Madlib

Here is a paper I wrote on Madlib in the Spring of 2008 before graduating. It's a little bit factual, a little bit critical/analytical. It's a little long, so make sure you have some time to sit down and read it. Enjoy.

Madlib: The One-Man Band

“...And that’s Jazz. A while ago there were cats readin’ while cats played Jazz behind them. There wasn’t nothin’ happenin’ so the musicians cooked right on like they didn’t even mind them. I wrote the shortest Jazz poem ever heard. Nothin’ ‘bout huggin’, kissin’. One word: listen.” The introduction to Quasimoto’s “Jazz Cats Pt.1” leads into a survey rap by Quasimoto and Madlib highlighting a variety of icons in Jazz worth using the space to list. Sun Ra, George Benson, Hampton Hawes, Herbie Hancock, Gene Harris and the Three Sounds, Bobby Hutcherson, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver, Terry Gibbs, Donald Byrd, George Duke, Lee Morgan, Gene Russell, Weather Report, Max Roach, Freddie Hubbard, Lenny Harris, and John Coltrane. These icons serve as the subjects over Madlib’s laid-back sample-driven beat. But they are more than just subjects for the song; they are parts of a whole. Just as one cannot mention Jazz without mentioning some of these figures, one cannot mention Quasimoto without mentioning Madlib; and when you bring up Madlib, you undoubtedly will mention Jazz.

Madlib was born Otis Jackson Jr. on October 24, 1973 to parents Otis Jackson Sr. and Dora Sinesca Jackson. Music is something that has been a part of Madlib’s life since his early youth. His father was an accomplished Rhythm and Blues session singer who worked with David Axelrod and H.B. Barnum. Not only was music a part of his immediate family, but it stretched out into the family tree; his uncle is legendary trumpeter Jon Faddis. Faddis has played with Jazz icons such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, and Bob James. In an interview with Wax Poetics, Madlib recalls a holiday encounter from his youth with Dizzy Gillespie. “He [Faddis] came down with Dizzy one time. I was battling with Dizzy Gillespie eating gumbo. We was battling to see who could eat the most” (Wax Poetics). Madlib claims that the first music he fell in love with was Jazz around the age of 6 or 7. This should come as no surprise given the contact he had with musicians at an early age. However, Jazz was not the only type of music played in the Jackson household. Madlib felt the sway of 80s Hip-Hop and began break dancing with friends. Two of these friends, Wildchild and DJ Romes, along with Madlib, went on to form the independent Hip-Hop group Lootpack. Madlib started musically expressing himself first as a DJ. Then in 1987 he began crafting beats; either for his crew of just out of a love for music. Madlib claims to have started creating beats seriously around 1996. At this point in time Madlib had released material with West Coast group Tha Alkoholics and with the aforementioned Lootpack. It wasn’t until 1999 that Madlib would sign to a label. After hearing Lootpack’s Soundpieces: Da Antidote, Stones Throw Records label owner Chris Danuk (Peanut Butter Wolf) obtained the services of the Beat Konducta.

Since then, Madlib has released music under multiple pseudonyms. The first release was Quasimoto’s The Unseen in 2000. The album was critically acclaimed yet received little mainstream attention. Then in 2003, along with fellow Hip-Hop god J Dilla, the duo released Champion Sound as the rap pair Jaylib. Where Madlib MCs, J Dilla produces the beat and vice versa. For Hip-Hop heads, the album is a treasure for it combines two of the most revered producers in the underground game. Thanks to a double disk re-issue in the summer of 2007 there are now remixes available for purchase with the original album. In 2004, Stones Throw released another album where Madlib handled half the load. Madvillain’s Madvillainy pairs Madlib beats with MF DOOM on mic duties. The result is an album far to the left of the norm within the Hip-Hop soundscape of 2004. Most songs are hook-free and come in at under three minutes in length. Also in 2004, a second Quasimoto album was released. The Further Adventures of Lord Quas was more of the same raw Hip-Hop featured on the first Quasimoto album. This time however the album strayed away from traditional sounds into a more abstract and surreal presentation. Most recently Madlib has released two albums worth of beats in 2006 and 2007. Beat Konducta Vol. 1-2: Movie Scenes is an hours worth of beats that make use of sources ranging from the uplifting soul to the dark synth-driven. 2007’s Beat Konducta in India relies solely on soundtracks of Bollywood films and music of India. More so than the first Beat Konducta album, this more prominently includes the “ill record static” that Madlib takes comfort in hearing. Madlib hinted that there is more to come in the Beat Konducta series in an interview. He revealed that he probably has “around 30 more volumes” of music worthy of release. During this brief period in the early decade, Madlib’s production skills were featured on the albums of Oh No, MED, Declaime, Wildchild, Dudley Perkins, and Percee P and while he has released an extensive amount of Hip-Hop music, the work that seems closest to him is the work produced under the moniker Yesterday’s New Quintet.

