Arts & Culture
Jonathan Cunningham's 2009 Top Two: D. Black and Shabazz Palaces
D. Black "Yesterday"
[audio:http://www.seattlemet.com/data/publicola-assets/03-Yesterday1.mp3]
In part, this post is for my favorite PubliCola reader, Matthew "Renndogg" Renner. He's forever commenting that "hip-hop has no redeeming values," a point that's worth arguing. Not just on a national level, but right here in Seattle.
There aren't a lot of rappers out there that are clever enough to fuse hip-hop and religion/spirituality without sounding forced. Many have tried, few can pull it off. But D. Black from the Sportn' Life family released a record in September called Ali'yah that does it flawlessly. The 22-year-old Southend rapper is a father, religious teacher, and youth mentor—all of which means, listen for the "redeeming values."
His songs are by no means preachy, but they are uplifting, and they challenge listeners to do their best at all times. His hip-hop is truly saying something. There's isn't enough of that in popular music today regardless of genre and D. Black did a good job of giving people something to think about with Ali'yah, and specifically, the album's lead single, "Yesterday."
Shabazz Palaces "Belhaven Meridian"
[audio:http://www.seattlemet.com/data/publicola-assets/Shabazz-Palaces-Belhaven-Meridian-OFFICIAL.mp3]
One of the best surprises this year was the return of Digable Planets frontman Ishmael Butler. It started with his appearance in the video for local producer Jake One's song "Home." It was definitely some stellar work from director Zia Mohajerjasbi—and Jake One provided a crisp beat, but Ish's presence and verse stood out most in the video.
Fast forward to June when a mysterious double CD project with handmade patches on the front surfaced at local record stores from Shabazz Palaces, a group that nobody had ever heard of. There was no website, no MySpace, and little information to be found about Shabazz.
But those in the know were whispering it was Ish's new side project. The music was just as hard hitting and esoteric as anything you'd expect from the local hip-hop genius. Yet it was full of enough raw surprises and raw production to catch people off guard. He was initially coy about admitting Shabazz Palaces was his latest brainchild, but Ish has since said it's him. And he'll be performing these songs live in concert on January 8th at Neumos. If you haven't heard it yet, check out "Belhaven Meridian" and get hip to why some 20 years in, Ish is still one of the kings of Seattle hip-hop.
[audio:http://www.seattlemet.com/data/publicola-assets/03-Yesterday1.mp3]
In part, this post is for my favorite PubliCola reader, Matthew "Renndogg" Renner. He's forever commenting that "hip-hop has no redeeming values," a point that's worth arguing. Not just on a national level, but right here in Seattle.
There aren't a lot of rappers out there that are clever enough to fuse hip-hop and religion/spirituality without sounding forced. Many have tried, few can pull it off. But D. Black from the Sportn' Life family released a record in September called Ali'yah that does it flawlessly. The 22-year-old Southend rapper is a father, religious teacher, and youth mentor—all of which means, listen for the "redeeming values."
His songs are by no means preachy, but they are uplifting, and they challenge listeners to do their best at all times. His hip-hop is truly saying something. There's isn't enough of that in popular music today regardless of genre and D. Black did a good job of giving people something to think about with Ali'yah, and specifically, the album's lead single, "Yesterday."
Shabazz Palaces "Belhaven Meridian"
[audio:http://www.seattlemet.com/data/publicola-assets/Shabazz-Palaces-Belhaven-Meridian-OFFICIAL.mp3]
One of the best surprises this year was the return of Digable Planets frontman Ishmael Butler. It started with his appearance in the video for local producer Jake One's song "Home." It was definitely some stellar work from director Zia Mohajerjasbi—and Jake One provided a crisp beat, but Ish's presence and verse stood out most in the video.
Fast forward to June when a mysterious double CD project with handmade patches on the front surfaced at local record stores from Shabazz Palaces, a group that nobody had ever heard of. There was no website, no MySpace, and little information to be found about Shabazz.
But those in the know were whispering it was Ish's new side project. The music was just as hard hitting and esoteric as anything you'd expect from the local hip-hop genius. Yet it was full of enough raw surprises and raw production to catch people off guard. He was initially coy about admitting Shabazz Palaces was his latest brainchild, but Ish has since said it's him. And he'll be performing these songs live in concert on January 8th at Neumos. If you haven't heard it yet, check out "Belhaven Meridian" and get hip to why some 20 years in, Ish is still one of the kings of Seattle hip-hop.
