When I first heard Shabazz Palaces back a few years ago, I really didn't know what to think at first. I knew it was unlike anything I'd heard in a while but there was so much going on in their music that it was almost overwhelming. On their 2011 debut "Black Up", Shabazz Palaces didn't hold back a single punch. The production on this album was bombastic and huge, the beats were artsy and left field, and the performances were ridiculous and non-stop. There were plenty of very experimental tracks like "Free Press and Curl" and spoken word based tracks like "Endeavors for Never", while Tracks like "Youlogy" brought in a more aggressive sound. Overall, this album was a stunning intro to Shabazz Palaces. Their next album, 2014's "Lese Majesty", I enjoyed just as much, hell maybe even a little more. Their performances were just as stunning and genre defining, but the beats and instrumentals were so much more playful and inviting. So far, Shabazz Palaces have been on quite the roll. Shabazz Palaces are back now, with not one, but two albums. These early singles have been of course, pretty out there, but decent for the most part. Let's talk about these albums!
First Up:
Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star
This album starts off with the very dark and strange “Since C.A.Y.A.”. But obviously, we’re going to hear a lot of dark and strange stuff here. I do like some of the small details like the funky bass as well as some of the heavily edited vocal snippets. Then the verses start, which are also pretty heavily edited. But it comes off really hypnotic, to be honest, as hard to follow as it is. The music of Shabazz Palaces will obviously always demand a few listens, and this is no different. But the result is an abstract, looming, hypnotic nightmare of a Hip Hop intro. “Since C.A.Y.A.” set the tone very well for this very Dystopian album. Some of the little details in the production are ridiculous, to be honest. Going forward, we’re not going to be getting too many catchy hooks or popping choruses, but that’s ok. As far as a truly far out intro of an album goes, “Since C.A.Y.A. works great”. “When Cats Claw” is up next, and this one has a whole lot more of a banging beat and is a little easier to swallow. Like, if you really haven’t listened to the music of Shabazz Palaces up until now, it might be easier to get into their style with a more accessible track like this. There’s a very old school flow to this one to an extent, which comes almost completely from Ishmael Butler’s Digable Planets past. It’s smooth and interesting, but for me, it’s a little too uneventful for my liking. I do like elements in Ishmael’s flow as well as the jazzy vibe. But outside of that, this one doesn’t do too much me sadly. On the other hand, right off the bat, “Shine A Light” featuring Thaddillac is everything I could have asked for and more. This is still so left of the dial of everything happening right now in hip hop. But there’s just so many elements to this one that hooks you right off the bat, like that very classy string sample and that vocal snippet that starts this track off. It still comes off very experimental and Avant-Garde. But so many small elements to this one really stick with you, which is something that I can’t really say about most of the album. I love the very spacey flow on this one and the very hazy atmosphere as well. Alli can say about “Shine A Light”, is HELL YES. Then we have “Dèesse Du Sang”, with bizarre samples that I would swear were like, and Oboe or something. It’s seriously eerie and goes along really well with the spacey feel to the rest of this album. It’s not catchy, it’s not gonna get you up and moving, but man does it stick with you. It’s just so suffocating, so dark and it really brings you into the very twisted atmosphere of what we’ve been given here. Then we have some of the very quiet and even more twisted vocal snippets that give this an even creepier tone. I don’t know what I’m listening to half the time, but man this is great.
You never really know what you’re going to hear from Shabazz Palaces, however, because up next “Eel Dreams” sounds like an edgy sounding B-Side on a commercial Raap album. I don’t think it necessarily comes off bad, I do enjoy a whole lot of the flow here and the swagger of this track carries things nicely. But I do feel like this is a little bit of a stretch for Shabazz Palaces. While I’m not crazy about this, I certainly see what’s to dig about this. I do miss the heavier atmosphere of some of the earlier tracks, but “Eel Dreams” isn’t the worst track I’ve heard here. Then we have “Parallax” featuring The Palaceer Lazaro, which I swear is the absolute polar opposite in sound. This one is a nose dive right back into the more abstract side of things. And once again, I do like a whole lot of the elements here, like the jazzy drums and the intense deliveries. But I just feel like this track was a little bit of an afterthought for Shabazz Palaces. “Parallax” could have easily been something so much more intense and explosive, but I just feel like this track was written super last minute. Plus, this one is so short that as soon as I get in the groove, it’s over. “Fine Ass Hairdresser” however, is the sort of spacey and over the top track that I love to hear from Shabazz Palaces. I love the gigantic production on this one, as well as the seriously hypnotizing verses. When Shabazz Palaces of their sound right, it just comes off so hip and different than anything else being produced right now. “Fine Ass Hairdresser” actually has a serious funk to it, as well as almost an old school Jazz Rap feel to it all. But it also has just enough swagger and attitude for it to seriously pop. Then we have “The Neurochem Mixalogue”, which is easily one of the most stunning performances here. Between the very dreary tones, the even drearier vocal snippets, and the very icy synths this one sticks with you. In a weird way, this comes off as some sort of futuristic slow jam. But if this is what the future holds, sign me up right now. I love the very off kilter groove to this one that seems to be coming straight from the shadows themselves, and the very left field beat that you can never seriously put your finger on. “The Neurochem Mixalogue” is BRILLIANT.
