NEWS : TUE, MAR 10, 2020 at 6:57 AM
Watch Shabazz Palaces’ official video for “Fast Learner” from forthcoming LP ‘The Don of Diamond Dreams’
On the star-drenched streets of the Quartz City, the Dancer and the Don float the red beamer towards the diamondest dreams ever known in Shabazz Palaces new video for “Fast Learner (ft. Purple Tape Nate),” the lead single from his forthcoming album, The Don of Diamond Dreams. The visual from director Stephan Gray (“Dawn In Luxor,” “Deesse Du Sang”) stars Ishmael Butler and Umaara Elliott, a New York-based professional dancer and an activist (a co-organizer of “Millions March NYC”).
Released earlier this month, the “Fast Learner” single saw praise from the likes of Hip Hop DX, who called the track “another futuristic trip.” The FADER concurred, offering this, “It’s a psychedelic groove, chopped and screwed in the fifth dimension.” Meanwhile, Hypebeast had this to say, “a perfect reintroduction to the duo’s Afrofuturistic groove — hazy lo-fi electronica mashes alongside funky instrumentation, allowing for both Ishmael and Nate to rap out their lyrical abstractions.” And Stereogum says, “A woozy and echo-laden lurch that the group recorded with the excellently named Purple Tape Nate…It’s a cool piece of music, a starry-eyed vibe-out, and it’s a strong indicator for how the rest of the album might sound…The track draws stylistic connections between rumbling ’80s electro, broken-up Brainfeeder beat music, and circa-now astral Auto-Tuned drug rap.”
Shabazz Palaces The Don of Diamond Dreams will be available April 17th, 2020 worldwide on Sub Pop. The 10-track album includes the highlights features “Chocolate Souffle,” “Bad Bitch Walking (ft. Stas THEE Boss),” “Thanking The Girls,” and the aforementioned “Fast Learner,” with additional contributions from singer/keyboardist Darrius Willrich, percussionist Carlos Niño, Knife Knights collaborator OCnotes, saxophonist Carlos Overall, and bassist Evan Flory-Barnes.
The Don of Diamond Dreams is now available for preorder from Sub Pop. Preorders of the LP through megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers in North America will receive the limited Loser edition on clear vinyl with a silver swirl (while supplies last). All LP preorders through the Sub Pop Mega Mart will also receive The Mushroom, a 90-page, 8x8 inch zine from the elusive author TTT, inspired by The Don of Diamond Dreams (the book will also be available for purchase at Shabazz Palaces live shows). Meanwhile, LP preorders through select independent retailers in the U.K. and Europe will receive the limited Loser edition on sky blue vinyl (also, while supplies last). There will also be a new T-shirt design available.