Madlib
(Mind Altering Demented Lessons In Beats) (born Otis Jackson Jr.
on October 24, 1973 in Oxnard, California, United States) is a California-based DJ, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, and music producer. Known under a plethora of pseudonyms, he is one of the most prolific and critically acclaimed hip hop producers of the 2000s and has collaborated with a myriad of hip hop artists, including The Alkaholiks, Mos Def, De La Soul, Ghostface Killah, Talib Kweli, A.G., MF DOOM (as Madvillain), and the late J Dilla (as Jaylib). Madlib has described himself as a "DJ first, producer second, and MC last," [1] [2] and he has done several projects as a DJ, mixer, or remixer.
Madlib has been an influence on an upcoming generation of producers and musicians, many of which prefer Madlib's abstract styles. [3]
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Biography
Early life and career
Madlib was born in
Oxnard, California to musician parents Otis Jackson, Sr. and DoraSinesca Jackson.
[4] He was raised in
Oxnard, and currently works in
Los Angeles. He began making music with the rap group
Lootpack in the early 1990s. After his father started an independent label Crate Diggas Palace (CDP) Records in 1996 to promote Madlib and his CDP crew, including younger sibling, Oh No the Disrupt, and released an EP "Ill Psyche Move", Lootpack caught the attention of
Peanut Butter Wolf, founder of the
Stones Throw Records label. They released two singles and a full-length album on the Stones Throw imprint in 1999. Madlib also worked with rap group
Tha Alkaholiks for several albums.
Madlib's first release under the guise of
Quasimoto, titled
The Unseen
, was in 2000. The album was met with critical acclaim and named by
Spin Magazine as one of the top albums of the year. Madlib (as Quasimoto) was also named as Hip Hop Connection's Newcomer of the Year, in its annual readers poll for 2000. The distinctive high-pitched voice of Lord Quas is attained by playing the original beat at a slow speed, recording the vocals over that slow speed, then speeding the vocals along with the original beat back up to its original tempo. This can be done easily using any modern recording software. Furthermore, some of the samples that are sped up and slowed down include Madlib's own voice (primarily) and
Melvin Van Peebles recordings.
In 2001, Madlib took a turn away from traditional
hip hop music, releasing his first
Yesterdays New Quintet
LP,
Angles Without Edges
. Yesterdays New Quintet is a
Jazz-based, hip hop and
Electronic-influenced quintet made up of four fictitious characters, Ahmad Miller, Monk Hughes, Malik Flavors, Joe McDuphrey; and Madlib under his real name, Otis Jackson Jr. Madlib has continued to record other albums under the different guises of Yesterdays New Quintet members, including 2002's tribute to
Stevie Wonder,
Stevie
; as well as "solo" albums by the various members, such as Monk Hughes' 2004's tribute to
Weldon Irvine,
A Tribute to Brother Weldon
,
Joe McDuphrey Experience
. He also created the pseudonym Sound Directions to create the YNQ-like band's "debut" album
The Funky Side of Life
.
The first album under the name Madlib, released in 2002, was a collection of old
dub reggae tracks from
Trojan Records, and was titled
Blunted in the Bomb Shelter
. The second,
Shades of Blue was released in 2003 and is a remix of
Blue Note Records.
This album features original Blue Note recordings, some remixed and resampled, and some replayed by Madlib, as well as rapping by
M.E.D. aka Medaphoar.
Popular collaborations
2003 heralded the first of two collaboration projects. Working with the late hip hop producer
J Dilla, the duo known as
Jaylib released
Champion Sound
. The other was Madlib's collaboration with hip-hop producer and rapper
MF DOOM, known together as
Madvillain. The 2004
Madvillainy
album was highly anticipated, and well-received, topping many critics' year-end lists.
[5]Both albums attracted attention from the fans of the two artists Madlib collaborated with that year, J Dilla & MF DOOM.
