Deep in the cherry pit of the Central District lives an awe-inspiring talent whose unique presence can fill a room. How he can fit all of his talent into his micro-studio apartment is beyond me. But, prior to the release of Koga Shabazz’s sophomore album, Murder Me!, I spent an afternoon there digging around his mind.
I arrived to find Koga flipping between two laptops running through the hundreds of original tracks, beats, and random verses he has in his library. Occasionally he’d take a break to play Skate for a few minutes before passing the controller back off to his homeboy.
Previously, I had written about Shabazz’s last release, Overture to the Unknown, which was his gritty debut. Clearly inspired by the grimy city around him, it sounded classic, yet fresh and raw at the same time. When describing his writing process for me he said that drawing inspiration from his surroundings is a huge part of it.
Even though he headlined at Neumos, he’s modeling for Heffner Management, and even gets some beats from Jake One; I still feel like Koga Shabazz is slept on and kept in the underground. He just released his new album, Murder Me!, and it absolutely blew me away.
Koga Shabazz “Murder Me!” Music Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hagROE2KKDI
Pressing play felt more like opening a book. Every song is a different part and every verse is a different chapter. He experiments with different flows and vocal approaches. Some verses feature his raspy deep serious tone, some are light-hearted and spit quick. Then there are the times that the bass line starts walking and he gets more soulful with it.
Taylor’s Top Tracks
“2 AND 2” (prod. Brokebwoy, Yondo, The Historian & Kevin Lavitt)
“CULTURE” Ft. Hazel Scott (prod. BasedGodBoomin’)
“STAGNATE” Ft. Sharmaine (prod. Knxwledge & The Historian)
Now let’s talk transitions. These songs fit seamlessly into each other. It feels natural the way Koga goes from one vibe to the next, even smack dab in the middle of a song. Even his Boondocks samples fit in like they were meant to be there. But then to really blow your mind, it all comes full circle with the same sample ending the album as it started with.
