Madlib
Rock Konducta Pt. 1 & 2
MADLIB INVAZION
5/10
Rock Konducta Pt. 1 & 2—the double album of fifty-plus instrumental tracks and beats from the inventive, chimerical hip-hop producer Madlib—is at the same time wildly disorienting, startlingly brilliant, and sort of disappointing. These records, a continuation of Madlib’s long-running Beat Konducta series, are a master class in how to sample, assemble, and create a groove. Pulling from all corners of rock (acid to kraut, psychedelia to prog), Rock Konducta still has that tactile, gritty sound that helped Madlib make his name with acts including J Dilla, MF Doom, Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, and more. But for all its technical brilliance, the one- and two-minute songs are mostly a potpourri of ideas and experiments. These are not “albums” in the traditional sense (you’ll have to dig deep for a sense of progression), though in some way that’s the whole point. Rock Konducta Pt. 1 & 2 require some patience and lateral thinking to truly enjoy.
