THEESatisfaction: psychedelic space-soul jazz-rap from Seattle

October 16, 2013 7:52 PM

THEESatisfaction is Catherine Harris-White (Cat) and Stasia Irons (Stasi), the spacey future-rap duo from Seattle who (kind of) got their break from the like-minded Shabazz Palaces, a collective lead by Ishmael Butler, aka Palaceer Lazaro. Shabazz Palaces was signed to the Seattle label Sup Pop in 2010, and they released Black Up (YT, official album stream), with THEESatisfaction featured as guest vocalists. From that appearance, Sub Pop signed the duo, and released their album, awE naturalE (YT, official album stream) last year. If that's not enough psychedelic space-soul jazz-rap, then check out their Bandcamp page, which is the source of their rambling collection of genres, and contains their releases from 2008 through the present. And if that's not enough ...

QueenS is their only (?) official music video to date, but they've appeared on KEXP a few times, and their sets have been professionally recorded and mixed (30 minute set, live from the Bumbershoot Music Lounge, recorded September 1, 2012; live in the KEXP studio, recorded 3/27/2012), and of course, there's a ton more on YouTube.

Elliott Sharp interviewed THEESatisfaction for A.V. Club after Cat and Stasi signed with Sub Pop, and Eddie "Stats" from Okayplayer had a great interview with the duo in 2011, right after their video shoot for QueenS.

Last but not least, there's a link to the awkward Shabazz Palaces & THEESatisfaction NPR interview above the break, and I would be remiss to link to the Grind & Shine series from 2011, focusing on Seattle's rap scene.

posted by filthy light thief (10 comments total)

Seriously, their bandcamp page is great. It features a bunch of random stuff from them, including their Black Power Arrangers release, "Christmas on the Moon," which might be favorite version of Jingle Bells, which you could probably get away with playing all year long (or maybe not). They also have a few tribute EPs/Mixtapes, including THEESatisfaction Loves Erykah Badu (free download) and THEESatisfaction Loves Anita Baker (streaming only).
posted by filthy light thief at 7:59 PM on October 16, 2013

Oh man, I loved Black Up. This post will take me a while to digest.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 8:16 PM on October 16, 2013

Thanks for introducing me to two amazing albums!
posted by Taft at 9:55 PM on October 16, 2013

As featured on my latest Mefiswap mix.
Go me!
posted by asok at 6:41 AM on October 17, 2013

Love them. Been rockin Kinks for a while. Tupac in back of a mail truck...Jackson with dookie braids, just workin out the kink-kinks.
posted by cashman at 6:49 AM on October 17, 2013

My husband and I saw them last summer at LouFest in Saint Louis. Outstanding. Here is a video of their set.
posted by hworth at 6:53 AM on October 17, 2013

If you're reading this all and you're thinking "I'm not really into hip-hop and rap," consider the musical backgrounds of Cat (jazz, funk and house) and Stas (old school hip-hop, soul and gospel).
posted by filthy light thief at 6:58 AM on October 17, 2013

I had the opportunity to see Shabazz anf THEE at the Granada in Dallas this May, and man... what a show. Definitely have a ton of respect. It was one of my favorites this year.

There is some video of the show at the bottom of the page.
posted by Benway at 10:57 AM on October 17, 2013

They're great live, too. Thanks for the post!
posted by (Over) Thinking at 8:42 PM on October 17, 2013

Oh wow, this is GREAT. Shabazz Palaces are so good and I'm loving THEESatisfaction's stuff.
posted by Frobenius Twist at 8:52 PM on October 26, 2013