MIND INVERSION

When it comes to incredible duos a few come to mind: Batman & Robin, Abbot & Costello, Tom & Jerry & last but not least Jaylib. J Dilla was Madlib’s good friend and comrade and during his new Beat Konducta series it is completely evident. Madlib sculpts together 42 beautiful instrumentals that seamlessly and perfectly pay respects to one of the greatest minds of our time, J Dilla.

I want to make it blatantly clear that Madlib doesn’t however try to replicate J Dilla, he pays tribute to Jay in his own way and it makes for one of the best Madlib beat tapes I’ve heard in years. I also have to say, if there is anyone out there whose production style is very similar it’s definitely Madlib. I would absolutely love to tell you about every track on this album, but I have no where near the time required so I will highlight some of my favorite beats.

“Rolled Peach Optimos (Call Day)” is one of those tracks that are very mellow chill out track, and almost reminds me of something Jay would be smoking to while he’s chopping records in the studio. Another thing that I should point out is that the samples that Madlib uses in this instrumental series are impeccable and fit in perfectly. “King Chop (Top Line)” is the epitome of a nasty beat that just makes you nod your head. “All Love (The Movement)” is incredible because in the backdrop of the beat you can hear the strings from “Act Too (Love of my Life)” in the background (which is one of my all time favorites). I have to say that in my opinion “Dillalade Ride (Contact High)” is what I would consider to be the highlight of the album. The track is so beautiful it almost makes me tear up because the strings are so perfectly picked that I can imagine Dilla smoking a blunt in his Dillalade laughing and having a good time.

Just because I left out 39 beats that I didn’t talk about doesn’t mean that they aren’t worth listening to, because that’s nowhere near the case. Every beat on this album is top notch, and judging by the quality of Madlib’s work this might be the best instrumental album you will hear all year. I can’t imagine how big that signature smile is on Dilla’s face while he’s listening to this with the high exalted.

9/10

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 4:32 pm and is filed under Music Reviews with tags Beat Konducta, Hip-Hop, J Dilla, Madlib. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.