Chris MartinsIt's no secret that L.A.'s best-kept secret, hip-hop producer extraordinaire Madlib, is a prolific dude. During the aughts, he helmed upwards of 20 albums operating under numerous pseudonyms — Quasimoto, DJ Rels, Yesterday's New Quintet — and released a handful of classics both thereby, and in collaboration with other celebrated figures like J Dilla and MF DOOM. His labelmates at Stones Throw have let slip that he typically makes about an album a week, but that his perfectionist tendencies keep us from hearing them.
Well, it looks like that's all set to change. In November, Stones Throw announced the launch of the Madlib Medicine Show — a year-long series that will see the label's linchpin producer releasing a CD each month, described as a combination of “[his] new hip-hop productions, remixes, beat tapes, and jazz, as well as mixtapes of funk, soul, Brazilian, psych, jazz and other undefined forms of music from the Beat Konducta's 4-ton stack of vinyl.” Evidently, four tons is not an arbitrary figure.
The first installation Madlib Medicine Show No. 1: Before The Verdict, featuring collaborations with rapper Dirty Simpson, as well as a rare J Dilla appearance, is due out next week, but those in the know can nab a super limited custom vinyl version on Thursday Wednesday night. The release party is taking place at Club Good Hurt, on Venice just west of Culver City, and will feature custom live screen-printing of record jackets, courtesy of Hit + Run, for all who purchase a copy of Before The Verdict. Consider yourself in the know.
A sample hand-screened cover.
After the jump, find an MP3 from the series' inaugural release, as well as the flyer for the show.
Madlib & Guilty Simpson – The Paper [MP3]
*Correction: The original version of this post contained the wrong day for Madlib's release party. It is Wednesday, January 20.
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