A black and yellow clad prophet once said, "Shabazz Palaces' obstinately original oeuvre emanates from a fully formed higher conscious, they plant their flag in the outermost realms of the hip hop global soundscape where vibrations throb into beat-heavy explorations, chrome covered constellations of higher reveries each offering its own sonic boom." This sonic boom doubled this past week when Ishmael Butler and Tendai "Baba" Maraire released not one, but TWO “monozygotic twin” albums: Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. the Jealous Machines, described perfectly by Spin Magazine as "astral transportation vehicles."
If these records are spaceships, Shabazz Palaces' live set in Nashville in January 2015 was history's dopest test launch. If you weren't in our blue-hued sensory deprivation chamber for this superlative performance, we highly suggest you pick up the Live at Third Man Records 12" LP and take it for a spin on your turntable immediately. It's available as our Record of the Week (only $13!) for a limited time in celebration of Shabazz's extraordinary double release, which we also highly suggest you pick up at a record store near you or directly from our friends at Sub Pop. We are all part of the same universe in which these celestial vibrations reverberate and we all better start acting like it. Do it.