Review: Shabazz Palaces @ Brooklyn Bowl

Shabazz Palaces @ Brooklyn Bowl - April 14, 2012
Photo: Damien, Review: Lara Morrow

Brooklyn Bowl’s promo blurb depicted Shabazz Palaces as “forward thinkers but nostalgic for a sparer time when ancient astronomers only recognized five planets.”

Lo and behold, that connection between the past and the future held strong when I saw them hit the stage at the Bowl on Saturday night. Palaceer Lazaro (previously known as "Butterfly" from the legendary Digable Planets) perched behind his shiny silver MacBook center stage and blasted cool, electronic waves of music into the crowd, blending this notoriously Gen-WhY-not? technology with the warmer earthiness of multi-instrumentalist Tendai Maraire's bongos. The resulting overlap of beats and loops, cool and dark in their own right, conjured up images of desolate paths in woodsy hollows that could've made even those of us who were badasses in the '90s feel Afraid of the Dark.

Or at least, that’s where Shabazz Palaces eventually arrived as they found their groove as the night
progressed.

Shabazz Palaces Are Playing SOB's On Friday, Brooklyn Bowl On Saturday

One of the coolest things about following veteran artists is watching them evolve their sound on new albums or even entirely new projects, and in the hip-hop game Shabazz Palaces has served as a prime example of consistently impressive sonic growth. The brainchild of Ishmael Butler ("Palaceer Lazaro") - formerly "Butterfly" of the legendary Digable Planets - and multi-instrumentalist Tendai Maraire, Shabazz Palaces came onto the scene in 2009 with two anonymously-released EPs that were so locally lauded that the Seattle collective became the first-ever hip-hop artists signed to indie rock label Sub Pop. 2011 saw the release of Black Up, SP's first LP that brought more widespread acclaim for the collective, building on the classic flow and wordplay that epitomized Digable Planets while weaving in the spaced out abstract beats that brought the collective to another level entirely.

And now that you're caught up, you're going to want to check out Shabazz Palaces in person this weekend for sure. They're playing SOB's in SoHo tomorrow (tickets hyah) and Brooklyn Bowl on Saturday ("sold out" but limited admissions at the door nyah). Stream Black Up in its entirety on Spotify, and we'll post our thoughts on the Brooklyn Bowl show on Monday.

BATTLES "Dross Glop" Remix Series Continues (+ Stream Shabazz Palace's "White Electric" Remix)

Battles @ ATP NJ 2011 Day Two

That four-part Battles Dross Glop 12" remix series we wrote about a couple of weeks ago is marching on. Having just dropped Part 1 three days ago, the band has announced that Dross Glop 2 will be available on February 21 in the States and February 20 everywhere else. This round of remixes include The Alchemist's take on "Futura," Kode9's rework of "Africastle," and a Shabazz Palaces remix of "White Electric" that you can stream below. Fun fun.