Prior to the release of Boston-raised Statik Selektah’s Stick to the Script, 2008 had already been a stellar year for DJ compilations. Recent releases from Jake One, DJ Babu and DJ Revolution harkened back to the genre’s mid ’90s glory years, the decade that gave birth to Funkmaster Flex and DJ Clue. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a […]

In the two years that have elapsed since underground legend J Dilla passed, dozens of rappers — among them Busta Rhymes, Jay Electronica and Q-Tip — have plundered his seemingly abyssal stock of unused beats. Yet only Dilla’s younger brother, 21-year-old Illa J, can claim them as a birthright. Upon relocating to Los Angeles from […]

Hip-hop’s champion eccentric, Kool Keith’s influence on the landscape of contemporary hip-hop is incalculable; everyone from Lil Wayne to MF Doom has either directly or indirectly paid homage to the man of a dozen guises — each tribute more spaced-out and surreal than the next. On Dr. Dooom 2, Keith reprises the role of the gonzo, […]

Throughout the course of his decade-plus career, Madlib has repeatedly articulated his belief that he’s a DJ first, a producer second and a rapper third. Indeed, WLIB AM: King of the Wigflip, finds the prolific underground kingpin’s hierarchy well in place, with Madlib curating his own dream radio station for British label BBE’s vaunted Beat Generation […]