Madlib The Beat Konducta: WLIB AM: King Of The Wigflip

On signature masterpieces like The Unseen and Madvillainy, producer, rapper, DJ, and

one-man jazz band Madlib doesn't just make beats, he creates sprawling, absurd,

trippy sonic universes out of old records and long-forgotten scraps of

pop-culture history. Now, with poignant, perfect synchronicity, BBE's essential

producer-centered "Beat Generation" series began spectacularly with Jay Dee's Welcome

2 Detroit, and

ends with his Jaylib partner's long-promised, endlessly delayed entry, WLIB:

King Of The Wigflip. Madlib

spends much of the disc producing for artists in the Stones Throw axis, but his

restless, abstract personality seeps through pretty much every track. Not

content merely to pump out beats, he scribbles playfully in the margins,

loading songs with ideas, funky little details, and loopy black comedy. Georgia

Ann Muldrow's "The Plan Pt. 1," for example, combines the warm crackle of dusty

vinyl, spoken-word poetry, rapping, singing, sampled comedy, and speechifying

in just over two and a half rambling, unrushed minutes. WLIB's loose concept is

irresistible: a free-form radio station with a direct line to Madlib's warped

cerebellum. It's a beautiful, impossible dream, but for 54 mellow, blunted

minutes, King Of The Wigflip makes it a glorious reality.