Shabazz Palaces Exotic Birds Of Prey Is Out Now Worldwide From Sub Pop in Sub Pop Records News

Shabazz Palaces takes a darkly aquatic dive in the official video for “Goat Me (feat. Cobra Coil)” from Exotic Birds of Prey, his new, seven-song mini-album for 2024, out now worldwide from Sub Pop.

Shabazz Palaces is masterminded by vocalist and producer Ismael Butler, whose unstinting drive to reimagine hip-hop – even as he enjoys his fifth decade on Earth – remains undimmed.

Exotic Birds of Prey furthers the modus operandi of its predecessor, Robed in Rareness – a respectful eye on the past, an embrace of an ever-evolving present, and its feet are firmly planted in the future. Where Robed… warped sounds like shoegaze and ambient music into the Shabazz Palaces multiverse, Exotic… cross-pollinates these elements with twisted electro and funk vibes.

This new endeavor features collaborations with the likes of Stas THEE Boss and Irene Barber (“Angela”), Lavarr the Starr (“Take Me To Your Leader”), Japreme Magnetic (“Myths of the Occult”), OC Notes (“Well Known Nobody”), the aforementioned Cobra Coil, and Purple Tape Nate (“Exotic Birds of Prey”).

Exotic Birds of Prey was produced by Shabazz Palaces, mixed by Erik Blood, and engineered by Ishmael Butler and Blood at Studio4 West in Venice, California, with mastering by Warren Defever at Third Man Mastering.

Next week, Shabazz Palaces will appear at My Morning Jacket’s “One Big Holiday” at Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, April 4th-7th, 2024. Later that month, Shabazz Palaces’ European and UK dates in support of Robed in Rareness and Exotic Birds of Prey begin April 27th in Paris, France at Le Petit Bain and currently end May 22nd in Braga, PT at Gnration.

Sat. Apr. 27 - Paris, FR - Le Petit Bain
Tue. Apr. 30 - Lille, FR - Aeronef
Wed. May 01 - Brussels, BE - AB Club
Thu. May 02 - Ramsgate, UK - Music Hall
Fri. May 03 - Dublin, IE - Sugar Club
Sat. May 04 - Leeds, UK - Headrow House
Sun. May 05 - Manchester, UK - YES Pink Room
Mon. May 06 - Brighton, UK - Patterns
Tue. May 07 - London, UK - Village Underground
Thu. May 09 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
Sat. May 11 - Copenhagen, DK - Huset
Sun. May 12 - Hamburg, DE - Turmzimmer
Mon. May 13 - Berlin, DE - Frannz Club
Tue. May 14 - Prague, CZ - Meet Factory
Thu. May 16 - Geneva, CH - L’Usine
Sun. May 19 - San Sebastian, ES - Dabadaba
Mon. May 20 - Madrid, ES - Cafe Berlin
Tue. May 21 - Lisbon, PT - B. Leza
Wed. May 22 - Braga, PT - Gnration

Exotic Birds of Prey and Robed in Rareness are now available on CD/LP from Sub Pop. LP orders for each release in North America from megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser Editions for Exotic Birds of Prey on Translucent White vinyl and Robed in Rareness on Translucent Ruby vinyl.

In the UK and Europe, LP orders from Mega Mart 2 (the new, UK-based sibling site to the world-famous Sub Pop Mega Mart) and independent retail stores will receive the Loser Editions for Exotic Birds of Prey on Cream White vinyl and Robed in Rareness on Red vinyl.

