On signature masterpieces like The Unseen and Madvillainy, producer, rapper, DJ, and
one-man jazz band Madlib doesn't just make beats, he creates sprawling, absurd,
trippy sonic universes out of old records and long-forgotten scraps of
pop-culture history. Now, with poignant, perfect synchronicity, BBE's essential
producer-centered "Beat Generation" series began spectacularly with Jay Dee's Welcome
2 Detroit, and
ends with his Jaylib partner's long-promised, endlessly delayed entry, WLIB:
King Of The Wigflip. Madlib
spends much of the disc producing for artists in the Stones Throw axis, but his
restless, abstract personality seeps through pretty much every track. Not
content merely to pump out beats, he scribbles playfully in the margins,
loading songs with ideas, funky little details, and loopy black comedy. Georgia
Ann Muldrow's "The Plan Pt. 1," for example, combines the warm crackle of dusty
vinyl, spoken-word poetry, rapping, singing, sampled comedy, and speechifying
in just over two and a half rambling, unrushed minutes. WLIB's loose concept is
irresistible: a free-form radio station with a direct line to Madlib's warped
cerebellum. It's a beautiful, impossible dream, but for 54 mellow, blunted
minutes, King Of The Wigflip makes it a glorious reality.