Madlib "The Beat Konducta Vol. 5 & 6"


Madlib. The Beat Konducta. Otis Jackson.

"In Jah Hands (Dilla's Lament)"


He goes by many names and releases lots of music. But what do you know about that latest installment to the Beat Konducta series? The Dil Cosby and Dil Withers suites are invading the area right here.

"Rebirth Cycle (Super Soul)"


After showing us what he did hide away in the lab on the first two volumes, he took us to India so he could show us how to chop those foreign records, and now he is showing all the wannabes who have spent the last almost 3 years since Dilla’s passing biting his style how it should be done.

"Rolled Peach Optimos (Call Day)"


While I’ve taken issue with many of those biters and their blatant attempts to profit off that which Dilla did so well, Madlib was his riding buddy towards the end and if someone is going to carry the torch for Dilla today the Beat Konducta is our best chance at it being done with the respect and honor J Dilla’s memory deserves.



Joining forces with Madlib for the excursion is J. Rocc, another Stones Throw confidant of Mr. Yancy. Together they create an atmosphere for blunts to be sparked and music to be enjoyed. The tracks float from one to the next with dusty drums always rolling in the trademark Dilla EQ fashion.

"Blast (Computer Rock)"


Donuts will probably come to mind as you kick back and let the vibes consume you. Madlib pulls from his extensive library finding perfect vocal harmonies to loop and drop in over the muted sounds of his beats. Horns find their way in and out of the mix, sometimes looped for added satisfaction and at times syncopated with the drum pattern for extra emphasis.

"Smoked Out (Green Blaze Subliminal)"


J. Rocc adds cuts where they are needed dropping in vocal snippets from the man himself, never letting us forget his name or the way he rode a beat. Along with lyrics from Jay Dee, Rocc throws in the random shout out from some of those who new him and other tid bits that were probably recorded at a time no one expected to ever need them.

"Suffer (Concentration)"


Across the forty plus tracks found within these two volumes Dilla’s ghost is apparent, almost reaching from the grave. Madlib and Dilla had a lot in common in how their beats come across and where so many have failed in attempting to steal the “Dilla” sound Madlib conveys his own personality in these tracks, but at the same time does it for a higher purpose – this isn’t Madlib biting Dilla, it’s Madlib paying tribute to his fallen brother who never got to give us all the music his brilliant mind was destined to cook up.

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