Joel Biswas surveys one of the most anticipated (and best) albums of the year.
Madeleine Byrne takes a look at Madlib's 420 Chalice All Stars, ahead of its reissue via Rappcats.
On its 20 year anniversary, a look back at Madlib & Kazi's unsung gem, "Black Market Seminar" -- currently being re-issued.
Freddie>Kanye>Kendrick. MobbDeen explains why.
| MadHerring: Madlib Meets The Frontman of Future Islands | September 9, 2015 |
In the wake of his indie rock success, Sam Herring heads out in search of the Beat Konducta.
| Madlib, Beat Konducta in Africa Bonus CD | February 26, 2015 |
Originally released as the third bonus disc of Madlib’s third Medicine Show, Otis Jackson’s Jr’s spare chops, flips, and other alembic contortions finally come to light. Nothing fancy, just drum slaps and stop-motion animation technique applied to old Nigerian highlife, Afro-beat, and Ethiopian jazz. Weird science from Beat Konducta always welcomed. All 13 Medicine Shows […]
| Madlib – Cue 06 | May 14, 2014 |
Art by Carl Pocket Little more needs to be said about Otis Jackson Jr. If we’re talking sample-based producers, he’s on Mount Rushmore. He wrings maximum soul from old wax like no one else. This is a beat stripped from the very good Stones Throw documentary, My Vinyl Weighs a Ton. The rest of the […]
| Two Dope Boys In a Cadillac: Snoop Dogg and Madlib | April 9, 2014 |
Harold Stallworth is infatuated with Donald Goines’ novels. “The creative geography has collapsed over the last few years in Los Angeles.” This is a sentence I wish I could take credit for, but it’s an observation that only a California native, such as this publication’s editor, who lived through an era where Xzibit’s At The […]
| The Most Villainous: Freddie Gibbs & Madlib Break the Piñata | March 18, 2014 |
Max Bell is not against rap or those thugs. Freddie Gibbs rose from scary Gary to Interscope refugee to widespread critical adoration. Some argue that the dexterous Gibbs can rap well over anything. Yet his last album, E.S.G.N. received mixed reviews. The album was solid, but it was also what you’d expect too. It didn’t help […]
| Instead of Playing Sports, I’d Rather Dig: A Quick Look Back at Lootpack | February 27, 2014 |
Harry Samphir kicks up dust when he writes. Madlib’s artistic canon is so extensive it’s sometimes easy to forget about 1999‘s Soundpieces: Da Antidote!, his debut release with fellow Oxnard, CA natives Wildchild and DJ Romes. More than a decade later, the record still holds up as a West Coast underground gem: 24 tracks of […]
