Post 5: Madlib: Past, Present, Future
“Madlib, aka Beat Konducta (born Madlib the Bad Kid 1922–1993) was an American comedian best known for his starring role on the television sitcom Quasimoto and Son. He was 3/4 African-American and 1/4 Blazed. Beat Konducta was born in Oakland and raised in Oxnard. During World War II, Beat Konducta used illegal means to avoid the draft and engaged in various criminal activities. Moving to Los Angeles in the early 1940s, he was a well-known associate of Malcolm Little, later known as Malcolm X. Beat Konducta has numerous battles with the IRS that culminated in a 1989 raid in which agents seized his house and assets (including some of the jewelery right off his body). Beat Konducta appeared to be making a comeback with a 1991 series in which he co-starred with his long-time friend Della Reese when a fatal heart attack struck him on the set.”
Madlib didn’t actually do these things… or did he? In a symbolic sense, he did and he embodies all that is mentioned; the allusions of the people he looks up to such as Della Reese (gospel vocalist) and Malcolm X, places such as Oxnard where hes from, Oakland, activities and scenes such as the 60’s emergence of spiritual Jazz and it’s roots with Black musicians and culture that emerged from Africa, etc. but it also includes the Madlib that changed Hip Hop, influenced countless artists and created groundbreaking albums and collaborations under Quasimoto, with MF DOOM, Erykha Badu, Freddie Gibbs, Noname, and many more. Madlib is NOW and he exists in the most present sense where he takes from the past and uses it now in real time to cultivate a better future and is an amalgamation of the past, present, and future. That is a crucial way not to repeat the past in a way that repeats things that have already been said and further builds on past ideas while speaking his truth. He is a successor to the types of people who’s biography isn’t too far off from what he is trying to portray. But how does he embody the references and vibe of his bio through his work? What is he potentially trying to do with this ancestral knowledge?
Both Jahari Massamba Unit and Alkebu-Lan-Land of the Blacks, seek to address as well as bring awareness to social issues and politics, references to African cultures and origins, and combines a mix of different styles and influences. Jahari Massamba Unit is also probably the most obvious kind of homage to a certain area of influence to Madlib. Both have a similar presence in the music scene but there are styles that aren’t present in the Umoja Ensemble recording. There are elements of modern music such as Hip Hop and Madlib isn’t using a 13 piece ensemble, he’s using Samples with a drummer as well as everything he has to add. He brings the modern elements to the table and pursues a new direction while innovating in the genre. He also utilizes his techniques and skills as a producer and combinines so many influences while clearly representing a specific area of influence while paving a new path ahead. Artists such as MF DOOM, Madlib, A Tribe Called Quest, and Flying Lotus all recognize the importance of the music and artists that came before them and influenced them and their music conveys that. You can hear it in the samples and styles that are intrinsic to each of their own styles. From Madlib as Quasimoto in “Jazz Cats Pt. 1,” referencing 58 different artists and record labels or ATCQ using Grant Green samples and singing “we got the Jazz.” The most important thing is that their music is still them, is truly them, and represents them and that is undeniable. Madlib isn’t ripping off the vibe of spiritual jazz from the 60’s and early 70’s, he’s paying homage to that and furthing the tradition and style. Thats one of the goals: understanding the past so you can learn from it and utilizing your cultivated knowledge and influences in the present moment to pave the way for the future.
