Madlib is one of the great hip hop producers of the modern age. His dedication to music, whether it be jazz, soul, R&B, funk, world or hip hop, is second-to-none. If you've ever given one of his mixes a listen, you'll know that he has deep cuts for days. And if you're a big fan of his beats, you know that he is capable of flipping obscure samples into infectious, *very rare* instrumentals.
With full-length collaborative projects alongside MF Doom, J Dilla, Freddie Gibbs, and Talib Kweli under his belt, Madlib is one of the most in-demand producers in hip hop. He's also worked with the likes of De La Soul, Ghostface Killah, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Joey Bada$$, Kanye West and Snoop Dogg, among others.
Point blank: Madlib is one of the greats. Today we throw it back with some of his dopest productions, along with some of his illest raps as Quasimoto.
Jaylib - "The Champion Sound"
Madlib and J Dilla (together known as JayLib) together created Champion Sound, an album that saw the duo alternating mic duty over each other's beats. On the title track, Jay Dee assumes bar duty while Madlib laces him with a fire instrumental.
Quasimoto - "Bad Character"
Madlib has many aliases and projects, but one of the best known is his rapping alter ego Quasimoto. "Bad Character" is the second track off Quasimoto's 2000 debut album The Unseen.
MF DOOM - "One Beer" [Produced by Madlib]
DOOM's Mm.. Food was produced almost entirely by the metal-masked villain himself, but there were a couple tracks that called for somebody else... but not just anyone else.. One such track was the Cortex-sampling "One Beer," complete with a non-linear drum pattern that DOOM blessed righteously. Cortex has been widely sampled over the years, but Madlib just may have gotten there first.
De La Soul - "Shopping Bags (She Got from You)" [Produced by Madlib]
De La Soul's seventh studio album The Grind Date featured production from top dogs like J Dilla, 9th Wonder, Jake One, and the Beat Conducta himself. Madlib laced the crew with the beat for "Shopping Bags," the album's lead single.
Jaylib - "Raw Shit" featuring Talib Kweli
Here's another hot one off that Jaylib album. This time Talib Kweli joins the party. J Dilla handles production, Talib handles the hook, then Madlib crushes the first verse before Kweli brings it all home in verse two.
Madvillain - "Figaro"
Madlib and MF DOOM's classic 2004 album Madvillainy helped to define the budding scene Stones Throw was developing alongside similarly timed released by Jaylib, Oh No, Quasimoto, and Lootpack.
Lootpack - "Answers"
Forming in 1993, Lootpack was one of the first projects of Madlib's career. Comprised of Madlib, Wildchild, and DJ Romes, Lootpack released a few projects in the 90s before Madlib moved on to bigger and better things. Check out "Answers" from their first official studio release Soundpieces: Da Antidote!
Madlib - "Slim's Return"
In comparison to all of his other projects and production work, it may seem like there isn't that much music simply released under the name Madlib. However, a little digging will yield tons of beat tapes, mixes, and more. Among them is a project he did with legendary jazz label Blue Note Records in which he remixed and sampled some of the label's classic releases to create modernized instrumental hip hop classics.
Erykah Badu - "The Healer" [Produced by Madlib]
Erykah Badu snagged some Madlib production for her New Amerykah album. On "The Healer", she likens hip hop to a religion and sends one out for J Dilla.
Mos Def - "Auditorium" [Produced by Madlib]
Where to begin with this one? For starters, it's one of Mos Def's illest cuts. The beat is ill enough to make a paralyzed dude bob his head. Mos Def says he feels it in his bones. When you listen to "Auditorium", you will too.