Bleep

Shabazz Palaces are a staple of the alternative rap world today, but back when they first emerged in 2009, the Seattle group were shrouded in mystery. At the time, frontman Ishmael Butler was adopting the alias of Palaceer Lazaro to ensure that his work wasn’t viewed in the context of his previous musical projects, Digable Planets. Their first two mini-albums – Eagles Soar, Oil Flows and The Seven New, which came to be known as Shabazz Palaces and Of Light respectively – were dubby, jazzy, abstracted listens that ushered in a new breed of experimental rap music. Their reissue from Templar Label Group is a necessary reminder of where it all began.