LISTEN: Shabazz Palaces Release New Song “Ham Sandwich”

Seattle-based experimental hip-hop group Shabazz Palaces capped off 2014 by releasing a new track, “Ham Sandwich”, through their Twitter account on December 31st.

“Ham Sandwich” comes on the heels of the group’s 2014 album, “Lese Majesty“, which was a follow up to Shabazz Palaces’s “Black Up” (2011). The new song deals with the issue of police brutality. This issue has become a polarizing topic in the media during 2014, following a series of incidents involving police officers.

“Ham Sandwich” features the group’s trademark pointed unflinching lyrics, and has been produced in a way that raises the feeling of uneasiness created within the verses. MusicTimes describes “Ham Sandwhich” as being “backed by relatively traditional boom bap beat, along with some wonderfully spacey and psychedelic production flourishes.” And, the group has taken a direct approach, with the entire track abruptly ending just after two minutes. The abrupt finish has caused MusicTimes to question if this new song isn’t a just a teaser of a longer take. (At this time, we cannot independently verify if it is, or is not.) Despite the minimalistic time frame, Shabazz Palaces structured the words and the beats in a way that creates a lasting and vivid impression.

Here’s the original Shabazz Palaces tweet:

Check it out “Ham Sandwich”, below.