Black Up

Black Up
Studio album by Shabazz Palaces
Released June 28, 2011
Genre Experimental hip hop[1]
Label Sub Pop
Producer Knife Knights
Shabazz Palaces chronology
Live at Sasquatch 2010
(2011)		 Black Up
(2011)		 Live at KEXP
(2012)

Black Up is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Shabazz Palaces. It was released on June 28, 2011 in the United States on Sub Pop. The album was produced by "Knife Knights.plcrs at Gunbeat Serenade Studio in Outplace Palacelands."[2]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100 [3]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]
The A.V. ClubA[5]
Robert ChristgauA–[6]
The Guardian[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
NME8/10[9]
The Observer[10]
Pitchfork Media8.8/10[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
Slant Magazine[13]
Spin7/10[14]

Black Up received considerable critical acclaim; many commented on the experimental song structures and intricate lyricism. Review aggregator Metacritic gave the album a normalised rating of 83, indicating "Universal Acclaim".[15] Metacritic included Black Up in its "Midyear Report: The Best Music of 2011 So Far." [16]

In his review for MSN Music, music critic Robert Christgau said that, misleading titles notwithstanding, the album "improves mightily when the volume is high enough to break the beats into components so they're impossible to ignore."[6] Jon Pareles, writing in The New York Times, viewed the album as proof that hip hop "still has an audacious progressive fringe."[17] Kitty Empire of The Observer wrote that, although it is not game-changing, Black Up resonate with listeners in a way the conventional hip hop cannot because each track is "lean and muscular, never losing sight of the fact that hip-hop should writhe inexorably forward."[10]

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Mojo[18] UK Top 50 albums of 2011 2011 36
Popmatters[19] US 75 Best Albums of 2011 2011 30
Pitchfork Media[20] US Best Albums of 2011 2011 14
Hip Hop Is Read[21] US Top 25 Hip Hop Albums of 2011 2011 10
Epitonic[22] US Top 40 Albums of 2011 2011 4
Gorilla vs. Bear[23] US Albums of 2011 2011 1
Prefixmag[24] US Top 50 Albums of 2011 2011 1
The Seattle Times[25] US Best Pop Music 2011 2011 1
Potholes In My Blog[26] US Top 15 Albums of 2011 2011 1
Cokemachineglow[27] US Top 50 Albums of 2011 2011 1

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Free Press and Curl"   4:16
2. "An Echo From the Hosts That Profess Infinitum"   3:15
3. "Are You... Can You... Were You? (Felt)"   4:48
4. "A Treatease Dedicated to the Avian Airess from North East Nubis (1000 Questions, 1 Answer)"   2:46
5. "Youlogy"   3:59
6. "Endeavors For Never (The Last Time We Spoke You Said You Were Not Here. I Saw You Though.)"   2:51
7. "Recollections of the Wraith"   3:36
8. "The King's New Clothes Were Made by His Own Hands"   2:07
9. "Yeah You"   3:21
10. "Swerve... The Reeping of All That Is Worthwhile (Noir Not Withstanding)"   5:10

Personnel

Shabazz Palaces
Additional personnel

References

  1. ↑ Wragg, Stephen (August 9, 2011). "Shabazz Palaces: Black Up". No Ripcord. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Sub Pop – Black Up". Sub Pop. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  3. ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/music/black-up/shabazz-palaces
  4. ↑ Lymangrover, Jason. "Review: Black Up". Allmusic. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  5. ↑ Martins, Chris (June 28, 2011). "Shabazz Palaces: Black Up". The A.V. Club (Chicago). Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (July 12, 2011). "Shabazz Palaces/Street Sweeper Social Club". MSN Music. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  7. ↑ Andrews, Charlotte Richardson (June 24, 2011). "Shabazz Palaces: Black Up – review". The Guardian (London). Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  8. ↑ Weiss, Jeff (June 20, 2011). "Album Review: Shabazz Palaces' 'Black Up'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  9. ↑ Elan, Priya (June 21, 2011). "Album Review: Shabazz Palaces – 'Black Up'". NME. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  10. 1 2 Empire, Kitty (July 2, 2011). "Shabazz Palaces: Black Up – review". The Observer (London). Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  11. ↑ Grandy, Eric. "Pitchfork review".
  12. ↑ Dolan, Jon (August 15, 2011). "Black Up". Rolling Stone (New York). Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  13. ↑ Cataldo, Jesse (June 27, 2011). "Shabazz Palaces: Black Up". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  14. ↑ Reeves, Mosi (June 28, 2011). "Shabazz Palaces, 'Black Up' (Sub Pop)". Spin (New York). Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  15. ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/music/black-up
  16. ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/feature/best-music-of-2011-so-far
  17. ↑ Pareles, Jon (July 3, 2011). "Industrial Hip-Hop And Bouncy Sociopathy". The New York Times. p. AR14. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  18. ↑ "MOJO's Top 50 Albums Of 2011". Stereogum. December 2, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  19. ↑ Popmatters Staff. "The 75 Best Albums of 2011". Popmatters. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  20. ↑ Amanda Petrusich. "Staff Lists: The Top 50 Albums of 2011". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  21. ↑ Ivan Rt. "The Top 25 Hip Hop Albums of 2011". Hip Hop Is Read. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  22. ↑ Epitonic Staff. "Epitonic's Top 40 Albums of 2011". Epitonic. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  23. ↑ Chris. "contributor list: Top 30 Albums of 2011". gorillavsbear. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
  24. ↑ Staff. "best music of 2011: Prefix's Top 50 Albums Of 2011". Prefixmag. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  25. ↑ Andrew Matson. "best pop music of 2011: Best pop music 2011: Seattle and beyond". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  26. ↑ David Reyneke. "Top 15 Albums of 2011". Potholes In My Blog. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  27. ↑ Clayton Purdom. "Top 50 Albums of 2011". Cokemachineglow. Retrieved January 4, 2012.

External links

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