Rarely are there artists that put out so much material at a consistent level like Madlib. His discography is extensive and his catalogue of artist that hop along for the ride ranges from the likes of Talib Kweli to MF Doom to De La Soul. That’s pretty impressive. His release in 2004 with MF Doom is probably one of the best releases of the new millennium. Hailed as one of the best ‘underground’ albums in recent years, as well as an album that brought life to a dying breed of underground sound, Madvillainy had Madlib playing a huge part in reviving a style of gritty and grimy production that had been lost since the days of Da Beatminerz. In association with BBE, the Stones Throw leader has dropped King of the Wigflip to conclude the Beat Generation series; a series that has delivered nothing but great releases. Can Madlib continue the streak and follow the great releases from the likes of J Dilla, DJ Jazzy Jeff, will.i.am and Pete Rock?
Frequent Madlib collaborator, Guilty Simpson, shows up on the banger “Blow the Horns On ‘Em” and the beat delivers. The horns are unique and extremely powerful and the beat is littered with small details that add to possibly the best track on the album. Horns are once again front and center for the Defari assisted “Gamble On Ya Boy,” a very catchy joint with a dope voice sample. Guilty joins in again on “Go!” which is about as dark and gritty as Madlib gets and the track should make any ride move onto other lanes of the road involuntarily. A drastic change of sound is thrown onto Murs for “Ratrace.” Madlib puts an interesting spin on a very modern style of beat-making and adds a type of complexity and professionalism on the production that allows Murs to hit cruise-control.
One half of Organized Konfusion, Prince Po, lends an interesting verse about females to set as the backdrop for the jazz infused beat on “The Thang-Thang” and Karriem Riggins joins Madlib to unleash a fusion of sounds to fulfill any sound taste bud on “Life.” On “Drink Up!” Madlib provides Frank-n-Dank with a dope beat that is simplistic in nature, but extremely infectious after a few listens. Stacy Epps, once again (check “Eye” off of “Madvilliany”) provides a beautiful voice for the very soulful “The Way That I Live.” He provides a similar treat to Frezna on “Yo Yo Affair” and it seems as if the listener has entered a Jazz lounge from the future.
Talib reunites with Madlib to drop “What It Do.” In retrospect, this song would’ve sounded perfect on Liberation, but it sounds somewhat out of place on WLIB especially when it is sandwiched in between the very different “Disco Dance” and “Take That Money.” The track is great and Kweli drops two great verses, but the beat doesn’t advance and it remains stagnant. This is a problem Madlib has had throughout most of his career and it continues on the album.
After a few full listens of the album, it is difficult to feel moved and taken for a ride. Instead, it is a general feeling of stillness and at times, boredom. It is when Madlib rhymes that the listener might be punished the worst. Not only is “Heat” a really off-cue beat (a Madlib trademark that I’ll never understand), but Madlib contributes an off-center flow and a really weird lyrical display. This same type of rhyme scheme is displayed by the Professionals (Oh No and Madlib) over “I Want It Back”, as they talk about the beaten to death topic of losing hip hop.
The album is more hit than miss, but it also relies on patience and tolerance. Do the album’s 30-100 second skits slow down the album and make it drag on longer than it should? Yes. Does Madlib have a variety of sounds and styles to display, similar to what one would hear on the AM dial? Yes. Does he stop doing what Madlib does? No. Madlib will continue making music the way he wants to make it and regardless of how the game changes, Madlib will stay in the studio to cramming out beats that may or may not suit the listeners taste. Frankly, I don’t think he cares. At the end of the day, Madlib delivers a sound, which is a variety of sounds that might not be for every hip hop fan but, he does deliver a plethora of beats for the listener to pick and choose from.
Overall Score: 73/100
Stand Out Tracks:
“Blow the Horns on ‘Em”
“The Way That I Live”
“Ratrace”
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
sample set? nah, just kidding.
very nice review.
Yo Deez, it’s another hit barry bonds. Nice pen game with this one.
goddamn kev.. i reviewed this like 3 weeks ago
haahah
but yeah, i liked this review
hahaha, I know man. I still have a handful of your reviews that I haven’t put up yet. FE Week kinda threw things off.
Another great review though…. I still haven’t heard this album.
I “previewed” the album cause I’m not a big fan of Madlib. It was really hit or miss with me even with the production. The Guilty Simpson joints hit though.
madlib is one of the greatest, but this album is the least interesting of any hip-hop project he’s touched. dudley perkins “expressions” for example, runs circles around this record.
this is a really good album. i loved it
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Please someone, whats the sample on the second part of “life”? i’ve heard it a long time ago and can’t remember
Sounds like curtis mayfield but i’m not sure.
my problem with Madlib is he creates some dope records and gets a bunch of emcees that don’t always come with their A game. Which can make the records mediocre at times.
this album cover is dope. madlib has such a great ear for samples though
Anyone know what the very first vocal sample from “Heat” is? Who’s the artist, and what performance?