Shabazz Palaces

For many years, Shabazz Palaces was the partnership between rapper, producer Ishmael Butler (aka Butterfly from Digable Planets) and multi-instrumentalist Tendai Maraire until his departure in 2020, at which point it became Butler's own project. Rather than following the Digable Planets blueprint with jazzy grooves and a generally accessible hip-hop, the duo moved in a darker direction right from the start, clearly inspired by hip-hop at its core, but resisting any pigeonholes. The music has an experimental sound, often working with a downtempo feel that crosses into the drone territory. Their production tends to be scrappy and their arrangements, mostly stripped down. Their jagged beats take advantage of the naturally rich low end of their sound. The 2023 album Robed in Rareness is their first release without Maraire.