Long time vet Ishmael Butler (Digable Planets, Cherrywine), now laying low locally, starts the self-titled twin of his new joint's dual releases with two of the most preposterously hooky and lyrically canny mini-operas you've heard in years, "Kill White T" and "4 Shadows." These are two of my top ten songs of the year. From "eating cake with our rent" to knowing when to "break bread," Shabazz Palaces is about compulsion-driven musical soul food, feasting on the familiar spirits of spoken word albums by Iceberg Slim and The Last Poets for true structure, using noir pacing more about sympathy for its beleaguered characters than malice to the suburban listener, and a trip back to 80s funky pop song-craft that was dissolved a bit in the generational thrush of gangster rage and recent mook-rap.

more...