Madlib

Otis Jackson Jr, aka Madlib is a hip-hop producer, rapper and turntablist.

Madlib

Born in the Californian town of Oxnard, Madlib rose to prominence with the revivalist hip-hop crew the Lootpack, made up of many of his childhood friends. A 1996 Lootpack EP caught the attention of Peanut Butter Wolf, Los Angeles-based Dj and owner of the Stone's Throw record label. Madlib, along with the Lootpack signed on. Madlib's style of production made him one of the most revered and sought after producers in the underground hip-hop scene, despite being completely self-taught. Always enthusiastic to dig up aging and rare records (he has made reference to himself as "The Loopdigga"), his music takes on a certain complexity and well-composed scope. Madlib has branched into several other solo projects, at times taking on different pseudonyms. He has released two "Invasion" mixes, one a mix of classic Blue Note recordings named Shades Of Blue, and another of classic Trojan Records songs, released under the Antidote label and called Blunted In The Bomb Shelter. He has produced and rapped on the critically acclaimed Madvillainy album, under the joint pseudonym of Madvillain, shared with fellow rapper and producer MF DOOM. He has also worked alongside rapper Jay Dee, again creating a short-lived group called Jaylib, and an LP called Champion Sound.

Under the guise of Quasimoto, the bizzarre and over-the-top alter-ego of himself, Madlib has released two LPs. The distinctive voice of Quasimoto (or Lord Quas, if you will) was first experimented with by Madlib through the Lootpack album, and on a 1999 Peanut Butter Wolf LP. The voice has been speeded up during the recording process, which makes Quasimoto's sound all the more absurd yet loveable, and quickly made Madlib's rapping pen name an underground hit. He followed with a critically acclaimed 2000 LP, The Unseen. In 2005, another Quas album was released named The Further Adventures of Lord Quas, under the Stone's Throw label.

In 2001, Madlib's first release as his double (or, as the case may be – quintuple) Yesterday's New Quintet came in the form of a heavily jazz-influenced LP, Angles Without Edges. Through his Yesterday's New Quintet releases, Madlib managed to explore his jazz and soul influences – even more so with the release of 2004's Stevie, a tribute to Stevie Wonder.

This catalogue of work is awe inspiring, but when it is taken into account that Madlib uses a small SP-303 sampler (worth $200) and an 8-track or 16-track as a sequencer, yet still manages to crank out remixes and production for the likes of Bilal, Zero 7, Glenn Lewis, Beastie Boys, The Liks, Xzibit, Dilated Peoples, Planet Asia, King Britt and Lootpack member Wildchild, one wonders what limit Otis' working capacity has. His collection of beats, remixes and unreleased tracks grows by the day. Most notably was a release by Peanut Butter Wolf of a discarded tape of unwanted, but amazingly good leftover beats, gathering dust in Madlib's studio.