It's probably a reflection of either the stagnancy or the restrictive traditionalism of independent rap that Black Up, the full-length debut from Shabazz Palaces, feels way fresher and more unprecedented than it actually is. Sub Pop's first rap artist, Shabazz Palaces is the latest project from Digable Planets' docile-voiced hippie Ishmael Butler, who's traded happy jazz for a shell-shocked barrage of electronica, future-funk, dubstep and, well, happy jazz. Butler's synthesizer-freaked beats aren't actually all that different from what Gucci Mane's been rapping over lately—or, for that matter, from Diplo's Gucci Mane remixes—but in '90s-fixated independent rap circles there aren't too many artists making records with such a dense, modern boom.
The braying clamor of “Run The World (Girls),” the overworked, under-performing lead single from Beyoncé's fourth album, 4, misrepresents the record's more reserved tone, which draws more to the sophisticated adult R&B of the '80s and '90s adult than modern pop. It's an intimate, monogamy-minded album, but even on its smallest songs, Beyoncé still delivers monster performances, and its ballads (especially opener "1 + 1") are some of the finest of her career.
Big Sean may be Kanye West's protégé, but on his oft-delayed debut Finally Famous he mostly sounds like Drake's uncomplicated, much less talented little brother.
Also out this week:
Billy Ray Cyrus – I'm American
Dolly Parton – Better Day
Gillian Welch – The Harrow & The Harvest
Handsome Furs – Sound Kapital
Limp Bizkit – Gold Cobra
Marianne Faithful – Horses and High Heels
Pete Rock and Smif-n-Wessun - Monumental
Taking Back Sunday – Taking Back Sunday
Thievery Corporation – Culture of Fear
