01/13/12: Shabazz Palaces - 2 E.P.s (2010)

01/13/12: Shabazz Palaces - 2 E.P.s (2010)

a.) Shabazz Palaces E.P.

1. Kill White T
2. 4 Shadows
3. 32 Leaves
4. Blastit...
5. Capital 5
6. My Mac Yawns
7. A Mess

b.) Of Light E.P.

1. Gunbeat Falls
2. 100 Sph
3. Hottabatch
4. Chuch
5. Spechol-Analog
6. Sparkles
7. N. Splendored
8. Find Out

     Shabazz Palaces are the first hip-hop act to ever sign to Subpop Records. They are from Seattle and are made up of an MC and a multi-instrumentalist. They caught my attention with their debut LP  "Black Up". The hip-hop music they create is pretty out there. They are very experimental with their production and use a wide variety of samples from hip-hop to jazz. I decided to look into their 2 debut EPs for one entry. "Black Up" came out in 2011 and the year before that came their first released music via these 2 EPs. They were released on the same day and basically make up a full length album in themselves.
     After listening to the both CDs, I am going to guess that they were separate for a reason... I don't know if they were made at the same time but they are different. I'm guessing self titled was recorded before Of Light but there is really not a lot of information about them beyond the fact that they were released anonymously.
     The first EP "Shabazz Palaces" is as straight forward as their music gets. The production was pretty basic on this CD compared to the rest of the their releases. There was still a couple standout tracks. Blastit... shows their knack for making interesting production choices. The beat has a "world music" sound to it. There are small moments that show how unique their sampling choices are as well.
     The second EP "Of Light" is a huge step forward in my opinion. Their sound developed a lot more and sounds a bit more like their full-length. The production gets much more experimental and the song structures become more complex. the first 2 tracks on this EP are probably my favorite 2 songs in their brief careers. Those first 2 tracks show just how different of an approach they take with their hip-hop. I hope this is the shape of hip-hop to come. (013)