April 16th, 2012 - 5:29 pm

Life-Changing Art: Ishmael Butler (Shabazz Palaces)

miles bitches brew cover

What piece of art changed your life? How did it affect you?

The cover to Miles Davis' Bitches Brew. It was the first time I saw music—the feel of the sounds—represented in imagery that seemed perfect in both its abstractness and literal interpretation.

Ishmael Butler and Shabazz Palaces put out one of the most adventurous and experimental releases, Black Up, of 2011. He used to be a member of Digable Planets, which Shabazz sounds nothing like. To me, they're the Radiohead of hip-hop, and I hope they're in it for the long haul. Tomorrow night, they're at Sonar with !!!.