The 2005 Quasimoto album,
The Further Adventures of Lord Quas
was accepted well and continued the Quasimoto tradition of using vocal samples from
Melvin Van Peebles. This was followed by a YNQ album called
Sound Directions: The Funky Side of Life,
marking his first collaboration with session musicians.
His first collection of original (previously unused) hip-hop instrumentals
Beat Konducta Vol 1-2: Movie Scenes
was released in March 2006, and on New Year's Eve, a digital release
Liberation
with
Talib Kweli was made public for free download for the first week of 2007. In August 2007,
Beat Konducta Vol 3-4: Beat Konducta in India
was released, an instrumental hip hop album containing songs sampling the
music of India.
Yesterdays Universe completed the cycle of releases by Yesterdays New Quintet and introduces a new collection of artist names created by Madlib: The Jazzistics, The Young Jazz Rebels, Suntouch, The Jahari Massamba Unit, Kamala Walker & The Soul Tribe, The Last Electro-Acoustic Space Jazz & Percussion Ensemble, The Yesterdays Universe All-Stars, The Otis Jackson Jr. Trio, and The Eddie Prince Fusion Band.
This album also would mark the first collaboration between Madlib and Brazilian jazz artist
Ivan "Mamao" Conti under the band name
Jackson Conti
.
Percee P's first album,
Perseverance
, entirely produced by Madlib, was out in September 2007. Some other records are supposed to come out such as the Supreme Team album (with Karriem Riggins), as well as a solo album on BBE Records. It has been reported that Erykah Badu made some new songs over Madlib's instrumentals, and that he would work on a project with Sa-Ra. For years, rumours of
Madvillainy 2
and
Jaylib 2
have circulated, but no information has surfaced, besides one new Madvillain song on the
Stones Throw Records compilation
Chrome Children
in 2006.
On October 29, 2007, Madlib made a rare public appearance on
BET's
Rap City, alongside collaborator
Talib Kweli.
[6]
Madlib produced
Erykah Badu's second single from her
New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
album, "The Healer". The song formally debuted on
Gilles Peterson's
BBC Radio show in January 2008.
In May 2008, Conti and Madlib released a full album of Jackson Conti material, entitled
Sujinho
.
In September 2008, Stones Throw released a limited box set called
Madvillainy 2: The Box
, containing the long awaited
Madvillainy 2: The Madlib Remix
. It has remixes of the first
Madvillainy
album and the song
Monkey Suite
, originally on the
Chrome Children
compilation, a
One Beer (Drunk Version)
7"-single, the
Madvillain demo cassette, a T-shirt and a comic book.
Madlib's
BBE "Beat Generation" Album
WLIB AM: King of the Wigflip
was released in September 2008.
[7]
Madlib's third two-volume Beat Konducta album was released in early 2009.
Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6: A Tribute to...
is a 42-track piece dedicated to the late J Dilla.
Discography
- 1999: Soundpieces: Da Antidote
by Lootpack (with DJ Rhomes and Wildchild)
- 2000: The Unseen
(as Quasimoto)
- 2003: Shades of Blue
(Blue Note Records)
- 2003: Champion Sound
by Jaylib (with J Dilla)
- 2004: Madvillainy
by Madvillain (with MF Doom)
- 2004: Theme For a Broken Soul
(as DJ Rels)
- 2005: The Further Adventures of Lord Quas
(as Quasimoto)
- 2006: Beat Konducta Vol 1-2: Movie Scenes
- 2007: Beat Konducta Vol 3-4: Beat Konducta in India
- 2007: Liberation
by Liberation (with Talib Kweli)
- 2007: Yesterdays Universe
- 2008: Sujinho
by Jackson Conti (with Ivan Conti of Azymuth)
- 2008: WLIB AM: King of the Wigflip
(BBE)
- 2009: Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6: A Tribute to...
References
- Wax Poetics, #1, Winter 2002
- Mugshot Magazine, Vol 2, Issue 3, 2003
- Allmusic Madlib Biography
- Madlib Biography
- Madvillain: Madvillainy (2004): Reviews
- YouTube - Madlib & Talib Kweli Interview
- Stonesthrow.com News