Shabazz Palaces - Motion Sickness

What this video is

Released October 2014 as part of Shabazz Palaces' visual campaign for their Sub Pop sophomore LP Lese Majesty (July 2014), 'Motion Sickness' arrived during a critical period of experimental hip-hop's crossover into prestige visual culture. The video stands apart from the duo's more abstract work by deploying social realism — portraying addiction, single motherhood, drug dealing, and survival in an urban Black…

Why it matters

Represents a landmark moment in experimental hip-hop visual production — a narrative-driven departure from abstract aesthetics that demonstrated Shabazz Palaces' range and TEAN's cinematic scope. The video helped cement the Sub Pop hip-hop ecosystem's credibility as a space for serious audiovisual…

The director

TEAN is a directorial collective confirmed across multiple music media outlets including Hypebeast, OkayAfrica, The FADER, Exclaim!, and Sub Pop Records. They maintained a collaborative relationship with Shabazz Palaces, returning to direct subsequent videos…