Album Review: Shabazz Palaces: Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star / Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines

The eclecticism of the Sub-Pop label continues to astound. Having midwifed the early ’90s grunge scene that produced Nirvana, Mudhoney and Soundgarden, and released the early records by disco-punks The Rapture (later stars of James Murphy’s DFA label), they are now the home of one of US hip-hop’s most exciting acts, Shabazz Palaces.
   With the excellent albums Black Up and Lese Majesty already to their credit, there is a definite sense of the group – comprised of duo Ishmael Butler and Tendai Madaire – attempting their magnum opus with their latest venture. It finds them releasing two albums simultaneously under the Quazarz heading, Born On A Gangster Star and The Jealous Machines.
   The two LPs are the perfect enscapulation of the unique Shabazz Palaces aesthethic: mindbending psychedelic hip-hop with a real space-age feel. But Butler and Madaire are far from one trick ponies. For example, Born On A Gangster Star’s ‘Shine A Light’ – built around a stunning soul sample – would be marked out as instant hit material were it on a Kendrick or Kanye album. The Jealous Machines’ ‘Julian’s Dream’, meanwhile, is built around a minimalist electro rhythm of which Pharrell would be proud.
   As for the central manifesto, Palaces – in the best tradition of Prince – favour a heady mix of social consciousness and outright hedonism. “A space sex dream is very lethal”, they sing at one point. It certainly is – and so are these two albums.