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Cheat Sheet: Madlib

by Mosi Reeves

Last year, Otis "Madlib" Jackson, Jr., made plans for a Madlib Medicine Show: 12 releases consisting of six albums of original material and six mixtapes of songs by other artists. It proved a failure, with just nine installments reaching market, including a 10th chapter and no ninth. Add those discs to gigs producing Strong Arm Steady's In Search of Stoney Jackson and Guilty Simpson's OJ Simpson, and excursions such as Young Jazz Rebels' Slave Riot and the Last Electro-Acoustic Space Jazz & Percussion Ensemble's Miles Away, and that only made for 13 releases in 2010. Amusingly, Madlib couldn't finish the Medicine Show, but he couldn't curb his excessive productivity, either.

Madlib is an unapologetic throwback to the pop and jazz years of the '50s and '60s, when musicians would simply participate in recording sessions, and labels would compile albums from the best material. This could lead to several titles a year from best-selling bandleaders like Miles Davis and Frank Sinatra a far cry from the new-every-two strategy employed by today's pop stars. Madlib functions the same way as his heroes: he records constantly, and occasionally stops to compile the results into yet another release.

Thanks to classics such as Quasimoto's The Unseen and Madvillain's Madvillainy, Madlib is regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop artists of the past decade. Unlike Timbaland, The Neptunes, Just Blaze, Kanye West or even J Dilla, he remains an underground phenomenon, issuing nearly all his material on indie imprint Stones Throw Records. Certainly, he has never had a mainstream hit. However, major artists with an appreciation for progressive beats have sought him out: he made tracks for Erykah Badu's New Amerykah albums, Mos Def's The Ecstatic, and Ghostface Killah's More Fish. Rumors abound that he contributed tracks to Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and that he may land some credits on Kanye West and Jay-Z's forthcoming Watch the Throne. It's impossible to understand the genre's recent developments without listening to his work.

With the reclusive producer set to restart the Medicine Show series this month with No. 11: Low Budget Hi-Fi Music, it's a good time to take a deep dive into the Madlib Invazion.

Soundpieces: Da Antidote!

Lootpack

Madlib, Wildchild and DJ Romes were part of the Likwit Crew, a collective of MCs and producers led by the Alkaholiks, and made a few appearances on the latter’s three albums. Spending years deep in the cut, the Lootpack generated a backlog of material that began to reach the public via Soundpieces: Da Antidote! Released in 1999, listeners found the long-gestating 24-track debut fascinating and overwhelming. In spite of the deluge, Soundpieces' generally high quality, from “The Anthem” to “Weededed,” made it clear that the Madlib Invazion had just begun.

Illmindmuzik

Declaime

This underrated EP marked one of Madlib's first production gigs outside of the Lootpack. Declaime isn't a great MC, but he has a warm and earthy tone and an assertive cadence, which contrasts nicely with Madlib's crusty jazz loops, as evidenced on the smooth L.A. daze of "Roll 'Em Right" and the handclap percussion of "Let It Be Known."

The Unseen

Quasimoto

Quasimoto was originally a Madlib in-joke. DJ Design (and then Stones Throw art director Jeff Jank) visualized Lord Quas as an orange aardvark inspired by the comic book Cerebus and the mask-clad humans on the 70s animated science-fiction satire La Planéte Sauvage. Madlib used musical interludes from that film’s Alain Goraguer soundtrack for The Unseen (particularly on “Come On Feet”), and dipped into works by Sun Ra (“Astro Black”), the Last Poets (“Goodmorning Sunshine”) and others. The result was an abstract masterpiece that cemented Madlib as one of the most imaginative producers.

Yesterdays Universe: Prepare For A New Yesterday (Volume 1)

Yesterday's New Quintet

Madlib rarely records under the same name twice and here he takes this schizophrenic approach to a new level, dividing himself into 15 jazz acts (each with their own style) for a set that is as scattered and brilliant as the man himself. The album moves from the smooth West Coast cool of "Umoja (Unity)" to the free jazz, Sun Ra-inspired freak-out of "Slave Riot," and eventually lands in Axelrod's backyard for the dramatic "Cold Nights and Rainy Days." Guest spots from Azymuth drummer Mamao and frequent Dilla collaborator Karriem Riggins ensure the integrity of the groove.

Champion Sound - Complete Set

Jaylib

Champion Sound, a collaboration between J. Dilla and Madlib, is unapologetic about its pop pedigree. It's a dynamic that no one expected from two of hip-hop's most celebrated experimental beatsmiths. "The Red" makes liberal use of billowing sub bass, while the saccharine sweet "Stars" is a love song for those permanently attached to a bong.

Madvillainy

Madvillain

In 2004, two of hip-hop's most enigmatic players joined forces, and the result was an inspired jam session akin to Dizzy and Bird. MF Doom is the most dubious of narrators, a supervillain who warns of snitches on "Rainbows" and tells a girl she's got bad breath on "Operation Lifesaver." His lyric schemes are rhyme puzzles: "In living the true gods/ Giving y'all nothing but the lick like two broads," he says on "Accordion." Madlib is the man who Doom brags can "flip it like an old jazz standard," and he zips through dusty loops and interludes like a hophead. This is the best of larks.

The Ecstatic

Mos Def

Mos Def has largely abandoned traditional song structure. Verse-chorus-bridge-coda? Forget about it. The raps here are rambling, stream-of-consciousness rants that appropriate the griot braggadocio of spiritual enlightenment before pivoting to the apocalyptic fury of political fear and loathing. Songs barely reach the two-minute mark, while the sound ranges from twisting Bollywood pomp to weepy Mediterranean psych. And, just when you think it's over, Dilla shows up on an unexpected Black Star reunion. The album is a rabbit hole, and its stab at hip-hop transcendentalism is as messy as it is beautiful.

Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6: A Tribute To...

Madlib

Madlib and DJ J-Rocc's tribute to their late friend J Dilla compiles Beat Konducta's Vol. 5: Dil Cosby Suite and Vol. 6: Dil Withers Suite and adds a new transition cut, "Dil Cosby Interlude." Unlike Dilla's focused Donuts masterpiece, Madlib embraces sonic chaos, with the conga funk of "Never Front (Ears Up)" and the sweet sadness of "Do You Know (Transition)" as two highlights from this wide-ranging 42-track (!) set. The only unifier is Madlib's homage to the "Pay Jay" motto of good weed and beats and a "Detroit Playaz" lifestyle. It's more than enough.

Madlib Medicine Show # 1: Before The Verdict

Madlib

Madlib is working on a master plan in 2010: a yearlong "Medicine Show" encompassing 12 releases (six mixtapes and six albums of original material), along with the usual round of production gigs and jazz side projects. The kickoff, Before the Verdict, may be the best of the lot. Ostensibly a remix of Guilty Simpson's Ode to the Ghetto, it unveils the new Madlib steez — sonic chaos. Crazy soul loops and snippets from comedy routines exemplify his gutbucket sound. It's like a low-budget action movie full of jokes and guns, with musical actors so raw and untrained that you can't tell if the bullets they shoot are real.

Madlib Medicine Show #5: The History of the Loop Digga, 1990-2000

Madlib