What people are saying about Shabazz Palaces:
“There’s a deeply inclusive feel to Butler’s latest project, with a series of guest vocalists who bring lyrical light to the mission. The warp-speed hi-hats and forbidding synths of ‘Exotic BOP’ prompt Purple Tape Nate to offer commentary about smartphones organizing human thoughts; Butler’s alias Lavarr The Starr glides through the unabashedly ‘80s electro workout ‘Take Me To Your Leader’; and Stas THEE Boss joins Irene Barber on the interstellar P-funk bass of ‘Angela.’” [Exotic Birds of Prey] - Bandcamp

“This group is inquisitive as ever….Founder Ishmael Butler, formerly of the jazz rap group Digable Planets, has always been trying to commune with the future…and some of these songs are in dialogue with his past, which can be just as thrilling.” [Exotic Birds of Prey] - NPR Music

“Shabazz Palaces remains in a universe of his own with Exotic Birds of Prey, his second mini album in five months, following October’s Robed In Rareness…Sometimes it feels more like experimental electronic music with some rapping than rap music with electronic production. Whatever you call it, it’s a total trip.”- Brooklyn Vegan

“Exotic Birds of Prey sounds like it’s broadcasting live from an unknown galaxy, giving us an idea of what music will sound like on other planets in the future while nodding knowingly to some of Earth’s most exciting sounds of the past.” - All Music

“Exotic Birds of Prey is an ambitious release even for an artist who has built a discography of mind-altering rhymes and face-melting instrumentals, in just seven songs Shabazz Palaces is able to fit entire character arcs and head-spinning sonic twists.” - GLIDE

“His eighth LP with Sub Pop, Exotic Birds of Prey conjures another heady brew of synth-soaked experimental rap that suffuses Sun Ra’s celestial reach with P-Funk’s acid-fried grit. Drenched in Afrofuturist psych, Butler’s spaced-out production explores the uncharted terrain of experimental hip-hop with a kaleidoscopic set of seven songs that viscously stick and gel to each other, enveloped in gelatinous bass, trippy beats, and omnipotent command.” - Still Listening

“Shabazz Palaces — Ishmael Butler from Digable Planets — sets up a sci-fi scenario in “Take Me to Your Leader”…He and a guest rapper, Lavarr the Starr, have to convince a powerful, mysterious queen that “our race deserves to survive.” Amid blipping electronics and slow-pulsing bass, with voices warped by echoes and effects, they set out a strategy of gifts, philosophizing, seduction and “a steady-bumping beat she can freak with.” [“Take Me To Your Leader”] - “The Playlist” - New York Times

“…a psychedelic six-minute synth-funk meditation. This kind of spaced-out electro inevitably recalls Kraftwerk, Egyptian Lover, and the primordial Detroit-radio soup that eventually led to the birth of techno.” [“Take Me To Your Leader”] - STEREOGUM

“…digital jazz drumming, a slinky bass line, a denaturing vocal loop, soft-spoken bars from Stas THEE Boss that evoke Butler’s fellow Digable Planet Ladybug Mecca before moving into less charted territory later in the track, and eerie, sing-song interludes from Dust Moth’s Irene Barber.” [“Angela”] - The FADER

“…a cinematic joint with the most refreshingly straightforward rapping on the entire album.” [“Myths of the Occult”] - SLANT

“…heady, psychedelic” [“Angela”] - Brooklyn Vegan

“Stas THEE Boss and Irene Barber lend their voices to this funked-out space-age track, which feels a little bit like g-funk on the moon. It’s a cosmic groove that has vibes for days, a concise jam that could keep going for twice as long and I’d be just fine with that.” [“Angela”] - TREBLE

“Trippy and funked out” [“Angela”] - Gorilla vs Bear

Shabazz Palaces
Exotic Birds Of Prey

Tracklisting
1. Exotic BOP (feat. Purple Tape Nate)
2. Angela (feat. Stas THEE Boss & Irene Barber)
3. Myths Of The Occult (feat. Japreme Magnetic)
4. Goat Me (feat. Cobra Coil)
5. Well Known Nobody (feat. OCnotes)
6. Synth Dirt
7. Take Me To Your Leader (feat. Lavarr the Starr)

Shabazz Palaces
Robed in Rareness

Tracklisting:
1. Binoculars (feat. Royce The Choice)
2. Woke Up In A Dream (feat. Lil Tracy)
3. P Kicking G (feat. Porter Ray)
4. Cinnamon Bun (feat. Lavarr the Starr)
5. Scarface Mace (feat. O Finess)
6. Gel Bait (feat. Geechi Suede)
7. Hustle Crossers