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If there’s one musician in the world who is right at the heart of what Boiler Room does, it’s Otis Jackson Jr aka Madlib (aka Quasimoto, aka The Beat Konducta, aka Yesterday’s New Quintet…).
He’s been foundational to the music that we cover in so many ways: as an inspiration and mentor to the entire Californian beat scene around Flying Lotus and his Brainfeeder compadres, as a kick-ass hip hop producer for acts like Alkaholiks and his own crew Lootpack, as one of the prime movers behind the mighty Stones Throw imprint, as a collector and archivist of everything from Turkish psyche-rock to Brazilian jazz-funk to West London broken beat, as a collaborator with De La Soul, Erykah Badu, J Dilla, Talib Kweli, Georgia Anne Muldrow… it goes on!
But even more than all that, he has been a very direct inspiration on the individual people who make up Boiler Room – his tracks are quite literally a major part of what drives us to do what we do every day. So here, from the staff of BR worldwide, from the heart, are some of our favourite Madlib moments.
Tha Alkaholiks “Killin’ It (Instrumental)”
Me liking Madlib’s music predates me being familiar with him as an artist. This Alkaholiks album I was introduced to at 13 by my older cousin, and “Killin’ It” was my favorite track on there, I had it on repeat for so long the lyrics are forever embossed in my brain. A few years later I discovered Madvillainy then Jaylib, then Shades of Blue, and so on – and that started me on a long road of great discoveries. At some point it all clicked and I realized “oh, wait, shit – of course I dug that one ‘Liks track the hardest… yup, it’s a Madlib beat!”
— [Sofie Fatouretchi; Business Development / Programming]
MED “Can’t Hold On”
Samples Bobby Caldwell – CHECK
Has MED on it – CHECK
Sends me on a instant holiday without having to leave my chair – CHECK
Not sure how to verbally prove that this is a great song, but then I doubt any of Madlib‘s tracks need a written explanation on that. On the lyrical note though, it’s one of my favourite “down memory lane” tracks that doesn’t feel like it’s whining nostalgia.
— [Gosia Herman; Poland Director]
Jaylib “McNasty Filth (Feat. Frank-N-Dank)”
There are two tracks – the other being the Dilla-produced ‘Raw Shit‘ – that make Champion Sound my favourite album from either producer. The reason being that this is as experimental and out-there as any head music in any genre, but at the same time it’s nothing but straight-up party music too. It’s not a fusion of leftfield and accessible, or of cerebral and body-rocking: it’s music that utterly denies any division between those things. “McNasty Filth” is rowdy in the best possible way, it’s militant, it’s dirty, it’s funny, it’s welcoming, it’s challenging… Too often Madlib is seen as just for “heads”, but see this dropped at a party, and if everyone’s not dead inside, you’ll see just how immediate his music can be.
— [Joe Muggs; Editor in Chief]
Madvillain “Accordian”
One of those albums that I always go back to. Love how he sampled Deadalus on this: with Madlib it doesn’t matter if the source material’s a dusty 45 from the sixties or a track on Plug Research from 2002, he can make it into something amazing.
— [Matt Chlebek; UK Programmer]
Madlib “Montara”
Given his preternatural skill at flipping pretty much anything, it might seem a bit strange to choose a track from one of his more ‘conventional’ (all relative) releases, 2003’s Shades Of Blue. Obvious as it may be, it’s too good to overlook. Giddy drums spilling forth, naive wandering flute lines, supple basslines lying in wait: the whole album is catnip, but fucking delicious catnip at that; “Montara” just about edges it for me.
Oh, and I like to imagine his reaction at getting keys to the Blue Note castle as similar to an unsupervised child happening across a gigantic pile of autumnal leaves.
— [Gabriel Szatan; Deputy Editor / Programmer + Host]
Madlib “For My Mans”
It was the 2009 Winter Music Conference in Miami, the annual Stones Throw party was in full swing. I met Will aka Gaslamp Killer for the first time just before he was about to get on.