The very off kilter feel and strange beats continue into “That’s How City Life Goes”, and honestly things are even a little harder to place here. I do like the lighter atmosphere actually and just how whimsical and airy some of these instrumentals are. But then, halfway through we get this beat switch-up that ushers in some funkier and more accessible and hypnotic bars from Ishmael Butler. “That’s How City Life Goes” seriously works for me. It’s simple, but it expands the plot and does a great job of making this very thick atmosphere even thicker. Then we have “Moon Whip Quäz”, featuring Darrius. Where did this track even come from? Out of nowhere, we get this Synth-Rap Odyssey that has a retro tinge to it as well as enough of a futuristic edge to keep it working with the theme of the album. But it also remains seriously hypnotic and stunning. All we learn from tracks like “Moon Whip Quäz”, is that Shabazz Palaces have so much range that it’s almost overwhelming. Some of the later effects used on their vocals give this even more of a grim feel. What a KILLER track. Say though, this album ends off with a dud in the form of “Federalist Papers”. This one is just so quiet. Honestly, though, I don’t have a problem with that, I think some of the vocals here are actually really pleasant. But after the constant barrage of everything else we’ve heard so far, I was I ever expecting more from this finale.
Rating: 7.6/10
Give A Listen To: “Shine A Light”, “Dèesse Du Sang”, “Moon Whip Quäz”, “The Neurochem Mixalogue”
Next Up:
Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines
This album starts off with “Welcome to Quazarz”, and instantly this one goes right back to the very dismal, underground sounds of its companion album. I feel like listening to this, I’m spying on some huge rebellious gathering taking place in the sewers of some Dystopian society. Which is good and all, but I’m gonna be honest, I’m really not feeling the production of this one at all. It’s just so tinny and Low-Fi, which is something that really doesn’t do this track a single lick of justice. The off kilter verses aren’t too bad, but I feel like this isn’t explosive, thought provoking intro that I was hoping we were going to get on this album. I’m not impressed at all sadly. I do however love how over the top and ridiculous “Gorgeous Sleeper Cell” I love when Shabazz Palaces go all out like this, slathering on the effects which give this such an atmosphere that it’s impenetrable. This one is hypnotic, interesting, and surprisingly hip sounding. My only real issue with this one is, why is this track only 2 minutes long? I was so ready for this one to go so much longer and go deeper into the album's themes. But outside of that, I have no complaints about this one at all. Not to mention, I just love the harshness and the industrial elements to this. Then we have “Self Made Follownaire”, which follows in the same sort of harshness, but it’s also almost psychedelic in a way. This may actually be the most completely out there sounding track on either one of these albums. But the very cloudy vibe to this one actually really works for Shabazz Palaces. It continues to have such a dreary, dystopian vibe to it that I can’t get enough of. As far as that goes, I feel like Shabazz Palaces really have done wonderful bringing us into this world they created. Not to mention, I love some of the grizzly visuals that occasionally get oddly hilarious as well. It’s hypnotic, it’s intriguing, this all just works so well of Shabazz Palaces. The very thick, suffocating vibe continues with “Atlaantis”. But as far as the verses on this one go, to be honest, they’re putting me to sleep. I like a lot of the elements of the production and the beat and all, especially some of the very hazy backing instrumentals. But I just can’t get past the verses here. I really don’t even know what the hell Shabazz Palaces were going for. This slightly over two-minute track would have been so much better as a straight up instrumental, to be honest.
