Shabazz Palaces - It's a Style Sport (2026) [Hi-Res]

Ishmael Butler is one of the most consistent yet ever-shifting figures in American hip-hop. His path began with Digable Planets: the debut Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) produced the hit “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat),” built on an Art Blakey sample, and in 1994 came Blowout Comb, an album recorded with a live band and close in spirit to the trip-hop of Massive Attack and Tricky. After a long silence, Butler returned in 2009 with the EPs Shabazz Palaces and Of Light, then released the classic Black Up in 2011, an Afrofuturist art hip-hop record with mbira and heavy percussion.

Since then he has steadily developed his own niche in Shabazz Palaces (Lese Majesty, Robed in Rareness). The eighth album, It’s a Style Sport, is among his strongest: “Deadstock Dude” features whispery delivery, a trip-hop tempo and jazz piano; “Field Notes” swings over upright bass and brushed triplets; “Jheri Curl Jump” is electro-funk; and “Tongue in Chic” pairs shoegaze guitar with new wave synth-rock in the manner of Prince, with a playful lyric about a new girlfriend who cooks wonderfully but leaves the kitchen a mess.

Tracklist:
01-01 Shabazz Palaces - Ahh World (I Won The Alpha Bet) [2:53]
01-02 Shabazz Palaces - Field Notes [3:43]
01-03 Shabazz Palaces - Show Me Missouri In Mink [4:34]
01-04 Shabazz Palaces - Jheri Curl Jump [3:22]
01-05 Shabazz Palaces - Deadstock Dude [4:01]
01-06 Shabazz Palaces - Tongue In Chic [3:01]
01-07 Shabazz Palaces - Heliocentric Immortality Manifesto H.I.M. [3:45]
01-08 Shabazz Palaces - Olivia According To Touch [3:10]
01-09 Shabazz Palaces - Money Can't Save Your Mind [4:38]
01-10 Shabazz Palaces - From One Future To Another [5:38]