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Madlib
Madlib November 17, 2007 concert at Berbati's Pan
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 myriad hip hop artists, including The Alkaholiks, De La Soul, Ghostface Killah, Talib Kweli, MF DOOM (as Madvillain) and the late J Dilla (as Jaylib).
History
Madlib was born in Oxnard, California to musician parents Otis Jackson, Sr. and DoraSinesca Jackson. 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.
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 YNQ members, including 2002's tribute to Stevie Wonder, Stevie, 2004's tribute to Weldon Irvine, A Tribute to Brother Weldon, Joe McDuphrey Experience, and other singles and EPs released only on vinyl. He also created the pseudonym Sound Directions to create the YNQ like Record The Funky Side of Life.
Madlib describes himself as a "DJ first, producer second, and MC last," and he has done several projects as a DJ, mixer, or remixer. The first, 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 aka Medaphoar.
2003 heralded the first of two collaboration projects. Working with Detroit producer Jay Dee, the duo known as Jaylib released the Champion Sound LP. 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.
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, the sequel to "Beat Konducta Vol. 1-2: Movie Scenes" was released. The second album under the 'Beat Konducta' alias is entitled "Beat Konducta in India Vol. 3-4"(vinyl versions 3&4)
Percee P's first album, "Perseverance", entirely produced by Madlib was out in September 2007.[5]
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, Jackson Conti, 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.
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.
On October 29th, 2007, Madlib made an appearance on BET's Rap City, alongside side Liberation collaborator Talib Kweli.
Influence
Alongside collaborator J Dilla, Madlib has been a primary influence on an upcoming generation of producers and musicians, many of which prefer an abstract appeal to their work. Artists frequently compared to Madlib include Los Angeles' Flying Lotus, Michigan-based producer Samiyam, and Philadelphian musician and producer Jneiro Jarel
External links
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