Another Madlib album you say… I found myself uttering these words, happy to right off yet another Madlib record before listening, can someone be this prolific? Does Madlib ever sleep? He seems to churn the releases out, one after the other, and of course, they are not all going to be amazing, damn, some aren’ even that good at all! What keeps me giving Madlib a chance to amaze me? There are few that can flip a sample like Madlib, his potential for digging loops seems boundless, he has mastered his art using just about every music source, and he has to be given respect for this, he has crafted some of the most memorable loops and hooks in hip-hop, even one of my all time favourites as Madvillain, the Supervillain Theme still kills it for me…
So I admit, he has had many moments of pure genius, and I see some of that here, so it is worth your time. Not an entire album of bangers, its as if he gets a bit lazy and just throws in whatever he is working on at the time, no matter the quality. He seems to be getting back to the basics with this record, and I respect him for that too, he’ produced 24 tracks, some fully realized, others just sketches, but it does have a flow, helped with some great vocal guests such as Talib Kweli, Georgina Anne Muldrow, Roc C, Frezna, Stacy Epps and Guilty Simpson, giving the release a coherent feel, even with the usual Madlib dusted interludes.
As usual with Madlib, if you like Madlib, you’ll love this, but for others there are great moments in there too. While I’ve never been a huge Madlib fan, I still allow my ears to hear the latest Madlib science, he’ a prolific producer who deserves attention, when he gets it right its fire.
Wayne Stronell
