Video After The Jump
In this episode of "People's Party With Talib Kweli," Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with legendary DJ, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper:
The Bad Kid, The Beat Konducta, The Loop Digga, Quasimoto...
MADLIB
We were privileged enough to get a rare interview with one of the most elusive legends in hip-hop. Here's what we discussed:
• Using music to steer clear of gang-life in his hometown of Oxnard, CA.
• His family's deep roots in Jazz music.
• Brother rapper/producer Oh No and Madlib's first group Lootpack.
• Being influenced by the works of Melvin Van Peebles.
• Working under his alias of Quasimoto.
• His mystical musical connection with J Dilla and his love of MF Doom.
• Talib and Madlib working together on 'Liberation'.
• Getting to remix his favorite Blue Note Records' tracks for 'Shades Of Blue'.
• Making 'Auditorium' with Mos Def and 'The Healer' with Erykah Badu.
• Producing the entire 'Black Star II' album.
• Working with Freddie Gibbs on 'Piñata' and 'Bandana'.
• Madlib's friendship with Mac Miller.
• Why a producer's equipment isn't important and the power of an iPad.
• The eclectic vision of his project 'Sound Ancestors'.
• DJs having the easy path to becoming great producers.
• Madlib gives us his top 5 producers.
TIME STAMPS:
3:27 -- Madlib speaks of growing up in Oxnard, California and immersing himself in music throughout his younger years as a way to avoid the gang afflicted streets surrounding him. He also talks about his family's deep roots in Jazz music giving him the chance to dabble in a variety of instruments and tells what the first record he sampled was when he was only 7 years of age.
7:00 -- Madlib gets into his relationship with his brother rapper/producer Oh No, his start with the group Lootpack and his dad helping him get out his first 12" single independently. They also discuss Lootpack's stand-out track 'Whenimondamic' amongst the 300 other songs they made together as well as what Madlib remembers about first meeting Peanut Butter Wolf.
13:07 -- Madlib is asked about how the works of Melvin Van Peebles influenced him over the course of his career, especially when it comes to his Quasimoto projects. Madlib speaks on how he approached working under his alias Quasimoto, taking mushrooms throughout the production. He also talks about taking a couple years away from hip hop to focus more on Jazz and R&B and they discuss public enemy as well as police brutality.
20:46 -- Madlib reflects on hearing MF Doom for the first time and knowing that he had to find a way to collaborate with him. They also discuss the time Talib and Kanye West met up with Madlib and MF Doom at a studio, Madlib's persona of mystique while avoiding social media, his mystical musical connection with J Dilla and he's asked why he thinks MF Doom was so underappreciated.
27:41 -- Madlib and Talib discuss their partnering up on the 2007 album 'Liberation' and how that aided each other's careers. They also discuss Madlib's album 'Shades Of Blue' where he was given full access to the Blue Note Records catalog for remixing his favorite jazz tracks and Jasmin talks about how she always wanted to be in a jazz band.
32:01 -- Madlib is asked about the making of 'Auditorium' with Mos Def and Slick Rick as well as working on Erykah Badu's 2007 EP 'The Healer'. He also explains what he means when he calls himself a musical schizophrenic, they discuss drums being Madlib's favorite instrument as well as him producing the entire 'Black Star II' album, still yet to be released.
37:53 -- Madlib tells the story of how he and Freddie Gibbs came together to collaborate on their 2014 album 'Piñata' as well as 'Bandana' in 2019 and points to the different approaches with each effort. Madlib also talks about his intentions behind the Medicine Show series compilations as well as his friendship with Mac Miller and how much of a natural musician he was.
42:57 -- Talib brings up his theory on why Kanye bought so many of Madlib's beats without using them, Jasmin goes on to ask Madlib how he's been able to stay so true to his vision over the years and Madlib talks about the equipment not being the important thing, stating 'it's about not making excuses.' They also discuss how powerful an iPad can be in the right hands.
46:48 -- Madlib speaks on the making of his latest album 'Sound Ancestors' and talks about how the eclectic vision of that release came together. They also discuss what Madlib has been doing during the pandemic, he shares why he feels great DJs are able to progress so seamlessly to becoming great beat makers and he gives us his top 3 producers.
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