Allow me to reintroduce myself: Shabazz Palaces’ Palaceer Lazaro CBC Music - Free Streaming Radio, Videos, Songs, Concerts & Playlists

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Gain more insight into significant hip-hop figures by checking out their revealing answers to our questionnaire.

We caught up with Seattle's Palaceer Lazaro ahead of Shabazz Palaces' performances during Sled Island fest in Calgary this week, and learned much about where he's coming from.

What was the first hip-hop record you ever bought and where'd you get it?

Ohhh, you know what it was? It was the 12-inch of “My Melody” by Eric B. and Rakim. Everyone was going crazy over that, I remember that. There used to be this place in downtown Philly called Sound of Market Records or something. They used to have the DJ equipment downstairs and the records upstairs.

Where did the name that you perform under come from exactly?

Oh, all that’s secret stuff man. The names and where they come from; those are my secrets man. I mean, they gives you a name you know what I’m sayin’ and sometimes it’s fresh, sometimes it’s cool, a lot of times it’s amazing. But it’s still your name that was given to you, you know what I’m sayin’? And you respect it cuz you love your mom and dad or maybe there’s some historical reasons, so boom. But you feel different ways during your life and I always feel like it’s cool to name yourself according to what you want, what you’re feeling and who you’ve become. And then those names come to you in epiphany-type times and things like that so, that’s why you keep it to yourself.

What was the last book you read and how was it?

Oh, I just read this book The Cold Commands by Richard Morgan and it was outta this world man, awesome. It’s kinda like a sci-fi adventure set in the past. He’s just a good writer man; his imagination is dazzling, engaging and seductive. He knows how to write action well and it’s just a real superfluous work. He’s got six or seven books and they all go pretty hard. It’s much more interesting than most science-fiction man and it’s not nerdy at all.

Where is your favourite place to eat on planet Earth and what are we having?

Damn. That’s actually really impossible for me to say because I have a very sensual love and relationship with eating, know what I’m sayin’? Everything’s current with me and then, from all the places I’ve been, it’s like, "OK, if I get here, I know I gotta go there, there, there," know what I mean? But I will say, I was in Honolulu on the other side of the island and I went to this spot – I forget the name of it – but they had a black bean burger there that I would walk there to try and get one again man. There’s a place in Seattle, too, called Paseo that’s pretty good, too. I would have to put Paseo pretty high up on the list of culinary delights.

Which artist, living or dead, would you most like to collaborate with and why?

I would say Frida Kahlo because I would just like to chill with her for a while. Hopefully what we did, we wouldn’t tell anyone else. Don’ t insinuate anything man! I just, I like her a lot. Let’s just leave it at that.

See Shabazz Palaces at Broken City on Thursday, June 21, and at Olympic Plaza on Saturday, June 23, in Calgary for Sled Island.