Shabazz Palaces – Lese Majesty
Seattle-based duo Shabazz Palaces are back with another dose of experimental hip-hop, titled Lese Majesty – a blantant protest against the current “royals” of hip-hop and rap.
The album is apparently split-up into seven suites, adding another level of character.
Blending west-coast hip hop style, with futuristic and progressive beats, Lese Majesty opens with a sci-fi-esque intro, and stays fairly consistent with the sound throughout the entire album. The following track, Forerunner Forey, is a well-layered track, which takes conventional hip-hop and flips it 180 degrees with the help of dubscape beats.
“…down 155th in the MCM Snorkel” is a bass-heavy attack at mainstream hip-hop, but instead of claiming dominance in the field, they simple question the stagnant progress of hip-hop – and doing it with style.
#CAKE, which is part of Suite 4: Pleasure Milieu, is a dubscape track that stands out from the album (especially if you check Urban Dictionary for the meaning of “Eating Cake“).
A sonic tour of sounds and textures, Lese Majesty is a hip-hop album that will seek and maintain your attention, as the listener solves the puzzle that is the album.
Stream the full album via Youtube.
