User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info
  • Record Label:
  • Release Date:
Lese Majesty Image
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 36 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 39 Ratings

  • Summary: This is the second full-length release from the Seattle-based experimental hip-hop group led by Ishmael Butler.
Buy Now
Buy on

Top Track

Forerunner Foray
Now you could feel all the tension Building up at the convention As the hustlers began to arrive Must have been 9000 or more That came through the... See the rest of the song lyrics
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 36
  2. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. Jul 28, 2014
    100
    Hip-hop is constantly being tweaked and nudged in new directions, but rarely is it reconfigured as radically, and thrillingly, as on this second album from Shabazz Palaces.
  2. Jul 31, 2014
    90
    Like floating from level to placid level in Monument, listening to this record prompts your imagination and encourages discourse and reflection. Not the academic kind, but the kind of communal discovery people have been doing for ages.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Aug 5, 2014
    83
    Shabazz Palaces let a little fresh air and whimsy slip into their dense melange of whispered rhymes and slack-jawed space beats. [9 Aug 2014, p.67]
  4. Uncut
    Jul 18, 2014
    80
    The Shabazz sound is sprawling and promiscuous, but also deep, which might make for uneasy listening. [Aug 2014, p.79]
  5. 80
    As a statement of blingy opulence, it’s a big look. As gangsta move, it’s pretty potent too. At the same time, though, it proves that while Shabazz Palaces are definitely moving in hip-hop’s orbit, they’re spinning further out than most.
  6. Jul 24, 2014
    80
    It is a record to indulge in, one melting synth note at a time.
  7. Mojo
    Jul 18, 2014
    60
    Not so much the future of hip hop as a giant leap sideways. [Aug 2014, p.86]

See all 36 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Apr 7, 2018
    10
    Truly innovative hip-hop album! So trippy and psychedelic!

    Fav Tracks: Dawn In Luxor, Forerunner Foray, They Come In Gold, Harem Aria,
    Truly innovative hip-hop album! So trippy and psychedelic!

    Fav Tracks: Dawn In Luxor, Forerunner Foray, They Come In Gold, Harem Aria, Ishmael, #CAKE, Motion Sickness
    Expand
  2. May 18, 2017
    9
    I would give this album a 10 if it wasn't for the two instrumental interludes following Noetic Noiromantics. Otherwise this is probably in myI would give this album a 10 if it wasn't for the two instrumental interludes following Noetic Noiromantics. Otherwise this is probably in my top 10 favorite albums of all time.

    Track Ratings
    Dawn in Luxor: 8/10
    Forerunner Foray: 8/10
    They Come in Gold: 9.5/10
    Solemn Swears: 7.5/10
    Harem Aria: 8.5/10
    Noetic Noiromantics: 8/10
    Ishmael: 6/10
    ...down 155th in the MCM Snorkel: 7/10
    #CAKE: 8/10
    Colluding Oligarchs: 7.5/10
    MindGlitch Keytar TM Theme: 8.5/10
    Motion Sickness: 10/10
    New Black Wave: 6/10
    Expand
  3. Aug 20, 2014
    9
    I enjoyed this more than their debt album. It's just as experimental, but somehow more accessible. It also has a sense of melancholy, mystery,I enjoyed this more than their debt album. It's just as experimental, but somehow more accessible. It also has a sense of melancholy, mystery, and awe to it that i really liked. The lyrics are just as powerful; giving hope to the oppressed, encouraging defiance in them, and contemplating the nature of ego. Expand
  4. Aug 3, 2014
    7
    Firstly the album has almost twice the number of tracks compared to Black Up. And many are actually just fillers, mostly lasting under oneFirstly the album has almost twice the number of tracks compared to Black Up. And many are actually just fillers, mostly lasting under one minute. Not saying it's bad or anything but the album just feel disorganized. Unlike Black Up, where one track has like two/three songs or ideas in them, especially for the first half od the record, here it is the same thing but the duo decided to split them up into seperate tracks. Not saying it is a bad record. I do like the fact that they experimented with this suite thing in the album and the very morphed out psychedelic sounds this album has. Even way more psychedelic.

    MUST HEAR TRACKS:
    DAWN IN LUXOR
    FORERUNNER FORAY
    THEY COME IN GOLD
    ISHMAEL
    #CAKE
    MOTION SICKNESS
    NEW BLACK WAVE

    AVOID TRACKS:
    SOUNDVIEW
    Expand