Much like the recently reformed group of NY producers/MCs known as Anti-Pop Consortium, Seattle’s Shabazz Palaces (a.k.a. Palaceer Lazaro of Digable Planets) has a serious penchant for being obtuse. Between the unwieldy song titles (“Swerve… The reeping of all that is worthwhile (Noir not withstanding)” isn’t exactly what you’d expect attached to a hip-hop tune), the fractured nature of the productions (some tracks might as well be two separate songs), and the existential subject matter (“I’m free to be a slave to all these things I can’t escape,” for instance), it’s safe to say Lazaro’s music isn’t what we’d call typical. That being said, this track—which closes out the artist’s forthcoming full-length for Sub Pop, Black Up (pictured above)—is a relatively cohesive and catchy jam. The slow-grooving beat that opens up “Swerve” is quickly paired with an elastic synth tone and an infectious hook, sounding almost like Shabazz Palaces wants to squeeze in one radio-friendly track before his 10-track LP stops spinning. And he does—that is, until it eventually transforms into something altogether different. (via Pitchfork)

Swerve… The reeping of all that is worthwhile (Noir not withstanding)