Shabazz Palaces - the BLAAAHg

2/6/2012 - Shabazz Palaces

I may have slept on this one but here it goes anyway… Shabazz Palaces is a Seattle-based hip-hop collective, led by Ishmael Butler aka ‘Palaceer Lazaro’ (once ‘Butterfly’ of jazz-rap group Digable Planets) and multi-instrumentalist Tendai Maraire, son of Mbiramaster Dumisani Maraire. With songs like “An Echo from A Host..” that endugle in a darker spectral plane of Hip Hop that has become palpable to the underbelly of music these days, and african inspired chilljams like “Blastit” that add a personal touch to a non genreric style of music, Shabazz Palace got me hooked immediately. Some songs even sound a bit remeniscent of the hey days of hip hop when Aquamini’s were experimenting with music and not allowing genres to take hold of the urge for an artist to stretch his creative limbs. Listen to their album “Black Up” HERE.