David Axelrod, legendary composer and inspiration to sample-based hip hop producers, died at his Los Angeles home this weekend. He was 83.
Axelrod rose to prominence in the late '60s as an A&R and producer at Capitol Records. He produced Cannonball Adderley's iconic jazz fusion record “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” in 1967 and released a pair of iconic solo albums, Song of Innocence and Songs of Experience, in 1968 and 1969. He would go on to release music sporadically over the course of the next three decades. His particular brand of jazz-rock fusion would become extremely influential in the crate digging community. His compositions were most notably sampled by Dr. Dre on "The Next Episode" and Swizz Beatz on Lil Wayne's "Dr. Carter."
Enjoy some of Axelrod's work below.
Flying Lotus, Madlib, and Questlove are among the artists and journalists who have paid their respects to Axelrod on social media.