Coming and Going with Shabazz Palaces

No one knew who Shabazz Palaces were when their two EPs dropped out of thin air in 2009. No one knew what the fuck was going on in their music either. This was weird hip-hop, weird enough for Sub Pop, who made Shabazz Palaces their first hip-hop signing. This year, they released their debut album Black Up and dropped the anonymity. We now know that the mastermind behind the outfit is Ishmael Butler - once ‘Butterfly’ of Digable Planets, now ‘Palaceer Lazaro’ of Shabazz Palaces. We still don’t know what the fuck is going on in their music. Ishmael thinks it should speak for itself, so VICE spoke to him about sports figures, gold specks and his kids’ favourite music instead.

You’ve said before that you’re sick of most of the questions asked in interviews, so I’ll steal one from your interview with label mates THEESatisfaction: which sports figure would you compare yourself to and why?
It’s interesting. I’d compare myself to Dwyane Wade. He plays for the Miami Heat. Nah, I would actually say Jason Terry - Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks - because it’s not necessary to be in the limelight only for the team to do well and I like his style and I feel like that too.

There are a lot of different styles swimming around in your debut album Black Up. How did you keep it all so tight and balanced?
I just was honest with myself and relied on my instincts - not necessarily outside influences but my instinct and the instinct of the people around me so that we could achieve something that was true and unique. And therefore organize within itself, you know what I’m sayin’? So you can grab from different directions - left or right, behind you or in front of you - but you still are interpreting through something honest because it’s instinctive.

Why did you go for the 24 karat gold specks on the cover? That delayed the release, right?
Yeah but only because the first shipment of the paper was coming from a place in which it was brand new and they had never shipped it before, so they didn’t know how to. So when it arrived in Seattle, it was damaged and unusable. So they had to redo it and that’s the reason why: it wasn’t because of the specks, it was because the company didn’t know how to send it right.

Shabazz Palaces has always been shrouded in mystery and I’ve heard you say in the past that you think the music needs to speak for itself. Do you think context is just useless or can it actually be harmful?
I don’t think it’s useless and I don’t think it’s even harmful. I just think that when selling music, it becomes so cliché that it's lost its teeth, it's lost its meaning. You know? People are contextualizing things that are so trivial, that’s not even important, but it’s only in order to build up some type of folklore around something in order to sell it to people. You know what I mean? I don’t think it’s unnecessary or harmful - it’s just been diluted to the point of impotency.

So is there anything at all you think people should know before listening to your work?
Not about us. Maybe about themselves - everybody should try to know something more about themselves - but I don’t think there’s anything further they should know about us. I think that its in the music and we’re just doing it so people can just have a feeling and maybe relate to it and see where we’re coming from and stuff like that.

What was it like writing the score for the upcoming documentary Tough Bond? Were you forced to take a different approach there?
Yeah but each challenge is really an opportunity, you know what I’m sayin’, and then you find out a little bit more about yourself. So it was cool. I actually liked it a lot.

Is it getting easier as you go along? You’ve been going since the ‘90s.
No. It comes and goes because it be having to do with how you feel during certain periods of time, you know? It might be easier for a month, but then it might be harder for two. You know what I mean? So it’s difficult to really say.

What’s next for Shabazz Palaces?
Oh we just gonna be doing some more touring until the middle of next year, but in the meantime we’re working on an album, working on a few other projects too. Just making music and enjoying where this new Black Up album is taking us and that’s really about it.

I’m sure you’ve been asked about what kind of music you’re into, so can you tell us what your kids are listening to now?
Lil B, Lil Wayne, Wocka Flocka, Animal Collective, Trouble and ASAP and  Weekend and old Pink Floyd and a lot of reggae and a lot of punk rock. Old punk rock. A lot of random shit too, they like a lot of new shit too. They listen to everything, yo. They listen to every single thing that they can possibly hear that they might like. Straight up.

Have they put you onto anything?
Um, lemme think. Well, Lil’ B. They introduced me to Lil’ B because I didn’t know too much about that and when they started listening to it, I really got into it. I really got into it.

See Shabazz Palaces at Sydney Festival on January 13- Tickets and info here. Or at The RAOBGAB Buffalo Club - Jan 12