Madlib at Belgrave Music Hall
Johnny James, Managing Editor
A titan of hip hop and one of the most prolific producers of our time, Madlib is performing a rare set at Belgrave Music Hall, where he’ll be joined by Awesome Tapes From Africa, Egon, Niknak and more. He’s why you should be excited.
A triple threat, Otis Jackson Jr. AKA Madlib is a producer, DJ, and rapper who for over 20 years has been lighting fires in the hip hop world. Provider of some of the tightest hip-hop soundtracks out there, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest producers in the game. He’s also one of the most prolific, embracing a number of monikers over the years including his rap outlet Quasimoto, fictional jazz group Yesterday’s New Quintet, and the instrumental Beat Konducta. A thread running through each of these monikers is Jackon’s seamless blurring of the lines between traditional musicianship and sampling.
Madlib has also collaborated with many of the world’s most renowned rappers and producers, with whom he’s made some incredibly inventive and daring music. Teaming up with the legendary J Dilla, the pair took turns providing the beats for each other’s rhymes under the banner Jaylib, a project that was lauded as a meeting of two great creative minds. Similarly in 2004, Madlib got together with English-born, US-based rapper, songwriter and record producer MF Doom, releasing music under the name Madvillain. An enormous critical success, this off-kilter, experimental brand of hip hop remains a career highlight for both artists.
Another exciting collaboration was with Freddie Gibbs, with whom Madlib first got together with in 2013. The duo’s first full-length, Piñata, was met with a wealth of critical acclaim, twisting 70’s funk, soul and jazz into something more intoxicating. The pair announced that they were working on the follow-up album three years ago. Entitled Bandana, this is about to drop via Keep Cool/RCA and Madlib Invazion/ESGN. With two killer singles out so far, and with features from Pusha-T, Killer Mike, Yasiin Bey, and Black Thought, this one is expected to be huge.
So too are Madlibs upcoming live shows. Self-described as a “DJ first”, you can count on him to bring the fire to Belgrave Music Hall, where he’ll be joined by Awesome Tapes From Africa, Egon, Niknak and more. If you’re a hip hop fan, this one’s a no brainer.
