Madlib

Otis Lee Jackson Jr., known professionally as Madlib, was born on October 24, 1973, in Oxnard, California. His parents, Otis Jackson Sr. and Dora Sinesca Jackson, were musicians. He started sampling music at age 11, drawing from his father’s collection. Madlib’s career in music production began in the early 1990s. He formed the Crate Diggas Palace (CDP) collective in Oxnard, which included his younger brother Oh No and other affiliated artists. His first commercially released production work was for the rap group Tha Alkaholiks in 1993. Subsequently, he recorded with Lootpack, releasing their 12-inch EP “Psyche Move” in 1995 on his father’s label, also named Crate Diggas Palace. This release led to the group being signed by Peanut Butter Wolf, founder of Stones Throw Records, in 1998.

Madlib’s solo debut, “The Unseen,” under his alter ego Quasimoto, was released in 2000 to critical acclaim, with Spin magazine naming it one of the top 20 albums of the year. In 2001, he ventured into jazz-influenced electronic music with Yesterdays New Quintet, a project where he played various fictional musicians. This work expanded into Yesterdays Universe, later incorporating additional session musicians. In 2003, Blue Note Records invited him to remix tracks from their archive, resulting in “Shades of Blue.” Returning to hip-hop, Madlib formed the duo Jaylib with J Dilla, releasing “Champion Sound.” He also collaborated with MF Doom as Madvillain, producing the album “Madvillainy” in 2004, which received significant praise. Throughout the decade, Madlib continued to release both jazz and hip-hop projects under various aliases and collaborations. In 2010, he launched his own imprint, Madlib Invazion, and the Madlib Medicine Show series, which included 13 album releases and EPs across different genres over two years. He also produced the film score for the 2011 A Tribe Called Quest documentary “Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest.”

Notable collaborations continued into the 2010s, including joint projects with Freddie Gibbs as MadGibbs, producing “Piñata” (2014) and “Bandana” (2019), both critically acclaimed. Madlib also worked with Kanye West, contributing to “No More Parties in L.A.” featuring Kendrick Lamar, released in 2016 as part of West’s album “The Life of Pablo.” In 2021, he released the album “Sound Ancestors” and collaborated with Logic as Madgic for the track “Mars Only pt. 3.” In January 2025, Madlib’s home in Los Angeles was destroyed in wildfires, resulting in the loss of his music and equipment.