Shabazz Palaces is still releasing videos for their 2017 double album, Quazarz, which came out in two parts: Quazarz Vs. The Jealous Machines and Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star. “Julian’s Dream (Ode To A Bad)” comes from the former, while “Moon Whip Quäz” lives on the latter. Both videos are directed by filmmaking group Tean Video and display the quirky, surreal aesthetic that have become the band’s trademark over the past 12 months.
In the video for “Moon Whip Quäz,” a teen girls’ movie night takes an eerie twist when they inadvertently conjure a spooky but solid apparition with an Ouija board and an old VHS tape. The video is sure to also conjure memories of late-90s Blockbuster nights with its ode to the video store and grainy, analog tape-inspired visual effects. There’s also some intercut close-ups of some kind of tutting tutorial, grounding the video firmly in Shabazz Palaces’ love for old-school hip-hop.
Meanwhile, “Julian’s Dream” opens with some borrowed visual cues from Get Out, and features a late-night science lab heist. It then launches into a homage to “strong women,” with references to the protestors, reporters, athletes, and single moms who have made news and changed the world in the past year(s). Check out both videos above.