Just as Madlib operates within the Hip-Hop genre under varied aliases, he does the same in Jazz. In this genre however, he acts as five members of one Jazz group. Collectively, these musicians are known as Yesterday’s New Quintet. The five-some includes Percussionist Malik Flavors, Bassist Monk Hughes, Drummer Otis Jackson Jr., Keyboardist Joe McDuphery, and Vibraphonist Ahmad Miller. The band was formed after Madlib made some money from the first Quasimoto album. “I bought some instruments, ‘cause you know I listen to all them records with Fender Rhodes, Vibraphones and Upright Bass and stuff, so I wanted to see if I could get all that stuff and learn it and do my own thing. Try to do what they did, but in my own way. Back in the day. Jazz music” (redbullmusicacademy.com). At the time he wanted to sound most like those artists recording Jazz in the 60s and 70s. More specifically, the musicians with a futuristic sound such as Lonnie Lyston Smith, Elvin Jones, Black Jazz, and Strata East. Madlib also cites King Tubby, John Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman as influences, but readily admits that since he listens to such a variety of music it’s difficult to provide a specific list of musicians that influence him.

One of the earlier releases in the YNQ discography is the 7” vinyl entitled Bomb Shelter EP. Released in 2001 and recorded in the Bomb Shelter, the EP lasts about 6 minutes in total. “Mystic Brew” the first track is not too experimental. Otis Jackson Jr. keeps time with a pattern that doesn’t include many rolls or improvisations. Granted the track lasts about forty four seconds so there isn’t much to analyze. “Knucklehead” on the other hand gives the listener a bit more to work with. One thing that is apparent is that YNQ exchanges between sections of melody and modality. In this early recording, most of the improvisation or creativity is exerted in those modal moments. “Pride & Vanity” is a track in which Malik Flavors is the one musician that comes straightforward and doesn’t stray into improvisation. Through his tambourine shakes you can hear and feel the tempo shift in the song. Overall this is an album that introduces listeners to the idea of expressive, cohesive Jazz music produced by a musician with no prior training with any of the used instruments.

Later in 2001, YNQ released a full-length album entitled Angles Without Edges. This album employs the same members as Bomb Shelter EP. It has essentially the same sound that listeners were introduced to on the three EPs that predated it. However, most of Otis Jackson Jr’s drums have been processed through the SP1200; a drum machine normally used in Electronic musics like Hip-Hop or Dance. The SP1200 gives the drums on Angles Without Edges an eroded and slightly fuzzy sound. The drum machine has the effect of not only distorting the original sound source but it also ensures that the drums don’t take up too much of any composition’s sound space. Buyers of the vinyl version of the album miss out on two selections: “Birth of YNQ” and “Mestizo Eyes”. The first is a free play of the key-based instruments in the group such as the Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, and Moog Synthesizer. These electric instruments play along while a Jazz musician explains how each instrument functions. This is an explanation of YNQ’s birth in a way and it is also Madlib showing off his “loopdigga” status. Perhaps the one track in which YNQ challenges themselves the most is with the ballad “Broken Dreams”. The longest composition on the album unfolds as a vehicle to portray the feeling of broken dreams. The ballad could be a metaphor for any type of dream that has failed, but the dreams cannot be those of failing to create a beautiful work of music for that is not what YNQ has achieved with this album.

