Underneath The Subtlest Inflections

Shabazz Palaces “Are You…Can You…Were You? (Felt)”

“Are You…Can You…Were You? (Felt)” doesn’t sound much like a rap track at first. The first minute is pure atmosphere, a contemplative instrumental that sets up some subtle musical themes for the remainder of the piece. From there, the song moves along in a slow, lateral progression pushed along by a shifting series of keyboard samples. In most rap songs, there is a rigid structure to facilitate rhymes — 16 bars verses, a chorus, maybe an intro and an outro. Maybe once in a while you get something like a bridge, but it’s usually quite utilitarian in form. Shabazz Palaces don’t follow these usual patterns at all. Ishmael Butler’s raps follow the tangents of the music — his words and presence are crucial, but he’s not necessarily the focal point of the track. Rap is a genre that tends to emphasize ego, but there’s a great humility in how Butler interacts with the music on Shabazz Palace’s Black Up. He doesn’t crowd anything out, he follows the lead of the other “players,” so to speak. He knows when to keep quiet. None of this is unprecedented, just sort of rare. Black Up is a record that truly embraces the possibilities of rap in a way that isn’t stuffy or ostentatious. It just does its own thing and leaves you wondering why there isn’t more hip hop out there that is similarly adventurous in form. Particular to “Are You…,” I wonder why there isn’t more rap that be accurately described as pensive and meditative.

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