RSSMadlib [extended]
- Madvillainy [Stones Throw, 2004] A-
- The Other Side: Los Angeles [Time Out/Deaf Dumb + Blind, 2007] **
- Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6: A Tribute to . . . [Stones Throw, 2009] *
- Piñata [Madlib Invazion, 2014] *
See Also:
Consumer Guide Reviews:
Madvillain: Madvillainy [Stones Throw, 2004]
No noticeable structure a dozen plays in--just a glorious phantasmagoria of flow. Give them time and Madlib's 22 bits and pieces in 46 minutes seem not just catchy but inevitable--press shuffle at your peril, although "Curls" and "Accordion" hold their own. As for Doom, well: "One scary night I saw the light/Heard a voice like Barry White/Said, 'Sure you're right.'" To emulate neither Barry White, the voice means, nor the kind of quick thinker who normally rhymes "fine, G," "hiney," "Chinee," "shiny," and "pine tree." Instead Doom sounds slow, probably because he's stoned. He loves rhyme so much that the only universe that suits him is one where a gutter ball leads straight to a butterball--and that is a stoned universe. A-
The Other Side: Los Angeles [Time Out/Deaf Dumb + Blind, 2007]
Afrocentric mixmaster's multiculture speaks only da English--but in a beatful way (Outlaw Blues Band, "Deep Guilty"; Steve Grossman, "Inmate Man"). **
Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6: A Tribute to . . . [Stones Throw, 2009]
J Dilla for Dummies (like me), in 42 shifting pieces ("King Chop [Top Line]," "Never Front [Ears Up]"). *
Freddie Gibbs and Madlib: Piñata [Madlib Invazion, 2014]
Fabulous beats, absolutely, only . . . sorry, I know this is esoteric, but . . . Freddie Gibbs is to Rick Ross as Ryan Bingham is to Luke Bryan--"realer," but not therefore worthier ("High," "Broken") *