Shabazz Palaces are always pushing their creativity further. While doing that, they simultaneously distance themselves from the "hip hop norm," so to speak. Earlier this July the duo dropped two albums, Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star as well Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines both on July 14th. Both are some very left-field hip hop records that are worthy of a listen, especially if your looking for some music that really reaches outside the conventional idea of hip hop. The first single off the record "Shine A Light" is damn-near a sci-fi movie playing in your brain, which they dropped the lyric video for a little bit a go but now the song gets it's own visual treatment.
The video for "Shine A Light" is based on a teenage wedding on a farm. The entire video is shot in black-and-white and is set in the late 1800's. It's a pretty weird video for the most part, as people get ready to celebrate the marriage between the two teens, Shabazz Palaces Ishmael Butler is seen as a sacrificial lamb as he walks down an aisle of people, rapping his verse to the camera. It's a very strange video that's concluded by everyone making out by the end of the video. While their album pushes the boundaries of hip hop with their unconventional approach, the video also pushes the boundaries and shy's away from the norm. The video was directed and written by Seattle film maker Neil Ferron who has taken their cinematic music and turned it into a proper visual representation.
With the release of their two albums, Shabazz Palaces have been really shying themselves from being able to be boxed in. The release of their two albums have helped them push their creativity into a new space where they not only create their own music but their own universe.
