There was a time when you couldn't walk 2 steps in the Lab office without tripping over someone rushing to answer a page from their wifey. Now with R.Y. replacing Modem and P.G. rolling dolo, the majority of the office is in the bachelor camp. Which is why Dudley's "Brainwashedsyndrome(1)" is the only shoulder I have to lean on these days. As he puts it, "this is for my lockdown…sometimes all you need to get by is a girlie." This track exemplifies the magic of the Declaime/Madlib alter-ego at its best; lyrics that are both funny and sympathetic, sung with a catchy melody over one of the Beat Conductor's finest. As a whole I thought the A Lil' Light LP had some of Madlib's strongest work to date, but Dudley just never really did it for me… which is basically my problem with the flip side of this 12", "Moma(2)." Maybe if you're too broke to buy a Mothers' Day present this year you could make a mix tape for her with this song and that Tupac song, I don't know. Both instrumentals are included so it's essential for keeping the Madlib catalog complete.

reviewed by jms