Madlib produced “Misunderstood” for M.E.D.‘s Bang Ya Head 3, which dropped in 2011. “Misunderstood” makes a surprising return in video form as the score to a laid back hood narrative directed by Talib Zaid. The visual is heavily populated by the markers of everyday life as M.E.D. moves from the liquor store to the front lawn outlining his past mistakes and present dreams. Madlib breathes a little more life into his forthcoming LP Yessir Whatever as he discusses the return of Quasimoto in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. Madlib takes the opportunity to answer lingering questions about the status of the next Madvillainy record, his work with Freddie Gibbs – an MC he compares to Tupac and his feelings about Thundercat and Flying Lotus. He also touches on his plans for the Madlib Invazion label and recent forays into Zambian rock with Yasiin Bey during the rare interview. While Madlib is often described as a man of few words, he is a bottomless pit of projects. Check M.E.D.’s video for “Misunderstood” produced by Madlib below. Scroll down to read Madlib’s thoughts ahead of Yessir Whatever.

Will the Madvillain sequel ever see the light of day?
I handed all the beats to Doom years ago, but ever since he’s been in Europe, he’s been hard to get a hold of. I feel it probably won’t happen, but you never know. I can’t sit and wait on that. I did my part.

You recently started your own label, Madlib Invazion. Do you see that as mainly a place to release your music, or will you be releasing music from other artists as well?
Both. I’m going to release records from Kan Kick. A couple of singing artists. That’s all I’ve found so far. I want to work with Stones Throw and also do my own thing. Stones Throw already has a lot of artists, so it makes sense to be able to release my other stuff on the side.

How is MadGibbs coming?
It’s done. It sounds good. Gibbs killed his parts. So did Earl Sweatshirt and Danny Brown on the guest verses.

What was it about Freddie Gibbs that made you want to work with him?
It’s hard to really explain in words. I look at him as a new version of 2Pac. He does musically a lot of the stuff that I try to do as a producer. He’s capable of doing everything, but he’s interested in being original and not sounding like all the other stuff on the radio.

Do you ever read press about yourself?
Sometimes. I don’t take it to heart when people say I’m great or when I’m bad.

There’s a Woody Allen quote where he says that he doesn’t go to the Oscars because if he believes them when they say he’s great, he has to believe them when they say he’s terrible.
I love Woody Allen. That’s exactly how I feel.

Have you been making a lot of jazz lately?
Oh, definitely. I can’t stop. I’m going to put out some more of it soon on Stones Throw. I have tons of stuff I’m holding onto, a bunch of different types of music. I made an electronic record in the vein of Cluster. I was programming synthesizers and drum machines and that sort of thing.

Have you been paying attention to Thundercat and Flying Lotus and the way they’re reinventing jazz fusion?
It’s dope. I hope a lot of people pay attention and really listen. There’s a lot of trendy people out there, and I hope they listen to what they’re doing.. We have different types of sounds in that I do all of it myself, but it’s dope that they’re making original jazz.

You only put out a few records last year. What led to the slowdown in the schedule?
I’ve been taking it easy and trying to figure out a different route. I’m trying to make more money with less hands in the pot. I’m almost 40, you know. At one point, I took a year off just to listen to music and really digest it. I listened to everything you could imagine. Lately, I’ve been working as much as I usually have . . . probably more so than I usually do. There will be a lot of music coming out before you know it.

You’re making an album with Mos Def that’s inspired by Zambian rock from the 1970s. How did that come about?
We’ve been working on it for a long time. I’ve got a lot of unreleased tracks with him, and when he comes to L.A., we link up. I showed him all the Zambian stuff from the group Witch that [Now-Again Records' Eothen "Egon" Alapatt] released on Now-Again. Mos loved it. I have another album, too, full of all Indian Bollywood sampling stuff that I did with Mos. We’ll hopefully put out an album of that later.

You’re kind of like Ornette Coleman. You’re still alive making music, but we only hear a fraction of it and most of it was recorded years ago.
Haha. I wish that I was Ornette Coleman. My whole thing is that I make music regardless. Regardless of everything around me, I’ll always make music.

>>>Read the full interview with Madlib via Rolling Stone

The post M.E.D. x Madlib – “Misunderstood” + Madlib Talks New Quasimoto & LP w/ Yasiin Bey! appeared first on Okayplayer.

Yeah, I wasn’t kidding when I said June is a crazy hip-hop release  month. We’ve been getting a few Quasimoto leaks here and there leading up to the official release of Yessir Whatever on June 18th via Stones Throw. Today, we get to stream the new album from Madlib‘s alter ego, in its’ entirety. Yes, hardcore fans have probably heard some of these tracks already, but they’re now mixed and mastered for the first time. But enough talk, head over to Pitchfork for the stream and ST for the purchase.

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Quasimoto returns with “Brothers Can’t See Me” – the latest leak from Yessir Whatever, the forthcoming LP from Madlib‘s yellow alter ego dropping June 18th via Stones Throw. The track is a banger from the beginning as Madlib trades off with Lord Quas on vocals. “Brothers Can’t See Me” features a bit of Diamond D‘s “Best Kept Secret” in the scratches over a simple beat anchored by a monstrous bassline and plenty of that “mad dirty pop and hiss.” The Beat Conductor and Lord Quas prove once again that the force is with them in the form of the boom bap. Check the track below. Keep an ear out for more from Quasimoto’s Yessir Whatever.

