BY BANDINI • SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

In July, veteran producer and mixmaster DJ Shadow released a collaboration with De La Soul. The Davis, California native who was part of the Solesides/Quannum Projects family released “Rocket Fuel” prompting fans to assume that a new album was on the way.

Now, Heads learn that it’s going to be Shadow’s first double album. What’s more, November 15’s Our Pathetic Age boasts a truly incredible guest list for Hip-Hop fans. Shadow, who worked with Paris in the early 1990s, links with Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Run The Jewels, Wiki, and Tef Poe. Additionally, Shadow involves two legendary Queens, New York MCs, Pharaohe Monch and Nas, together on “Drone Warfare.” Mass Appeal label-mates including Dave East and Stro appear, as do members of Solesides, including Blackalicious’ Gift Of Gab and Latryrx’s Lateef The Truthspeaker.

The album includes 11 instrumental tracks, including a fully-composed orchestral piece by the revered crate-digger. The second half of the double LP includes vocal guests in several genres. Regarding the works’ title and theme, Shadow explained in a press statement. “More than anything, I try to get a sense of the mood of society as a whole. The subtle signals that humans send each other, the way people behave, their frustrations and ebbs and flows. In my part of the world, people are scared. There’s rampant homelessness, and a real fear of falling into generational poverty. People are addicted to, and addled by distraction; they’re angry and confused, and disaffected by their own governmental institutions. There’s songs that are inspired by this energy and seek to harness it, to make sense of it. In some cases, there’s attempts to salve the wound; in others, the songs merely observe but don’t offer solutions. Despite the title, it’s a hopeful, vibrant album…there is always light in darkness. I want it to reflect the times we live in, a signpost in the ground to mark the era…Our Pathetic Age.”

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