R.I.P. soulful disco great Gwen McCrae, 1943-2025

Sadly, often-sampled disco star Gwen McCrae – who hit big with "Rockin' Chair" in 1975 – has passed away at 81.

Watch the Madvillain video for "Accordion"

Since it's MF DOOM's birthday, here's a short clip of his Madlib collaboration "Accordion" shot at chez Stones Throw back in 2004. 

One For The Weekend: Madlib with Your Old Droog & Black Thought

Madlib follows up his "DBZ" collaboration with Brooklyn's Your Old Droog with "Reekyod" featuring a cameo by Black Thought.

Toasting 20 years of Jaylib's Champion Sound album with "The Heist" clip

Check out Rory Gamble's animated clip for Madlib & J Dilla's "The Heist" off Jaylib's Champion Sound album on Stones Throw.  

DJ Muggs connects with Madlib & Meyhem on Champagne For Breakfast

Check out the video for "Big Money" off Champagne For Breakfast from DJ Muggs, Meyhem Lauren and Madlib out now. 

Happy Birthday Ahmad Jamal

Remembering pianist/composer Ahmad Jamal on his birthday with two interviews and a few of his well-sampled gems. 

LMNO, MED and Declaime join forces as LMD for Madlib-produced Flying High LP

LMD's Flying High debut – involving DJ Romes & J Rocc – is being released in a limited-edition run of white vinyl on July 29th. 

Here's the scoop...

Cali rap heavyweights LMNO, MED, and Declaime have joined forces to spit blunted tales, make wack emcees tremble, and showcase their lyrical gifts as the group LMD. And for their debut release, Flying High, they’ve called on another longtime collaborator—none other than living production legend Madlib—to produce the entire project. He provides his signature mind-bending instrumentals for his rapping cohorts, and the result is an organic, expertly crafted slice of hip-hop.

Flying High is the embodiment of that smoked-out, spiritually inclined boom-bap you’d want from this trio, with a few surprises along the way. You may also catch a contact high from a few of these cuts, because you can almost smell the weed smoke on “Flying High” and “The Cypher.” There are strong hits of soulful funk on the album, too, like the DJ Romes-assisted “Super,” as well as smoothed-out burners, like “Kool,” which features raps from Fly Anakin and scratches from J Rocc.

When they began to create the roots of Flying High in the mid-2010s, the three emcees hit the studio together with the shared belief that they needed to shake up the rap game by restoring the culture’s essence. And through plenty of trial and error—and bags of weed—LMD was inevitably formed in the way we get to hear them today. To say the wait was worth it would be a massive understatement, because this crew of hip-hop greats has certainly outdone themselves.

You can pre-order LMD's Flying High LP on white vinyl right here. Check out "Advice" below. 

Talib Kweli & Yasiin Bey discuss their new Black Star album

Talib Kweli & Yasiin Bey chat about the new Madib-produced Black Star album No Fear Of Time.

LINKS

The Midnight Miracle Bugs Bunny Mathematicx

Embryo keep on going with new Auf Auf album out November 19

When Embryo founder Christian Burchard died in 2018, his daughter Marja took over and finished Auf Auf for Madlib's label.

Find out more about Embryo's Auf Auf album right here. Listen to "Baran" below. 

BADBADNOTGOOD get assists from Arthur Verocai & Karriem Riggins on "Beside April"

Watch the video for "Beside April" off BADBADNOTGOOD's new album Talk Memory out Oct 8th via Innovative Leisure/XL

Jason Jagel designs alternate sleeve for Madlib's Sound Ancestors

The Jason Jagel-designed silk-screened sleeve edition of Madlib's Sound Ancestors is available for pre-order right here.

Talib Kweli & Madlib talk Black Star II, DOOM and Dilla

Listen to Madlib's Sound Ancestors collaborative album

Madlib came up with the music which Keiran Hebden of Four Tet then arranged and edited for Sound Ancestors. Listen below. 

Read all about it on Rappcats

Madlib previews Four Tet collaborative album Sound Ancestors

Sound Ancestors, Madlib's forthcoming project with Keiran Hebden, is due in January. Hear the first track below. 

Here's the scoop from Keiran Hebden:

"A few months ago I completed work on an album with my friend Madlib that we’d been making for the last few years. He is always making loads of music in all sorts of styles and I was listening to some of his new beats and studio sessions when I had the idea that it would be great to hear some of these ideas made into a Madlib solo album. Not made into beats for vocalists to use but instead arranged into tracks that could all flow together in an album designed to be listened to start to finish. I put this concept to him when we were hanging out eating some nice food one day and we decided to work on this together with him sending me tracks, loops, ideas and experiments that I would arrange, edit, manipulate and combine. I was sent hundreds of pieces of music over a couple of years stretch and during that time I put together this album with all the parts that fitted with my vision."

Listen to "Road Of The Lonely Ones" below. 

Badge Époque preview Self Help album with video for "Unity (It's Up To You)"

"Unity (It's Up To You)" is off the Badge Époque Ensemble's forthcoming album, Self Help out Nov 20 on Telephone Explosion.

Here's the scoop...

Self Help is an exploratory record that dances across time and genre, guided by fidgety miniatures and jazz inflected collage. While constructed from the inspiration of soul, funk and film music, BÉE mediate those influences having first digested them through the productions of Madlib & the RZA. Throughout, the band pool together their instrumental chops, moving from fluid and serpentine R&B to meditative, minimalistic piano, evoking a contrast of virtuosity and self-surrender.

Self Help is out November 20. pre-order a copy directly from Telephone Explosion right here. Watch Alex Kingsmill's entertaining animated clip for "Unity (It's Up To You)" feat. James Baley below. 

 

Ace reissues Madlib-sampled "Way Star" by Rubba

"Way Star" is credited to Joachim Sherylee, an alias for sound library great Jacky Giordano. 

Here's the scoop from Ace Records...

For the first time on 7-inch, here are two hugely in-demand library music tracks. Rubba’s ethereal ‘Way Star’ has been sampled by Madlib and will be included on a new Ace collection called Cafe Exil: New Adventures In European Music 1972-1980 later this year. Here’s your chance to get a rare limited-edition 7-inch of a track from a De Wolfe library album, In Motion: Modern Progressive Group Sounds Played By Rubba, which would otherwise set you back an eye-watering £200. On the flipside, ‘Moon Bird’ features an ethereal Barbara Moore wordless vocal plus Roger Webb’s flute-led autumnal jazz backing, and was a highlight of Ace’s acclaimed English Weather compilation. It was originally on De Wolfe’s Vocal Patterns LP in 1971, which is now a £150 item.

Talib Kweli talks about growing up with racism

As a guest on The Tonight Show, Talib Kweli discussed racism, political activism, his new recording with Diamond D and that way overdue Black Star album.  

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band vs. Erykah Badu

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band have their own take on Erykah Badu's "The Healer" produced by Madlib back in 2007. 

Watch Madlib and Freddie Gibbs jam with El Michels Affair

Freddie Gibbs and Madlib were recently joined by the El Michels Affair for an uncensored Tiny Desk Concert – check it while you can. 

Madlib and his brother Oh No team up for The Professionals LP

The Professionals LP feat. beats by Madlib and raps by Oh No, Chino XL and Elzhi is out January 17th. 

You can pre-order a limited edition version of The Professionals LP from Rappcats right here.