Marlon Williams, better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge housing projects located in Queens New York. He became interested in music, by performing in local talent shows, during the early days of rap music.
Madvillainy is the only studio album by American hip hop duo Madvillain, comprising MC MF Doom and producer Madlib. It was released on March 23, 2004 on Stones Throw Records.
Otis Jackson Jr., known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. One of the most prolific and critically acclaimed hip hop producers of the 2000s, he is widely known for his collaborations with MF DOOM, J Dilla, and Freddie Gibbs. Madlib has described himself as a "DJ first, producer second, and MC last."
Stones Throw Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. Under the direction of founder Peanut Butter Wolf, Stones Throw has released music ranging from hip hop to experimental psychedelic rock. LA Weekly deemed the label an "eternally evolving experiment" in celebration of its 20th anniversary.
Quasimoto is a side project of hip hop producer Madlib, from Oxnard, California. Quasimoto is composed of Madlib and his animated alter ego Lord Quas. Lord Quas is known for his high pitched voice, which often interacts with Madlib's regular voice. Quasimoto was conceived one day in the studio, when Madlib decided to rap to his own beats. Madlib did not like the sound of his voice so he decided to slow his recorder down, rap slowly, then speed the recording back up to produce Lord Quas' distinctive high pitched sound. Quasimoto's lyrics frequently address themes such as violence and drug use in a comedic fashion, and the character of Lord Quas has frequently been interpreted as a satirical take on gangsta-rap.
Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and "scratching" using record players and the creation of a rhythmic backing track, using a drum machine or sequencer, it is most commonly used to refer to recording the instrumental, non-lyrical and non-vocal aspects of hip hop.
Karriem Riggins is an American jazz drummer, hip hop producer, DJ and rapper.
Donuts is the second studio album by the American hip hop producer J Dilla, released on February 7, 2006 by Stones Throw Records. It was released on the day of his 32nd birthday and three days before his death.
Champion Sound is the only studio album by the duo Jaylib. Half of the songs are produced by Madlib and feature J Dilla on vocals, and the other half are produced by J Dilla and feature Madlib on vocals. This album was the first of the Madlib duo collaboration albums made during the 2000s.
Beat Konducta is a 8-album series released by hip hop musician Madlib. "Beat Konducta" is also an alias which Madlib uses. The series began officially in 2006 with the release of Beat Konducta Vol 1-2: Movie Scenes. The album was stylistically a companion to J Dilla's Donuts, which was released the month before, 3 days prior to Yancey's death. He has since followed with Beat Konducta Vol 3-4: Beat Konducta in India in 2007 and Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6: A Tribute to...(Dil Cosby and Dil Withers Suite) in 2008, which is a tribute to Yancey. Although the 2010 release Beat Konducta in Africa is an installment of the Madlib Medicine Show series, it is also considered apart of the Beat Konducta series as well.
The Shining is the third studio album by American hip hop producer and rapper J Dilla, who died February 10, 2006. The Shining was incomplete at the time of J Dilla's passing and was posthumously completed. Discounting the instrumental album Donuts, The Shining was the first full-length solo release by J Dilla since Welcome 2 Detroit five years earlier, and as such was highly anticipated. It was released on August 22, 2006 through BBE Records. An instrumental version of the album followed its release shortly afterward.
Lawless Element is an underground hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan. The duo is composed of cousins Griot as emcee and Magnif as DJ, producer and emcee. The duo of Magnif and Griot became engulfed in hip hop culture at the ages of 6 and 9, and spent their teenage years honing their skills on the production boards and on the microphone. At the ages of 16 and 19, the duo released their first single, titled "Mic Check", in 2003 on Running Man Records. The next year, the duo hooked up with fellow Detroit native, producer J Dilla, to release the single "The Shining". In early 2005, LE worked with Dilla's Jaylib partner Madlib on the single "High", which landed them a deal with popular independent rap label Babygrande Records. Their debut album, Soundvision: In Stereo, was released in September 2005 to generally positive reviews. Soundvision featured production from Magnif, J Dilla and Madlib and guest appearances from Dilla, Melanie Rutherford, Phat Kat, Big Tone, P.Dot, SelfSays and Diverse. "Rules Pt. 2" was the album's lead single, and also became the duo's first music video. URB magazine gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and stated that it was "Heavily influenced by the golden age of De La Soul, Pete Rock and DJ Premier" and that it featured "12 top-shelf tracks" The album also earned the duo Featured Artist status on the Okayplayer website. Magnif has continued production work for a number of other underground acts, and released a mixtape titled SupaBeatMaker in late 2005. The duo has announced plans for their second album, tentatively titled Evil, scheduled for released in 2008 on Babygrande Records. Magnif is also planning the release of a full-length production and solo album.
Get Dirty Radio is the second solo studio album by American rapper A.G. of Diggin' in the Crates Crew. It was released on October 31, 2006 through Look Records. Recording sessions took place at Handclap Studios in San Francisco, except for the song "We Don't Care", which was recorded in The Bronx. Production was handled by DJ Design, Madlib, Oh No, Tommy Tee, Cochise, Jake One, J Dilla, Lord Finesse and Showbiz. It features guest appearances from Aloe Blacc, Party Arty and Lil' Roze.
Byron Dwayne “Guilty” Simpson is an American rapper and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan whose recording career spans more than 20 years. He is signed to Stones Throw Records and known for being a favorite of the late producer J Dilla. His debut album, Ode to the Ghetto includes production from J Dilla, as well as other frequent collaborators Madlib and Black Milk. Along with Sean Price and Black Milk, Guilty Simpson formed the rap trio Random Axe. Simpson is also affiliated with the Detroit hip hop collective Almighty Dreadnaughtz. His major influences were Big Daddy Kane, N.W.A, Scarface, and Kool G Rap.
Johnson Barnes III, better known by his stage name Blu, is an American West Coast rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his group Blu & Exile and their debut album Below the Heavens. He is a forefront member of the California-based collective, Dirty Science. Blu is also co-CEO of New World Color, a label through which he has released many of his projects. He is recognized for his collaboration albums between him and various producers like Exile, Mainframe, Ta'Raach, Bombay, Madlib, Nottz, and Union Analogtronics. He has also performed at over 300 shows and has independently spread his music internationally, with strong followings in places like London, Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Toronto, Zurich, Melbourne, Moscow, South America, and South Africa.
Fredrick Jamel Tipton, better known by his stage name Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper and songwriter. After initially being signed to Interscope Records in 2006, Gibbs recorded his debut studio album under the label. However, he was eventually dropped and the album was cancelled. Gibbs later signed with Young Jeezy's CTE World and released a number of mixtapes through the label, including 2012's highly acclaimed Baby Face Killa.
Mnemonic Ascent is an Australian hip hop group made up of BVA, and Raph Boogie from Adelaide with DJ Ransom from Melbourne. They release their albums through Raph Boogie's Crookneck Records.
James Dewitt Yancey, better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer and rapper who emerged in the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan, as one third of the acclaimed music group Slum Village. He was also a member of the Soulquarians, an influential musical collective active during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
DJ Rhettmatic is a producer, DJ and member and part creator of Southern California's first turntable band, the Beat Junkies. Rhettmatic began his DJ career in 1983, with Double Platinum, a DJ group based out of Cerritos, CA.
Joshua Paul Davis, better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ and record producer. He first gained notice with the release of his acclaimed debut studio album, Endtroducing...... He has a personal collection of more than 60,000 records.
