Words By David D.

Madlib

A few days ago, there was a post about the lack of classics in the new millennium. I immediately began thinking about the album that I consider to be one of the better Hip-Hop record of the 21st Century.

Madvillain’s Madvillainy.

The story is simple: MF DOOM, huge underground artist, collabs with amazing underground super-producer Madlib. What results is an amazing album twenty one songs long with roughly no hooks and a plethora of random television show clips and skits to create one seemingly long track.

West Coast Hip-Hop has always had an infatuation with the sticky icky. Of course Snoop has always been the most famous weed connoisseur, but everyone from Dre to Del tha Funkee Homosapien have made extensive careers out of expressing their love for the good good.

Madlib embraces this concept and takes it a step further. While many are content creating albums in which they talk about their love for weed, Madlib actually creates albums that mimic the feel of being blown out of your mind.

How? With short songs requiring no attention span. Random thoughts. Unexpected, “Did I really hear that?” moments all characterize a Madlib listening experience. DOOM has gotten his fair share of credit for his role on the album. But the entire atmosphere of the classic was created by Madlib.

Just look at Madlib’s albums as multiple personality Quasimoto. The character is simply Madlib rapping in his normal voice and an electronically altered alter-ego. The two Quasimoto albums – The Unseen and The Further Adventures of Lord Quas – follow the same formula as the Madvillainy with an added bizarre element as Madlib and his alter-ego’s voices overlap each other throughout each verse creating a mind-blowing chaotic sound.

Madlib’s…er…intimate knowledge of the mental processes affected while rollin up allow for him to create that same feel on all of his albums. His work definitely puts him in the annals of great West Coast weed aficionados.

Stones Throw Podcast 21 (iTunes link) / Madlib Remixes 1997 – 2007 (direct link)

www.myspace.com/madlib

www.stonesthrow.com/madvillain