Madlib

Madlib
Madlib during March 2014
Background information
Birth name	Otis Jackson, Jr.
Also known as	Quasimoto, Yesterdays New Quintet, DJ Rels, Beat Konducta, The Loop Digga
Born	(1973-10-24) October 24, 1973 (age 43)
Origin	Oxnard, California, United States
Genres	Hip hop, jazz rap, instrumental hip hop, soul, funk, electronic
Occupation(s)	Musician, record producer, rapper, DJ
Instruments	Turntables, sampler, vocals, drums, keyboards, synthesizer, bass guitar, vibraphone, percussion, guitar, flute, saxophone
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Stones Throw, Madlib Invazion, Blue Note
Associated acts	Madvillain, Jaylib, Lootpack, Quasimoto, Freddie Gibbs, MadGibbs, Strong Arm Steady, Guilty Simpson, Muno Brar$, Peanut Butter Wolf, J Rocc, MF Doom, J Dilla, Talib Kweli, M.E.D., De La Soul, Erykah Badu, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Oh No, Blu, Mos Def, Hemlock Ernst, Kanye West
Website	Madlib at stonesthrow.com

Otis Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. He is one of the most prolific and critically acclaimed hip hop producers of the 2000s and has collaborated with different hip hop artists, under a variety of pseudonyms, including MF Doom (as Madvillain), as well as the late J Dilla (as Jaylib). Madlib has described himself as a "DJ first, producer second, and MC last," and he has done several projects as a DJ, mixer, or remixer.

Madlib was born in Oxnard, California to musician parents Otis Jackson, Sr. and Dora Sinesca Jackson. His younger brother is the producer and rapper Michael 'Oh No' Jackson. His uncle is the jazz trumpeter Jon Faddis. He was raised in Oxnard, where he began his music career.

In the early 1990s, Madlib formed a loose-knit collective composed of rappers that worked with Madlib in his Oxnard-based "Crate Diggas Palace" studio. This collective was composed primarily of his friends, and became known as CDP. Madlib's first commercially released music was production for the rap group Tha Alkaholiks in 1993. He went on to record music of his own with the group Lootpack. Their 12-inch EP "Ill Psyche Move," was released by Madlib's father in 1995 on a label also called Crate Diggas Palace. This record caught the attention of Peanut Butter Wolf, founder of the Stones Throw Records label, who signed the group in 1998.

The Lootpack's 1999 debut album Soundpieces: Da Antidote ushered in a string of releases on Stones Throw centering on Madlib's production work which would continue for a decade. His first solo work, under the guise of Quasimoto, The Unseen, came in 2000. The album was met with critical acclaim, named by Spin Magazine as one of the top 20 albums of the year.