Basically my whole life is music, that's all I do 24-7.
Madlib
The equipment doesn't matter, it's the vibe you put into it. If the music sounds good, music sounds good.
Past, present, and future is where I'm at.
Dilla was a John Coltrane-type dude. He was always on a higher level. He inspired my music to become looser and more soulful.
I'm a man of few words.
Some people think I'm crazy, but I'm just a normal dude that loves music.
At one point, I took a year off just to listen to music and really digest it. I listened to everything you could imagine.
I've always done music with so-called thug- or gangster-type lyricists. I've always been associated with that because I'm from the West Coast.
People only know me for what they've heard, but that only represents about 10 percent of what I've done.
As far as hip hop, I ain't even gonna front, it was 'Rapper's Delight.' That was the first thing I heard where I was like, 'Whoa.' You take that beat and do something over it. I started collecting records after that, old records.
I studied jazz at home with my grandparents. They always had jazz dudes at the house, but I didn't study formally. I just hung around a lot of musicians.
I'll take two months off just to listen to records and not do any music so I can absorb all that and then when I go do my music. It's all in me. I'll listen to a different genre every two days or something, study it, 24 hours straight.
Prince Paul's one of my teachers. He's always been one of my main inspirations as far as interludes go and getting a little quirky at times.
I'm usually bored with both gangsta rappers and underground ones, too.
I do a few shows every year, but I'm mostly at home, making music. Day and night.
I'll always work with Stones Throw, but I'm trying to start my own label to release my old material and sign new artists. I want to do everything from rock, to jazz, to electronic, to noise records and movie sound tracks. Both sampled and original music.
My pops had me at the studio since I was born. That's why I got into music. He would let me go up on the controls and mess with stuff.
It's not easy to sound like Dilla, but you can make beats like Dilla with your computer, so that's why everybody sounds like Dilla.
I think a lot of guys are influenced by 'Pinata.' I fathered a lot of styles off that album.
My whole thing is that I make music regardless. Regardless of everything around me, I'll always make music.
I used to memorize music when I was real young. Schoolwork, not so much. But music I could remember.
I'm quiet, so people might think I'm a mute.
Not anyone can rap to my beats.
Sometimes I will slow down the beat for one bar on purpose, just to see if the rapper can adapt his flow and stay on beat.
If I'm really hyped to do something, I can do most of an album in a day.
As long as I'm living decent, then I'm cool.
I'm a hermit, people rarely see me.
Embryo is one of my favorite groups ever.
I love zebras.
I search for records that I've found on YouTube. If I can't get the record it doesn't matter to me, I'll bump the YouTube rip.
I've got about three or four rooms of records, and two rooms of instruments.
I get bored with music so I try to listen to things in different types of genre to see what's possible.
I do it for myself and for like-minded people. Half the time I don't know why I make what I do. I'd do this if no one was listening. I'm stuck. I've got the curse.
I try to challenge my ears. I get bored easily.
I didn't want to put out 'The Unseen' because I thought I would be criticized. I thought everyone would think the sped-up vocals were a gimmick. I had to be convinced to put it out.
I don't have beef with anybody.
The iPad is the greatest thing as far as kids.
I'm a jokester, man.
I like white wine, Riesling.
There were a certain amount of people that were down with me, and we would just sit in the room and make music.
Dizzy Gillespie would come by, eating gumbo. It was crazy. My grandparents were friends with all of them. Dee Dee Bridgewater, all of them, they'd come through.
I guess I only work with versatile rappers, chameleons like Guilty Simpson, J Dilla, and Doom.
My computer? I never use a computer. It's too easy.
I'm all about the music.
I used to drink straight Hennessy, but I started drinking wine and champagne. It's easier to tour like that.
You have to work how you work.
I made an electronic record in the vein of Cluster. I was programming synthesizers and drum machines and that sort of thing.
My family brainwashed me, like I'm brainwashing my children. They brainwashed me with good taste.
I don't like drama in my life, but I like reading about it.
If I sample a song, I usually make samples out of the whole album. Then I move on after that. Doesn't mean I'm going to release that whole album, but I do that.