In 2003, an album of Jazz that featured Hip-Hop remixes and new interpretations of Blue Note classics was released. The album entitled Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note was released by Blue Note Records and featured Madlib remixing and DJing and YNQ re-interpreting some classic recordings. Blue Note Records is one of the iconic labels in Jazz history so based on the fact that they granted Madlib access to their catalogue is evidence of his reputation in the Jazz community. In true Madlib fashion, the album begins with some obscure sample of a musician inviting the audience “to join in and have a ball” and declaring “we’re puttin’ a pot on in here”. In other words: somethin’ is cookin’. First on Madlib’s tour de Blue Note is a remix of Gene Harris and the Three Sounds’ “Look of Slim”. “Slim’s Return” features DJ Lord Such (Madlib) cutting it up on the turntables and Ahmad Miller (Madlib also) on vibes. The record scratches add intensity to an already up-tempo song and are an example of how the turntables can be used as an instrument. DJ Lord Such scratches various classic Hip-Hop records over this jazz tune including a small snippet from KRS-One’s “The Beast”. One characteristic of Madlib recordings in this track is the panning. The turntable abilities of Lord Such bounce the sounds from left to right and back around many times. The album features several other remixes of Blue Note classics; Hip-Hop remixes of Donald Byrd’s “Distant Land” and Bobbi Humphrey’s “Please Set Me At Ease”, Ronnie Foster’s “Mystic Brew”, Donald Byrd’s “Stepping Into Tomorrow”, and Bobby Hutcherson’s “Montara”. YNQ steps in to re-interpret Reuben Wilson’s “Stormy”, Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father”, Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints”, and a live-recorded two-part suite combining Horace Silver’s “Peace” and Herbie Hancock’s “Dolphin Dance”. The album even features a brand-new composition entitled “Funky Blue Note”. On the album Madlib takes several interludes from the music to give listeners short lessons in history. “Blue Note Interlude” discusses the significance of the label within Jazz history. Label leaders Alfred Lion and Francis Wolf are here regarded as innovators in Jazz for the changes they brought about in “technical standards”. “Alfred Lion Interlude” is another history lesson. The speaker, possibly a musician or Jazz critic, states: “Out of the thousand records Alfred produced, easily 900, 950 of them are classics”. The speaker also emphasizes Alfred Lion’s commitment to getting the most out of the artist without talking about record sales. The album serves as a great introduction to some Jazz standards for new listeners of Jazz. It is also evidence of Madlib’s affinity for Jazz from the 60s and 70s; all but one of the tracks was originally recorded during those two decades.

In 2004, Stones Throw Records released YNQ’s Stevie. The album was recorded as a tribute to Stevie Wonder. The album has an interesting story behind it. While eating in a restaurant, label owner Chris Danuk (Peanut Butter Wolf) observed that Stevie Wonder was eating at the same establishment. Danuk couldn’t pass up the opportunity to introduce himself and YNQ’s takes on Wonder’s music to the legend himself; the label owner followed Wonder to the bathroom and his efforts were almost thwarted until Wonder heard whom this stalker was associated with. Wonder listened to the work and gave Stones Throw the go-ahead to release the material based on Madlib’s relation to his father and uncle. The sound of the album is so raw, gritty, and vintage that it doesn’t sound like it was recorded in the 21^st century. This is evidence of Madlib’s preference to not recording in state-of-the-art studios. “You ain’t gonna catch me at no big studio homie. Nope. I’ll do it at home, where I’m peaceful, relaxed, you know cool” (redbullmusicacademy.com). The sound is also developed in part by Madlib’s insistence on maintaining an analog element in the recording process.

The album opens with a rendition of Wonder’s most-known composition “Superstition”. The album is most definitely a work of YNQ. Many of the drum patterns on the album have a Hip-Hop influence. Several songs are combined into two-part suites; on these suites it seems that they were made this way because the composition doesn’t allow YNQ to do much creatively. The final song, “That Girl”, is evidence again of Madlib’s “loopdigga” status. The intro features Wonder speaking in French with an interviewer and then lamenting in English “the thing of peace has passed us by”. After that introduction the opening notes of YNQ’s version have a strong sobering power that puts the listener in a melancholic state bordering on depression. But it’s the music that keeps the listener from going over that line – to understand that a man with no prior training on any of these instruments has produced these interpretations should inspire any listener to attempt the greatest of tasks.

