Ishmael Reginald Butler (born July 3, 1969) is an American rapper, record producer and songwriter. He is best known for his work with such groups as

Digable Planets Digable Planets () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987. The trio is composed of rappers Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, Mariana "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira, and Craig "Doodlebug" Irving. The group is notable for their contributions to the subgen ...

in the 1990s and

Shabazz Palaces Shabazz Palaces is an American hip hop group from Seattle led by Ishmael Butler a.k.a. Palaceer Lazaro (formerly Butterfly of jazz rap group Digable Planets). Much of Butler's work as Shabazz Palaces has been made in collaboration with multi ...

in the 2010s.

Early life

Butler was born in 1969 in Seattle. His father, Dr. Reginald Butler, was a historian of African American culture and an esteemed professor at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. He first forayed into music by playing the alto saxophone in his middle school jazz band. In 1987, he graduated from Garfield High School and moved to

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

to attend

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

Career

In 1989, Butler dropped out of college and moved to Brooklyn, where he recorded a demo of hip hop tracks which was eventually delivered to the Pendulum Records executive, Ruben Rodriguez. In 1992, Butler auditioned for Pendulum Records with his friends, Craig Irving from Philadelphia, and Mary Ann Vieira from Washington, D.C, forming Digable Planets. Digable Planets' 1992 single " Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" achieved commercial and critical success, charting on the ''

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

''. Known for merging hip hop with jazz and philosophical lyrics, the group released two albums before disbanding in the mid-1990s. Following Digable Planets' demise, Butler recorded music under the alias Cherrywine and took film classes at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. In 2003, he returned to Seattle to take care of his mother. In 2009, Butler formed Shabazz Palaces with his neighbor, Tendai Maraire. After self-releasing two EPs, they signed to

Sub Pop Records Sub or SUB may refer to: Places * Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB People * Bottom (BDSM), or "sub" for "submissive" * Substitute teacher Christianity * Sub tuum praesidium, an ancient hymn and prayer dedicated ...

, releasing their first album, '' Black Up,'' in 2011. Its follow-up, '' Lese Majesty'', was released in 2014. Butler also became a member of Sub Pop’s A&R team in 2013.

Personal life

Butler has a son named Jazz Ishmael Butler, known professionally as

Lil Tracy Jazz Ishmael Butler (born October 3, 1995), professionally known as Lil Tracy, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Butler was also known under the name Yung Bruh during the beginning of his career. Tracy is best known for his collabor ...

, from a previous relationship with Coko Gamble, the lead singer of

Sisters With Voices SWV (Sisters with Voices) is an American R&B vocal trio from New York City whose members are Cheryl "Coko" Gamble, Tamara "Taj" George, and Leanne "Lelee" Lyons. Formed in 1988 as a gospel group, SWV became one of the most successful R&B ...

Discography

References

External links

* Living people American hip-hop musicians African-American rappers Five percenters Rappers from Seattle 21st-century American rappers 1969 births 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni {{US-hiphop-bio-stub