Video Omnibus

Peace be upon you.

4 worthy videos to end the year in style:

Firstly, one from the vault: Digable on Letterman in 1993 performing a sunny rendition of Where I'm From. Check out Doodlebug's dance moves! I'm convinced that things were better then. Not in type, just degree. As Ish has argued in his "Excerpt from Curse Words" address on shabazzpalaces.com the last twenty years have seen a marked degradation masquerading as 'progress'. '93 still had about it an air of the 80s that was nothing but a memory by '97.

Secondly, the Digable show at Anaheim's House of Blues from Sep 17th 2008. I personally remember the electric atmosphere at the London show in Febuary 2005 but this was on another level altogether, thanks in part to Victor Tapia's brilliant percussion. Songs: Rebirth of Slick (remix), An untitled new track [presumably meant for the ill-fated reunion LP], another unidentified new track [with Ish's lyrics from SP's "A Mess.."], and an undescribably cool renditon of Pacifics. In 2 parts.

Thirdly, a rare interview by WBC Magazine, from last month. Digable Planets is now officially Ish and C-Knowledge, aka 'The Oil Brothers'. Interesting name... Oil features largely in Shabazz Palaces' iconography as I hope to discuss in a later post.

Fourthly, and bringing the story to the present, the Shabazz Palaces show on KEXP radio has been uploaded onto 'You Tube' complete with visuals, lyrics, and 800-year old Sufi poetry from Rumi, thanks to an appreciative fan going by the name of Koobkang.

Looking ahead, Shabazz Palaces will be playing their first show at Neumos in Seattle, WA on January 8th 2010. There's a huge buzz surrounding this date so expect a sell out and get your tickets soon... and someone, please, record it!

Radio Appearance: Listen Up (do it now listen up)

The short but sweet 20 minute (not one hour as I expected) SP appearance on KEXP FM was quite delicious, nutritious, and downright vicious. You can hear it here via streaming and it's been uploaded onto You Tube here. Also, I recorded it and can send anyone the mp3 if they'd like to have it. Just ask.

Although it's billed as an interview as well as set, it's amusing to note the astounded even bewildered tone of the host, Mr Mizell Jr (above). He was definitely as blown away as us listeners by this. Indeed what is one to ask Ish regarding SP?! Best to sit back and enjoy the sounds; it'll be a few years at least before we're able to start to piece together the fragments of this sonic bomb blast.

Respect to KEXP, Larry Mizell Jr, and the Raindrop Hustla.

Butterfly n Doodlebug 2009 Tour

Catch Ish and C-Knowledge on tour performing Digable classics as well as their respective solo projects this autumn/winter. If you make it please record some SP songs and upload them. S'il vous plait.

4 Nov 2009 KENT, Ohio
6 Nov 2009 Rock Island, Illinois
7 Nov 2009 Des Moines, Iowa
8 Nov 2009 St. Louis, Missouri
10 Nov 2009 Chicago, Illinois
11 Nov 2009 MADISON, Wisconsin
12 Nov 2009 Minneapolis, Minnesota
13 Nov 2009 Lawrence, Kansas
2 Dec 2009 Santa Barbara, California
3 Dec 2009 West Hollywood, California
4 Dec 2009 San Diego, California
5 Dec 2009 San Francisco, California
7 Dec 2009 Santa Cruz, California
9 Dec 2009 Sebastol, California
11 Dec 2009 Seattle, Washington
12 Dec 2009 Boise, Idaho
13 Dec 2009 Portland, Oregon

For more info and to hear the new track "Freshout" visit the myspace page.

A Nickel Bag of What?

A blast from the past performed just recently. Ish comes with all new lyrics which as anyone who has been following Digable's live performances knows, has been somewhat of a tradition with this song since the beginning. Far into 'the zone' and thankfully it has been recorded and uploaded for posterity. A shame that no one has yet uploaded footage of the SP tracks which were said to have been performed at the beginning of the show. Take note!

Article

Excellent piece on SP by Dave Segal in Seattle's The Stranger newspaper: The Rise of Afro-Eccentricism

Video

The first Shabazz Palaces video is the mesmerising Belhaven Meridian directed by Kahlil Joseph.

I am curious to hear what others thought of all the symbols. Apparently it is a homage to the classic film Killer of Sheep from 1977, so I will track that down before putting any thoughts down.

Radio Show

Shabazz Palaces will be on KEXP at 8pm pst tonight (Sunday 25/10/09) for a whole hour. Listen live: http://www.kexp.org/

My finger is poised at the record button, in case you miss it.

Peace be upon you. Welcome to a Shabazz Palaces discussion forum; we hope you will find some thing of interest here. Remember to maintain excellent manners when posting.