Shabazz Palaces to Return with 'Lese Majesty' This Summer

Published May 05, 2014
Ishmael "Palaceer Lazaro" Butler and Tendai "Baba" Maraire are both involved in Chimurenga Renaissance, a new group with whom they released an album this spring. Now, the pair have returned to their other project, Shabazz Palaces, for a new full-length.
The collection is called Lese Majesty, and it will be out on Sub Pop on July 29. This past weekend, the album premiered at a laser show at the Pacific Science Center's Laser Dome in Seattle.
The Stranger's write-up called it "the future of hip-hop" and said, "There was no need for drugs, or even the dazzling light show, since the music's fathoms-deep dubscapes and strategically predatory beats equaled the angular and smoky psychedelic visuals — each track already dazzled by a universe of deep-space stars, clouds of galactic gases, and the bright trails of wandering balls of ice."
Consider us intrigued.
Complex points out that the title refers to "lèse-majesté," a French term that translates as "injured majesty." This means violating a country's leader, implying that there will likely be a political bent to the album.
Lese Majesty is the follow-up to 2011's Black Up.