• Hearing the upcoming Shabazz Palaces album, Lese Majesty, in the Pacific Science Center's Laser Dome over the weekend, we concluded upon first listen that it is the future of hiphop. There was no need for drugs, or even the dazzling light show, since the music's fathoms-deep dubscapes and strategically predatory beats equaled the angular and smoky psychedelic visuals—each track already dazzled by a universe of deep-space stars, clouds of galactic gases, and the bright trails of wandering balls of ice. You will be proud that you live in Seattle when you hear this album, which will be released on Sub Pop on July 29.

• Speaking of being proud of Seattle, the 2014 Seattle Rock Lottery took place at the Crocodile on Saturday—25 talented Seattle musicians (including Hollis Wong-Wear, Jonah Bergman, J Battle, Avtar Crowder, Ahamefule J. Oluo, Stacey Peck, and Shenandoah Davis) showed up bright and early at 10 a.m., drew names from a hat to form five brand-new bands, and spent the day coming up with band names and new songs to perform that same evening. The bands—named Tendermess, Chillum Dafoe, Ego Chavez, Judge Jordy Feat. the Roots, and Mystic Spiral—did an incredible job sounding a lot like bands that had been together for much longer than 12 hours. The Rock Lottery's proceeds went to the Washington Music Educators Association.

• Sad news: On Sunday, it was announced that hiphop pioneer Rodney Bryce, better known as DJ E-Z Rock, had died at the age of 46. He was famous for his 1988 single with Rob Base "It Takes Two." The album It Takes Two was certified platinum and reached number 31 on the Billboard 200 in 1989.

• In more sad news: Chicago producer DJ Rashad was found dead on April 26 of an apparent drug overdose. He was 34. Rashad Harden was one of the world's leading proponents of the footwork genre, and had released the acclaimed Double Cup album last year on renowned UK label Hyperdub—his career seemed to be on the upswing, including an excellent set in December at the Crocodile.

• One of the challenges in Winners & Losers, the competitive performance piece by Marcus Youssef and James Long performed last weekend at On the Boards, involved one man playing a recording of a song and challenging the other to name the artist. One show brought a song by Kenny G, another brought a song by the Pixies, and neither was guessed correctly (except by the majority of the audience).

• Over the weekend, a group of bros discovered that with the right amount of mascara and rain, one could adequately re-create the wrist stamp required to make it into a sold-out show. recommended