Hip-Hop.com

The Sasquatch! Festival in the hinterlands of Washington state this year will have a heavy dose of hip-hop with The Roots, Childish Gambino, Shabazz Palaces, and araabmuzik in the lineup for the multiday music festival in George, Washington. The rest of the hip-hop offerings will have a heavy Seattle flavor, as Shabazz collaborators THEESatisfaction will perform, as well as Dyme Def, Fresh Espresso, The Physics, Sol, Grynch, Fatal Lucciauno, Metal Chocolates, Spac3man, and Scribes.

Also there will be Little Dragon, Girl Talk, Pretty Lights, SBTRKT, Charles Bradley, punk/rap fusion act Don’t Talk to the Cops, and soul R&B group Fly Moon Royalty, along with the headliners Jack White, Beck, and Bon Iver. The festival runs during Memorial Day weekend at The Gorge Ampitheater, tickets are available now.

Shabazz Palaces invites an interesting crowd. The duo, who performed last night at Yoshi’s in San Francisco before departing on an European tour in a few weeks, seems to straddle that line between indie rock and hip-hop only if you look at their audience, because their music is doesn’t sound like rock at the least bit. The avant-garde duo of Palaceer Lazaro (aka Ishmael “Ish” Butler) and percussionist Tendai Mariare has pieced together a theme of bluster, black power, african diaspora, jarring beats and psychedelia, and perhaps that last part is what brought together the two different scenes.

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Shabazz Palaces announces dates for a European and North America tour, starting a couple of weeks after their date at Yoshi’s San Francisco with Siddartha this Thursday on Groundhogs Day. On the agenda is a swing through the continent, starting in France through Switzerland and Italy. Coming back home, they land in Minneapolis, touring the Midwest, Canada, and finally two shows in the City of New York. If you haven’t checked it out yet, they also released their newest video for “Are You… Can You… Were You…? (Felt)” along with the announcement.

Here are the dates:

2/18: La Cave aux poetes, Roubaix, France
2/19: Stereolux, Nantes, France
2/20: Les Trinitaires, Metz, France
2/21: Strasbourg La Laiterie, France
2/24: Palace, St. Gallen, Switzerland
2/25: Stall 6, Zurich, Switzerland
2/29: Astoria, Turin, Italy
3/1: Circolo degli Artisti, Rome, Italy
3/2: Bronson, Ravenna, Italy
3/3: Studio 2, Vigonovo (Venezia), Italy

4/3: The Whole, Minneapolis, MN (All Ages Show)
4/4: Mad Planet, Milwaukee, WI
4/5: Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
4/6: Magic Stick, Detroit, MI
4/7: The Horn Gallery, Gambier, OH
4/8: The Shadow Lounge, East Liberty, PA
4/10: Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON
4/11: II Motore, Montreal, QC
4/12: Iron Horse, Northampton, MA
4/13: SOB’s, New York, NY
4/14: Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY

via Sub Pop

Hot stuff from Drumma Boy, Shabazz Palaces, who put out the critic’s choice (so far) of hip-hop album of the year, and Little Dragon, who is making a ton of noise from their track on SBTRKT’s new album. Actually, this track is amazing—smooth and rich with Yukimi’s soaring vocals, the Sade-from-the-80′s vibe and just enough synths to give it a bit of rough edge, while Ish reminds us all how butter his flow can be.

Hey, aren’t Shabazz and Little Dragon supposed to perform at Bumbershoot in Seattle, both on Friday, September 3, at the same stage, one set right after another? Hmmmmmmm.

Shabazz Palaces releases onto the Internet a new track from their forthcoming full-lengther, Black Up, due July 28. “Swerve…the reeping of all that is worthwhile (Noir not withstanding)” is the second track released for the album’s release, after “an echo from the hosts that profess infinitum.”

The Pitchfork readers out there should know all about Shabazz by now, but in case you didn’t know, Shabazz Palaces is the brainchild of Ish “Butterfly” Butler of Digable Planets, who also fronted the ill-fated Cherrywine project. read more »