Ishmael Butler Shines a Light (Part Two)

Explicit content warning

03/25/22 • 65 min

Following the break-up of Digable Planets and a return to Seattle, hip-hop visionary Ishmael Butler begins his rebirth with a new project called Shabazz Palaces. From selling handmade copies of his CD to local record stores to signing with Sub Pop and touring the world with the likes of Radiohead, Butler finds new life and sounds that inspire a new generation of rappers.

In the second part of Butler’s story, hosts Larry Mizell Jr. and Martin Douglas dig deep into his work as Shabazz Palaces and breakdown his lyricism, influence, and the familial bonds that stretch throughout the Black Constellation.

Listen to a playlist of music from the episode and read the transcript on KEXP.org

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/fresh

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to a playlist of music from the episode and read the transcript on KEXP.org

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/fresh

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Previous Episode

Ishmael Butler Shines a Light (Part One)

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Ishmael Butler is a renaissance artist who has lived many lives. You may know him from the Grammy-award winning hip-hop trio Digable Planets or the mysterious force behind the critically acclaimed Shabazz Palaces. But he doesn’t just use his powers to innovate and reinvent himself – he spreads love and inspiration as a teacher and guide to his artistic family. In his art and lifting up the Black Constellation, he’s helped put a beacon on Black art in Seattle.

On this episode, we explore Ishmael’s journey from the West Coast to the East Coast and back again. Through all his stylistic reinventions and his current artistic life as lynchpin of Shabazz Palaces, son of the Central District and under-heralded hip-hop visionary.

Listen to a playlist of music from the episode and read the transcript on KEXP.org.

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/fresh

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Next Episode

Stas THEE Boss Pays the Cost in Change

Stasia Irons, aka Stas THEE Boss, is an agent of change, a self-fulfilled prophecy of art as a means of embracing Blackness and queerness. Through her early days as half of the Sub Pop-signed hip-hop duo THEESatisfaction through her solo work, Stas has always been “ahead of her time.” But Stas isn’t content to be looked back on as an innovator – she boldly and correctly asserts that her work deserves its recognition now.

On this episode, Stas and her Black Constellation family reflect on her artistic journey, her heartbreaks, and the philosophies that made her one of America’s most gifted and slept-on rappers and producers. We also hear reflections on the term “Afrofuturism,” the burden of being the first in an artistic movement, and the spiritual and familial continuum she and the Constellation all work within.

Listen to a playlist of music from the episode and read the transcript on KEXP.org.

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/fresh

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.