He got on and dropped the first track and I immediately pricked up my ears. Being the massive boogie funk fan that I am the beat I was hearing was sampled from an unknown track that sounded like pure perfection. I ran to Gaslamp Killer and he told me it was Madlib‘s “For My Mans” “Damn!!!!” I thought…
It’s virtually impossible to find a Madlib sample source, so chances of me finding the original seemed very slim at that point. I tried and tried but no luck, none of my friends recognised the sample. Then by pure coincidence I was ordering the Don Blackman album because I was a massive fan of “Heart’s Desire” and “Holding You, Loving You” and while skipping through all the tracks, there it was: “Since You Been Away So Long” Finding a track you have been searching for for a very long time is still one of my favourite emotions, and Madlib has made me feel that emotion more than once, I can tell you…
— [Samira bin Sharifu; Project Development]
Madlib – Shades of Blue
For me it’s the whole Shades of Blue project. It’s actually one of the first vinyl releases I ever bought so I will always be attached to this project, and I’ve probably listened to it 200 times. It’s one of my go-to records to put on when I’m having people over for dinner. The entire Blue Note catalogue at Madlib‘s fingertips… it’s pure genius. I could listen to this another 200 times and still catch new things I haven’t heard before.
— [Morgan Steiker; Senior US Programmer]
Lootpack “Hityawitdat”
Difficult one… but I’ll go for Lootpack’s “Hityawitdat” (produced by Madlib). Both the original – it features a sample of Busta’s “Still Shining”, produced by Dilla – and this one are on top played in my iTunes.
— [Ashley Mi-Ki Mak; UK Event Producer]
Dwight Trible & The Life Force Trio “Waves of Infinite Harmony”
Madlib, Carlos Nino, Daedelus and Dwight Trible combine to create morse code for aliens.
— [Raj Chaudhuri; Head of Music]
Madlib “A.V.E.R.A.G.E. (Instrumental)”
With a catalogue so deep and varied as Madlib’s, digging back through his colossal discography is always a case of tripping on gold. After clocking Madvillainy for the first time, one of my earliest scouts back took me to Kazi’s Down with the Kaz, a Madlib-produced EP that dropped on Stones Throw a few years prior.
The record’s gem is “A.V.E.R.A.G.E” – a stone-cold creeper that’s just as much sultry as it is haunting. It’s the stuff of night-drive hypnosis: play it on repeat for hours and somehow those shady noir strings don’t lose any of their sinister shine. If you listen to the Jimmy Scott source material too, you’ll realise quite how hard he’s flipped it.
— [Will Davenport; Online Editor]
DJ Rels “Don’t U Know”
The Broken-Beat Konducta. I discovered Madlib’s tribute album (Theme For A Broken Soul) to the massively under-appreciated West London art form, broken beat, a good few years after being introduced to both his music and broken beat separately. The fact that Oxnard’s rhythmic maestro (a man who openly admits to not really having that much time for new music) saw kindred spirits in a contemporary underground scene on the other side of the world reinforces my belief that broken-beat is something Londoners should be incredibly proud of and champion more often. If Otis Jackson Jr. is influenced by your music, you know you’re onto something timeless.
— [Sean Keating; Online Editor]
Quasimoto “Real Eyes”
The Unseen supplied me with my first taste of Madlib’s undeniable excellence – albeit a couple of years after its original release back in 2000. I was 15 in 2007 and the allure of J Dilla’s Donuts had just begun to work its magic on me.
Working my way backwards, I rolled through Champion Sound and eventually back into Quasimoto’s first full length. The whole thing was so sonically refreshing to me, a sample fiend’s playground topped by Madlib’s helium, childlike vocal play that only intrigued me more. I’ll shoot for “Real Eyes” as I remember having it on eternal loop on my Dell PC for an age.
— [Errol Anderson; Editorial Assistant]