Spotted at FM

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Cali crooner Aloe Blacc throws back to his 2006 debut Shine Through with “One Inna” – one of twelve tracks featured on The Beatbox, a digital compilation from Stones Throw. The horn dense instrumental produced by Madlib sports a slumping drum track that plays like a drunkard’s diddy-bop. The song gets its wings from Aloe Blacc’s falsetto coupled with the bell-toned flashes of brilliance peppering the production. The Beatbox is available exclusively to subscribers of Stones Throw’s digital discography on Drip.FM. Along with Aloe Blacc, the compilation features tracks from J Rocc, Georgia Anne Muldrow & Dudley Perkins, Peanut Butter Wolf, Yesterdays New Quintet and others. Take a trip back through the dope of Stones Throw’s past with Aloe Blacc and Madlib’s “One Inna.” Download The Beatbox compilation at Drip.FM. Purchase Aloe Blacc’s Shine Through LP via iTunes

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Madlib just announced a new installment of his much nutted-over “Beat Konducta” series (remember Beat Konducta in Afrika?). The newest edition is called Rock Konducta and at an upcoming show in San Francisco, Madlib will apparently be releasing a limited edition 45 with two tracks from the project. That’s ‘upcoming’ as in June 7th, 2013; ‘SF’ as in 1015 Fulsom Street and ‘limited edition’ as in 300 white label copies, available only at the show. Speculation is that this will be a (duh) more rock-oriented take on the concept, though Afrika may still be in the mix as well. The SF show will be dedicated to Zambian rock–Zamrock if you’re nasty–and features a performance from Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda, who is billed as “the last surviving member of cult Zambian rock act WITCH.” Stream below “Mad March (Skipping Drunk),” one of the Rock Konducta tracks which will be on the ultra-limited 45, scroll down for show info, tickets and back cover art–and the first digger who can identify the Zamrock source material gets a frosty Mosi Lager on me. Holler.

MADLIB MEDICINE SHOW – WELCOME TO ZAMROCK
1015 Folsom
Friday, June 7, 2013 at 10:00 PM – Saturday, June 8, 2013 at 3:00 AM (PDT)
San Francisco, United States

>>>Purchase Tickets

shouts to FACT

The post Madlib – “Mad March (Skipping Drunk)” + ‘Rock Konducta’ Limited Editon 45 appeared first on Okayplayer.

Quasimoto returns with “The Front” – the latest drop from the forthcoming vinyl LP Yessir Whatever, currently available for digital download via Stones Throw. While the track isn’t exactly new, it remains fresh and up for sale for the first time in digital format. Prior to that “The Front” was only available on a limited edition 7″ released in 2005. This joint is mash of funk samples and fat bass typical of Lord Quas’ signature sound. The thumping soundbed is punctuated by burst of horns harboring the nostalgic sound of classic tv themes. An interesting twist to this track is the more contemplative approach taken by Madlib, who commandeers the vocal with lyrics more serious than what you might be used to on the average Quasimoto track. Check “The Front” below. Purchase Yessir Whatever via Stones Throw.

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I’ll eat crow on this one, I really didn’t think that Quasimoto album was coming any time soon, but luckily I was wrong, very wrong. Stones Throw just officially announced that the latest Madlib creation, Yessir Whatever, will be coming out June 18th. To go with the announcement, we get this head-nod-inducing album cut “Planned Attack.” The 12-track LP was recorded over a roughly 12-year period (though y’all know this type of ish is timeless), you have heard some of the songs before, but they’ve now been mixed and mastered for the first time. Physical copies of Yessir Whatever will come with a peel-off cover sticker as well as a bonus 7-inch single (pictured below, art by Jeff Jank).

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Following a Facebook post from Lord Quas, the internet has been buzzing over the possibility that there could be a new Quasimoto LP coming from Madlib – Stones Throw‘s hyper-prolific anchor of a producer from Oxnard, California. The brief note indicated that he was somewhere playing a test pressing of Quasimoto’s Yessir Whatever; a statement backed loosely by talk of a June 2013 release date. Madlib’s 2005 release The Further Adventures of Lord Quas was the last time anyone heard from the producer’s alter-ego. Keep your fingers and toes crossed. There could be some goodies arriving in June.

Spotted at PIMB

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You may have heard the music on the MED x Blu x Madlib The Burgundy EP, but you haven’t seen this video. Watch MED and Blu spit rhymes from a classic burgundy Chevy Impala on them Cali streets while Jimetta Rose flows inside the beat perfectly with her rhythmic hook. The video, like the song is simple but effective – just a burgundy whip, and it was something to see. Video directed by Paul Demont and designed by RUFF MERCY. You can cop The Burgundy EP now via iTunes and The Burgundy Tee via Stones Throw.

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Madlib‘s back with goodies ahead of his upcoming Asian tour as Stones Throw drops Pill Jar. The project is a collection of previously released Madlib tracks bundled as a free EP. The tracks were pulled from episodes 1-12 of the Madlib Medicine Show series – a showcase for the producer’s dj skills and production work. Originally slated to be a 12-tape series Madlib dropped the secret volume Medicine Show #13: The Black Tape in 2012 to complete the set. The new EP is a fitting intro to the series for Madlib newbies – provided they even exist. Check the link below to grab Pill Jar and the rest of the Medicine Show series.

>>>Download Pill Jar (via Stones Throw)

Pill Jar Tracklisting:
01 Static Invazion (from MMS #5)
02 Episode XVI (from MMS #5)
03 The Paper (from MMS #1)
04 What Can U Tell Me (from MMS #9)
05 The Frontline (Liberation) (from MMS #3)
06 African Voodoo Queen (Drama) (from MMS #3)
07 Interview #4080 (from MMS #11)
08 Funky Butt, Part 1 (from MMS #7)

spotted at ST

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