Madlib's never been one for long songs (at least not under his own name), but the latest release from the Prolific One reads like a bunch pages torn right out of his sketchbook. Forgoing a more traditional album approach, Madlib's gone and dropped the companion LP to the popular Beat Konducta Volume 1. There's a tendency for some people to shy away from new Madlib releases, since the dude's catalog is just so overpopulated, but this is a genuinely interesting release, one that junkies and newcomers alike will find something do like about. Dude is definitely still digging for obscure/quirky samples, as evidenced by "Filthy," "Black Mozart," and "African Walk." It would be silly to try and meter Madlib's "artistic growth" or whatever, since he's got about a dozen aliases that all do their own things. This is just Madlib being Madlib. The majority of the tracks are under 2-minutes long, lending to the feeling that you're just channel-surfing through dude's brain, or sitting around in his studio while he fucks around, like "Check out what I did last night."

• music label: Stones Throw Records 2006

reviewed by the mgmnt 05/2015