It’s A Style Sport

Ishmael Butler returns as Shabazz Palaces with It’s a Style Sport, another fearless blend of experimental hip-hop and free-form poetry. This time, there’s a more direct and reflective edge, with Butler pulling lessons from a storied career into something playful, fluid, and brilliantly open-ended.

The album was built as a true collective effort with touring band members Evan Flory-Barnes, Thaddeus Turner, Kassa Overall, Gerald Turner, Marquetta Miller, and Carlos Overall. Longtime collaborator Erik Blood adds instrumentation, production, and mixing.

At its heart, It’s a Style Sport nods to an earlier rap spirit, where wit, style, and ambition pushed artists to outdo each other. For fans of Thundercat, Steve Lacy, Oneohtrix Point Never, MF Doom, Digable Planets, and Stereolab.