Madlib

Madlib is a musician from the United States who has been active since 2000. Aliases associated with Madlib include Beat Conductor, Beat Konducta, Madlib Invazion, and Madlib the Beat Konducta. Madlib’s work has been associated with the genres boom bap and jazz rap. Among Madlib’s releases are Madlib Invazion (2000), The Beat Conductor (2001), and Sound Ancestors (2021).

Madlib is associated with boom bap and jazz rap. Boom bap is generally characterized by prominent, often sample-based drum patterns with heavy kick and snare emphasis, commonly linked to hip-hop production from the 1990s onward. Jazz rap is generally characterized by the incorporation of jazz samples, chord voicings, or instrumentation into hip-hop production and rapping. These are general traits of the genres themselves rather than claims specific to Madlib’s individual technique or delivery.

Madlib released 26 works between 2000 and 2021. Among the earliest examples were Madlib Invazion (2000), The Beat Conductor (2001), and Beat Konducta, Volume 0: Earth Sounds (2001), while later examples included The Beats (Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton Soundtrack) (2014) and Sound Ancestors (2021).