“Effeminence” is up next, featuring Fly Guy Dai, and honestly this one actually works for me a LOT. The very thick production is back as well as that very suffocating atmosphere. But the very dreamy atmosphere makes this one even more Psychedelic and hypnotic. I love how intense and rattling some of the verses are here, to be honest, I didn’t think Shabazz Palaces could pull off a dreamy track so well. In a weird way, this is almost an oddly uplifting track in the midst of all of these very dark and dreary tracks. “Effeminence” however is a track that I think really needed to be done. It’s the longest track here by far, but being almost 6 minutes long it feels refreshing and complete. I also really love some of the instrumentals in the last minute and a half or so, not bad at all. “Julians’s Dream (Ode To The Bad)” featuring The Shotgun Shot, however, brings us right back to the more intense side of things. Instantly this one is going for the same sort of intense, very claustrophobic feel. But I dunno, the verses on this one do little to nothing for me. While the performances are very in your face, I feel like as a complete package this one is messy. The production on “Julian’s Dream” is a little questionable, and the beat here is easily one of the weakest and least interesting we’ve heard so far. Even the lyrics themselves do almost nothing for me. Yes, the chorus does increase the production and comes off pretty stunning. But everything else about this one is just not for me. Sadly, a whole lot of the rest of this album is forgettable and underwhelming. While I do like the very hypnotic repeated intro of “JOIN US” on “30 Clip Extension”, I feel like tracks like this try really too hard to bring in the thoughts and story of this album. This is just a little too much. The verses aren’t inspired by anything and surely aren’t fiery or aggressive. The only thing this track DOES do is make the story of this album a little harder to comprehend. Then we have these lyrical moments out of nowhere that are supposed to be big political statements as well as statements about society. I just really don’t buy it, at all. The beat is weak, the atmosphere is flaky, I just expect so much more. Then we have “Love In The Time Of Kanye” featuring Purple Tape Nate. Now, this one certainly has the production and the beat down pact. I love the airiness to this one that goes up against this very booming beat. But as far as the verses go on this one, they seem a little uninspired which really stinks. But I think this is slightly more in the right direction, but what does that even mean at this point in the album? But then again, “Love In The Time of Kanye” is barely over 2 minutes. Where the hell is the content boys?
This spiral of tracks that seriously aren’t that good continue with “Sabonim in the Saab on ‘em”. I do like the sort of Low-Key Jazz elements to this. But man, these beats and atmospheres continue to be just so FLAT. There are some great ideas here, like some of the smaller instrumental moments in the background. But all of this continues to come off so incomplete sounding. Like, the atmosphere is really effective too, but outside of that, there’s barely anything about this one grabbing me. “The SS Quintessence” up next continues to interest me from a production standpoint. But once again, what are Shabazz Palaces even going for? I’m always down for a little abstract, left field rap. But there’s no purpose to so much of this, and I feel like most of this was written when Shabazz Palaces were half asleep. Lyrically, this is certainly interesting and helps this album proceed forward really nicely. But as far as everything else goes, this one is hard to hear without falling asleep. I want to like tracks like “Thee SS Quintessence”, because there’s just so much here that IS quality. The flows are fine, hell even the atmosphere is on point. But altogether, this is not nearly as stunning as it could have been. Then we have “Late Night Phone Calls” featuring Laz. At the very least, I do like the very hulking and suffocating sound of this one which is just so much more ear-grabbing. I do like how intense this is, and I also really love the return to the very cloudy and hazy sound. It honestly reminds me a lot of their early material, in the best way. Listening to this, I have no idea what I’m even hearing, it all just sounds so other worldly. But I love every minute of it. It’s haunting, bizarre, and possibly the dreariest thing we’ve heard so far. The finale here is “Quazarz on 23rd”, which once again has seriously a lot going for it. I do like the very intense delivery even though the beat is more low key, there are some Jazz Rap influences as well. This track is just so simple for Shabazz Palaces, but it works so well. To the point where to be honest this doesn’t even come off as a finale, it sounds like Shabazz Palaces still have plenty left in their tank. This album was so much messier than its companion, and I wanted so much more out of it.
Rating: 6.3/10
Give A Listen To: "Gorgeous Sleeper Cell", "Self-Made Follownaire”, "Effeminence", "Late Night Phone Calls"
Overall Thoughts: Ok first off, I'm just gonna say it, there really didn't need to be BOTH of these album's released right now. Like, I feel like the first portion of this album "Born On A Gangster Star" is strong and shows the duo at some of the most creative they've been in ages. The tracks on that portion are sleek, hip, and intense with some really fantastic production. But then we have the second album released, "Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines". This album isn't NEARLY as well done as its companion. Here, Shabazz Palaces sound worn down and in a creative slump. So I'm really sort of torn on these albums. I really honestly wish one of them was released. But for hardcore Shabazz Palaces fans, you'll want to hear this
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