Crack

A couple of months ago, when Crack spoke to Shabazz Palaces’ Ish (a.k.a Palaceer Lazaro) in anticipation of the release of album Black Up, he exuded confidence on the topic of the live show. We were told that “the album is a point of departure for the live shows ... rooted in the album but very, very different ... a lot more spontaneous and improvisational. The live show is something.” Well, Black Up turned out to be one of the albums of 2011 with its vital, experimental approach to rap, so the opportunity to check out this much hyped live performance in the relatively diminutive surroundings of Start the Bus promised plenty.

Support comes from THEESatisfaction, the specifically-spelt female duo who recently joined Shabazz Palaces as part of the infant rap limb of Sub Pop. Their set glides between effortlessly classic, soulful hip-hop, more lo-fi electronic efforts, and even the odd bouncy funk interlude, complete with synchronised dance moves. They exude personality, the very epitome of sass and swagger, with vocals divided between the two, one monopolising rapping duties, the other perfectly-delivered singing. You’d have to be a fairly joyless bugger not to have fun with this.

The Palaces’ live incarnation steps onstage with authority, consisting of Ish armed with mic and sampler and cohort Tendai Maraire on live percussion. The early stages of their set prove somewhat impenetrable, the off- kilter beats and freedom from tangible structure a bit too challenging for much of a riled-up crowd awaiting that deep electronic sound. However, when they do lock into a steady groove it’s a revelation, heavily percussive and utterly smooth. A masterfully balanced bottom end is persistently cut through by those sharp, tight rhythms and Ish’s gloriously flowing, elegant rhymes. And as the set progresses, structure begins to blossom from disorder.

The formlessless of jazz prevails throughout, yet these extended passages simply set the stage perfectly for some of Black Up’s outstanding cuts to power through: Free Press and Curl with its formidable sway, so drawling and deep it hurts your shoulders, the rumbling and relentless Yeah You, and perhaps most captivating of all, the stunningly measured Are you ... Can you ... Were you? with its intoxicating piano sample and “it’s a feeling” mantra.

The THEESatisaction ladies join them onstage as the set nears its conclusion, adding that captivating stage presence while the chaps focus, heads down, on their next-level beats. While individual tunes revel in the signature looseness of form, the set itself is impeccably balanced and executed as a whole. The seemingly slow start becomes entirely justified as momentum builds to a series of groove-heavy numbers which has the room moving as one. It’s a live set that establishes Shabazz Palaces as without a doubt among the freshest and most challenging rap acts of 2011.


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Words: Geraint Davies