Jackson Conti
Sujinho
In the mid '90s, Branford Marsalis linked with the likes of DJ Premier and seminal "Dope On Plastic" '80s emcee Uptown to create Buckshot Lefonque, which to this day, is one of the most enduring fusions of Hip Hop and Jazz. Premo didn't pat himself on the shoulder, nor did Marsalis; they just did it. Madlib is one of the few producers left in Hip Hop who "just do it." While the media-shy Oxnard, California producer has been toying with joints for Erykah Badu, Guilty Simpson and a entirely remixed album for Percee P by mid-year, the man also known as Quasimoto and Yesterday's New Quintet ventured down to Rio de Janeiro to do a few remixes, and returned with a whole album - Sujinho, the collaborative journey into Brasilintime music with the drummer from famed group Azymuth, Ivan "Mamao" Conti. Thus, Jackson Conti, a "just do it" approach to music-making that lets the creativity do the talking.
Initiated by acclaimed Los Angeles Hip Hop photographer and music preserver B+, Jackson Conti is positioned as a moment in time. While the sessions may have been one-take, impromptu journeys, that quality makes this project edgy. The impeccable packaging and liner notes add to this, making it accessible to new and novice fans of Brazilian music, but also showcasing two musicians of different generations, cultures and genres coming together and conversing through percussion, keys and old favorites. The results are a rare opportunity for Hip Hop fans to have an album that plays just as well at a dinner party than it does in your headphones or car, and an opportunity for one of our own to appeal beyond, just as he's done with Badu and his Blue Note remixes in 2003.
Standards like "Barumba" come alive with warm string arrangements over crisply recorded percussion in a way that channels warm weather afternoons. "Brasilian Sugar" however, subtly brings in the Hip Hop narrative, starting on a full-fledged break, showing how an ear like Madlib's can appreciate the canon of Brasiliantime music. The grooves vary from half-minute warm-ups to the 10-minute jam of "Papaia." Jackson Conti works well together, and the experimentation is showcased in the reflection of those '60s and '70s Jazz albums from the world that helped inspire Lootpack, Quasimoto and all of Madlib's various incarnations. This is grown-folks music that isn't out for your attention, but rather intended to be played and replayed for new movements within the songs that appeal to fans new and old, listeners and producers and Americans and Brazilians alike.
As Nas searches for MF DOOM [click to read] and Busta Rhymes champions J. Dilla, who will be the mainstream success to embrace Madlib's unmatchable range? Whether he's remixing relics, rapping in high-pitch tones or traveling to South America to jam out a gem with a cat in his sixties, Otis Jackson, Jr. is one of the things to love in a pessimistic time for Hip Hop. He just does it.
Initiated by acclaimed Los Angeles Hip Hop photographer and music preserver B+, Jackson Conti is positioned as a moment in time. While the sessions may have been one-take, impromptu journeys, that quality makes this project edgy. The impeccable packaging and liner notes add to this, making it accessible to new and novice fans of Brazilian music, but also showcasing two musicians of different generations, cultures and genres coming together and conversing through percussion, keys and old favorites. The results are a rare opportunity for Hip Hop fans to have an album that plays just as well at a dinner party than it does in your headphones or car, and an opportunity for one of our own to appeal beyond, just as he's done with Badu and his Blue Note remixes in 2003.
Standards like "Barumba" come alive with warm string arrangements over crisply recorded percussion in a way that channels warm weather afternoons. "Brasilian Sugar" however, subtly brings in the Hip Hop narrative, starting on a full-fledged break, showing how an ear like Madlib's can appreciate the canon of Brasiliantime music. The grooves vary from half-minute warm-ups to the 10-minute jam of "Papaia." Jackson Conti works well together, and the experimentation is showcased in the reflection of those '60s and '70s Jazz albums from the world that helped inspire Lootpack, Quasimoto and all of Madlib's various incarnations. This is grown-folks music that isn't out for your attention, but rather intended to be played and replayed for new movements within the songs that appeal to fans new and old, listeners and producers and Americans and Brazilians alike.
As Nas searches for MF DOOM [click to read] and Busta Rhymes champions J. Dilla, who will be the mainstream success to embrace Madlib's unmatchable range? Whether he's remixing relics, rapping in high-pitch tones or traveling to South America to jam out a gem with a cat in his sixties, Otis Jackson, Jr. is one of the things to love in a pessimistic time for Hip Hop. He just does it.
one moment...
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