Then in 2005, Madlib had the chance to work with studio musicians for the first time. Sound Directions’ The Funky Side of Life features several members of YNQ and various other musicians. The opening track “Directions” is driven by percussive elements and horns. What stands out most is the location of the horns at various points of time in the song; they start in a place more distant than Miles’ in “Bitches Brew”, then move onto the same street, and then right in front of you. Madlib mixed this album himself and given the abstract nature of some of his other recordings the complexity of “Directions” should come as little surprise. However, until this is considered, the opening leaves a listener baffled as to what has just happened in their ears. Each track is easy to catch a dancing fever over and perhaps the most contagious to repeatedly listen to is “Play Car”. This track features Madlib saying things like, “Let O get a drum roll”, “Hit them cymbals O”, “He’s doin’ the funky chicken...funky robot...mashed potato...mashed potato?” The album features a rendition of David Axelrod’s “A Divine Image”. Axelrod is one of Madlib’s influences so it is fitting that he takes a chance in covering any of his idol’s work. Madlib liked Axelrod’s work so much during his days as a college radio DJ that he risked criminal punishment by stealing any Axelrod LP he could get his hands on from the college’s record library.

Just last year, in the summer of 2007, Yesterday’s Universe: Prepare For a New Yesterday was released. It features the original quintet members, but configured in different combinations as different bands to make up Yesterday’s Universe. The Otis Jackson Jr. Trio, The Jahari Masamba Unit, Young Jazz Rebels, Kamala Walker and the Soul Tribe, The Last Electro-Acoustic Space Jazz and Percussion Ensemble, Jazzicists, Suntouch, Jackson Conti, The Eddie Prince Fusion Band, and Yesterday’s Universe All-Stars are introduced on this album. The album also features Karriem Riggins and Mamao at times on drums. This is Madlib’s most diverse Jazz album to date. On many of the tracks he breaks away from the modal sound and focuses on melody. Yesterday’s Universe opens with a reworking of Miles Davis’ “Bitches Brew”. Staying true to the concept of Fusion Jazz, the track features a Moog Synthesizer, a flute, drums, and sound effects of a boiling pot. The Young Jazz Rebels’ “Slave Riot” recalls notions of music created by Sun Ra and Charles Mingus during the 60s. It’s a “riotous” expression of freedom through music. A track by Sound Directions, “She’s Gonna Stay”, is perhaps the album’s most energetic track. It is a melodic dose of warm and bright sounds that should uplift those in the lowest of the doldrums. The Last Electro Acoustic Space Jazz and Percussion Ensemble’s “Cold Nights and Rainy Days” is a six-minute treat that expresses around 12 hours of real-time. The track is a somber ballad that comes off as modal at times. The tracks by Jackson Conti, “Barumba” and “Upa Neguinho”, are explorations into Latin Jazz. The percussion on each is on point and the keys on “Upa Neguinho” gradually take precedence as the track progresses. On this album Madlib has produced virtually every form of Jazz besides Blues, Dixieland, and Big Band. He’s aware that a creation of this kind does more than just display his talents. “[I] try to do every type of music. To connect with everybody” (redbullmusicacademy.com).

Considering that Madlib has been playing for such a short amount of time and is self-taught, his work should be regarded as a unique achievement in contemporary music. While many artists are concerned about making music as a means to an end (women, jewelry, cars, fashion) Madlib is concerned with making music for the sake of making music. Within the first decade of the 21^st century he’s released enough work to effectively characterize his music. It’s rumored that he has enough material, released or unreleased, to provide programming for a radio station for two months! A listener can come into a Madlib produced work and have some idea of what he’s going to get, but he is also going to get something new. Madlib is approaching 35 years of age and seems to be gaining a control over his music that possibly no artist has had before. It is possible that Duke Ellington or Thelonius Monk would’ve attempted or operated in the same manner as Madlib given the same means and conditions, but unfortunately they weren’t. But fortunately for us we have someone named Madlib to do what they couldn’t, but to do what they did – push Jazz to another level of creativity and innovation. As long as there are people of the same make-up as Madlib, buying the old classic vinyls and creating new interpretations of those classics, Jazz will push on.