Not counting the preceding
Lavarr the Starr collaboration
Illusions Ago -- the inaugural release on
Ishmael Butler's
Glass Cane label --
Robed in Rareness is the first
Shabazz Palaces EP since the self-issued 2009 pair that predated
Black Up. While
Robed is proffered as a link to those early short-form efforts for its leanness, it's still some of the group's spaciest work and is coolly distant rather than in your face. With production credited to
Laz Shabazz (possibly
Butler, aka
Palaceer Lazaro, maybe also the
Laz who appeared in modulated form on
Quazars vs. The Jealous Machines), its seven tracks are rhythmically labyrinthine, unhurried in tempo, with clamping drums and cosmic synthesizers that burble, prance, and sometimes create a sense of menace. The only track without a featured role is the uncharacteristically dispirited and open "Hustle Crossers." Each of the half-dozen tougher and lighter tracks before it pairs
Butler with a guest MC. Like
Butler, the mysterious
Lavarr,
Geechi Suede (of
Camp Lo),
Porter Ray,
O Finess, and
Lil Tracy (
Butler's well-established son) keep it mostly swanky if low-key on those cuts, rarely conspicuous enough to catch a glare from a rear-view mirror if they were reciting the rhymes on a bus. The effect is typically cosmic for
Shabazz Palaces despite the dominance of boasts and aspersions.
Butler at times might be a little too obliging, such as when fellow Seattlite
Porter Ray takes over to install a stripper pole on "P Kicking G" -- though it's amusing to hear
Porter answer a
Butler query with "'Cause she's smooth like that," in casual reference to his host's breakthrough single with
Digable Planets. This EP was issued as "the first in a series" that could become more fascinating with further deviations. ~ Andy Kellman