Madlib HISTORY OF THE LOOP DIGGA 1990 - Vinyl

The fifth volume of Madlib's monthly Medicine Show series is comprised of unreleased beat tapes the producer made during the '90s plus some recordings of his early crew C.D.P. (which stood for "Crate Diggas Palace"). The results are nowhere near as kick-ass, aggressive, or awesome as the cover art, but these trip-hop beats and chilled head-bobbers are of interest to fans who go deep, some having landed on Quasimoto, Percee P, and other Madlib-associated releases in their finished form. With all the "episodes" falling somewhere between his early productions for the Alkaholiks and his later, richer work, fans can hear his trademark fuzzy funk coming together on these tracks, plus there's already evidence he loves dirty standup comedians as Dolemite's pimp talk gets scratched and sampled. Notable moments include the truly messy and freaky number "Live from Outer Space" plus the handful of C.D.P. cuts that close the album, all of them filled with energy and throwback attitude. Not on the Top Ten list of Madlib recommendations but worth checking if history is what you crave. ~ David Jeffries

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Pop