Shabazz Palaces, dropping the video for my favorite track off Black Up. Their raps have always seemed divined from some esoteric and secret scroll stashed in one of Haile Selassie’s hidden archives. So maybe it’s fitting that this video is half in Amharic and aims for the dopest Ethiopian vibes that the Pharcyde once spoke… Continue reading »
Tonight: serrated rap and subduction zone bass. I have two pairs of tickets to give away to the first two people who e-mail passionweiss@gmail.com to tell me the sample on this Digable Planets song.
Oct
12
The Echo, for the Hosts that profess infinitum. There is only one excuse not to go to this — that you’re going to Portishead at the Shrine. And even then, Portishead play on Wednesday night too. So there are no excuses. Now that that’s settled. Download: MP3: Shabazz Palaces-”Swerve…The Reaping of All That is Worthwhile… Continue reading »
With the stealth they so desire, Shabazz Palaces may have made the most influential underground rap record of the year. No need to namedrop, but no less than a half dozen rappers this site regularly features have approached me with astonishment –absolutely blown away by the record. That’s rare, especially in our jaded “post post… Continue reading »
For today, you can call Douglas Martin, Ishmael. Within the first minute of Black Up, Ishmael Butler conjures an incredibly loaded image. “I cried with Mooch at Papi’s wake / Snuck an extra slice of cake / When the pigs came ‘round to make they case / I looked them dead up in they face… Continue reading »
Photo via Kristen Blush Between Shabazz Palaces, Hail Mary Mallon, Has-Lo, and the new Open Mike Eagle and Serengeti albums, it has been a stellar year for dense cerebral hip-hop. I am investing my 401K in both blunt and head wraps. That is, if I had a 401K. Shabazz Palaces make music like they haven’t… Continue reading »
Photo by Alex Crick “Noir not withstanding.” Black Up. You don’t need to take tips from Shabazz Palaces’ titles to become aware that their music is murky, lampless Seattle rap (no Mix-A-Lot). When you dwell in a permanent mist, songs often assume a suffocating bass and aggression (see also: London). But unlike most of their… Continue reading »
Photo by Josh Bis As much as the bulk of his work with Shabazz Palaces properly captures the discord of living in 21st Century America, in conversation, Ishmael Butler sounds remarkably at ease with himself and his place in the world. After a career that has had tall peaks (the well-noted Grammy nomination for Digable… Continue reading »
Shabazz Palaces – Blast It (from the Village Beat film, Tough Bond) from Sub Pop Records on Vimeo. Commensurate with their role as the new lost tribe of Shabazz, “Black Up” has been pushed back to late June. Considering that the record leaked a while back, I don’t know what the logic behind this is… Continue reading »
The Butterfly born Ishmael Butler went cocoon over a decade ago and returned with these crawling caterpillar raps. Political rap for an apolitical period. Songs as formless cryptograms. Dying and dust and blowing up hopes. Slaves to network’s master plans. Caustic chants of “who do you think you are?” The revenge of those who once… Continue reading »
Excellent Adventures
Bogus Journeys
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Listening
Jeff Weiss
Sach O
Douglas Martin
Aaron Matthews
Abe Beame
Evan Nabavian
Tosten Burks
Matt Shea
Jonah Bromwich
Reading
Jeff Weiss
Sach O
Douglas Martin
Tosten Burks
Aaron Matthews
Abe Beame
Jonah Bromwich
Watching
Jeff Weiss
Sach O
Douglas Martin
Tosten Burks
Aaron Matthews
Evan Nabavian
Jonah Bromwich
Inner Sanctum
Miscellaneous Apostles
Local Natives
Understanding Media
The Sporting Life
2011
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2006
Miscellaneous
