Shabazz Palaces

Shabazz Palaces is the cerebral and enigmatic art-rap venture plotted by Palaceer Lazaro, aka rapper and producer Ishmael Butler. They incorporate avant-garde jazz, funk, and dub to heady effect with Butler's science fiction concepts and earthling observations matching profundity and sly humor with show-and-prove microphone command. The first hip-hop act signed to pioneering underground label Sub Pop, Shabazz Palaces made their full-length debut with Black Up (2011), an LP welcomed as the work of a crew distinct from other contenders -- and Butler's earlier trailblazing group Digable Planets. The sonically richer follow-up, Lese Majesty (2014), cracked the Top Ten of the Billboard R&B/hip-hop chart and likewise was singled out by numerous publications on year-end lists. Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines (2017) -- simultaneously issued concept albums born from different sessions -- centered codependency with technology. Collaborative all along, Butler formed Shabazz Palaces with Tendai Maraire, a percussionist who remained through the first Quazarz volume -- and has long shared production duties with Erik Blood. Among the cadre of additional rappers showcased by SP is Butler's son, Lil Tracy, heard on both The Don of Diamond Dreams (2020) and the Robed in Rareness EP (2023). The 2024 EP Exotic Birds of Prey was an especially sci-fi-leaning entry in the group's catalog. The Seattle-based Shabazz Palaces debuted in 2009, the year they independently issued their self-titled and Of Light EPs. Neither Ishmael Butler (who became known in the early '90s as Butterfly of the Grammy-winning Digable Planets) nor percussionist Tendai Maraire (the son of mbira master Dumisani Maraire) was credited on either release. There were no press releases or promo shots, and the same went for interviews and social media presence, but that didn't prevent the local press from throwing praise at the EPs, which hit harder than Digable Planets while carrying in the tradition of that group's forward-thinking wordplay. Shabazz Palaces and Of Light also became favorites at Sub Pop, and in 2010, the Seattle-based underground rock institution signed the duo, releasing their debut album, Black Up, in 2011. Production on the LP was credited to Knife Knights, the shared and enduring alias of Butler and Erik Blood, while uncredited background vocals were provided by THEESatisfaction, who that year became Sub Pop's second hip-hop signee. Butler and Maraire appeared on their labelmates' AwE NaturalE in 2012. After Maraire's Butler-assisted Chimurenga Renaissance released an LP in 2014, Shabazz Palaces returned later in the year with Lese Majesty. The album reached number ten on the R&B/hip-hop chart (28 slots higher than the debut) and entered the Billboard 200 at number 58. The next Shabazz Palaces release was Live at Third Man Records. Recorded at Third Man's Nashville Blue Room in 2015, it was pressed and released the following year, just before Butler's tour with the reunited Digable Planets reached full swing. Apart from a track for Adult Swim and involvement with Woke's contribution to the same singles program, there wasn't any fresh Shabazz Palaces material during this period. In 2017, Butler and company offered Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines and Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star. The simultaneously issued albums chronicled the journey of a celestial being navigating the harsh realities of life on Earth. Two years later, Butler and Erik Blood released Knife Knights' 1 Time Mirage on Sub Pop. The Don of Diamond Dreams, Shabazz Palaces' fifth album, arrived in 2020 with Butler balancing space-travel visions and jargon-laced boasts with expressions of love for his wife and daughter. Butler launched the Glass Cane label in 2023 with Illusions Ago, an EP with first signee Lavarr the Starr. Later in the year, Shabazz Palaces, still with Sub Pop, were back with the woozy Robed in Rareness, billed as the first in a series of EPs. Lavarr, Lil Tracy, and Royce the Choice were among the supporting cast. In March 2024, they continued with the cybertronic weirdness of their next EP, Exotic Birds of Prey. The project included performances by Purple Tape Nate, Japreme Magnetic, Cobra Coil, and other guests.
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