Almost two years ago, Lootpack producer Madlib went from being the leader of “a group that’s down with the Alkaholiks”, to a leader in underground hip-hop production, graduating from crate digger / beat conductor, to an actual jazz musician. With the release of Yesterday’s New Quintet’s Angles Without Edges, the self-proclaimed “bad kid” assumed the role of five musicians, producing an entire jazz album playing each of the instruments himself. Madlib’s latest, Shades Of Blue, picks up right where that CD left off, however this time, one Otis Jackson Jr. has the Blue Note blessing, with the complete freedom to raid their catalog for the purpose of remixing it for today’s generation. A sampler’s dream come true! 

   The album is made up of half covers, and half remixes of classic Blue Note jazz compositions, but it’s all dope. The seasoned Blue Note listener will appreciate Madlib’s intricate covers of tunes like Reuben Wilson’s “Stormy” or Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father”, as he flawlessly and respectfully pays homage to the original versions by replaying them, much like he did on the YNQ Stevie album. Meanwhile, Madlib gleefully digs through the Blue Note crates picking out some of the phattest, most melodic tunes hip-hop has ever sampled and adds his own drums, vibes, scratches and whatever else to them. Heads will marvel at new Madlib remixed versions of Ronnie Foster’s “Mystic Brew” (here retitled “Mystic Bounce”), Gene Harris’ “The Look Of Slim” (“Slim’s Return”), Bobby Hutcherson’s “Montara”, and Bobbi Humphrey’s “Please Set Me At Ease (Hip Hop Mix)”, (now blessed with new verses from Medaphoar). And Madlib doesn’t complete his quest with familiar samples only, he digs up more obscure selections unfamiliar to the hip-hop head, such as the previously unreleased Donald Byrd piece “Distant Land (Hip Hop Drum Mix)”, again adding some of his own trademark hard-hitting drums to it.   

Regardless, many of the records on this compilation have been sampled many times over by A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, De La Soul, Blackalicious, and others, which is part of why it’s such an easy listen for the everyday hip-hop fan. And with Madlib adding his signature sound to the project, it’s an easy win. The familiarity of the grooves, or at least pieces of them, that are embedded in our minds comes to life, especially for those who never chose to dig deeper and discover the roots of hip-hop. Shades Of Blue is surely to be one of the most revered releases of the year, as it’s not too snobby for the average rap fan, but instead accessible enough to introduce them into a whole catalog of classic releases from the Blue Note label.