah he manages to make basic hooks sound amazing. eg 'im free, bitch you know im free' (at least i think he says bitch you know im free, well in my head thats how i rap it, if he doesnt say that he should)

and im glad hes got such an amazing 2nd wind - def rare in hip hop, fwiw i think SP is way better than DPs

GF opines that the black velvet case is cool but to her it sounded like andre 3000 but "less musical"

i want to start a kosmische hip hop thread

this album reminded me of these

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN6nQP1b-Y8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90v2R2EOqeM&feature=related

somehow this sounded better listening at work on my ipod then in my basement with PA and sub blasting, go figga. maybe it was just too intense to digest a 1st listen on a bangin system.

http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=9373

this review is one of the worst i have read

i saw the vinyl of this finally - it didnt appear to be a felt sleeve :|

Ew, that review

the voice dripping insouciantly out of his nose.

still trying to work out what i think of this. the beats are really inventive, i enjoy it...i totally admire this on a head level but haven't got beyond that yet.

comment upthread "if the bug was american" rings true, and i'm also reminded of saul williams, but williams and the bug both had those moments of RAAARGHHH ferocity that really sucked you in, whereas this album kind of retreats further into itself as it goes on. almost like he's just talking to himself.

its not as abrasive as the bug thankfully (i do still like the bug though some of his earlier stuff kinda pre-dubstep is a bit too idm-noise-y) and its not as noisy/rocky as saul williams but yeah its similar in some ways, but i dont think its intellectual to the point of having no emotional impact - i love his voice and flow but the lyrics are very dispersed so its hard to really get wrapped up in them. but i find myself really liking (AND admiring) the beats. they i would say are what make it rap album of the year for me. the rappers on the very last track are a bit average though. was surprised to hear they are signed to sub pop too.

Apparently came onstage (although a different stage) at the Pitchfork fest right after Odd Future

checking this out thanks to Spotify... this is HOT HOT HOT

strangely actually sounds better on cd than vinyl - i thought the lp would bring out all the bass and texture more but it doesnt have the clarity of the cd unfortunately, its not as well defined, or it could just be my system, though i dont think so, lots of bassy dubstep sounds fine on my hi fi.

I mentioned the Bug in reference to the EPs, which are a bit murkier and darker in tone than Black Up.

(and inferior to)

the eps still feel more vital to me, the highs are higher and the verses and hooks are lot more engaging.

you're

the shit

like ear

ly summer

the breeze

the birds

the bees

they humming

noz otm (re song titles at least):

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnzfq3oFn71qztoauo1_400.jpg

ha

The enjoyment of this album is completely dependent on where and how you're listening. It might as well be an IDM album. If you listen to it in a silent room with good headphones and give it undivided attention the beats and textures are very interesting but if you hear it on public transportation/walking around/not really paying attention it becomes a somewhat annoying experience.

Disagree, I listen to this on the train a lot and it sounds great there too.

As w/ first cloudead album, I think it's prob best enjoyed on a warm summer evening getting all cocooned while shopping slo-mo for your tea

so this is like my new favorite rap. I used to rly only like tyler the creator for his over the top evilness and stuff but this is like animal collective but also hiphop. The music is just as important as the message.

xsquaredthemusician 1 month ago

way to fucking ruin it for me, dickhead

lol