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Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note
Hip-Hop · 2003 · 16 tracks

Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note

A legendary crate-digger granted keys to the Blue Note vaults. Dusty, subterranean hip-hop loops that treat jazz history as a living, breathing playground.

June 24, 2003 · Blue Note

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A respectful but playful dialogue between a hip-hop visionary and the ghosts of jazz royalty.

Tracklist · 16 Tracks
01
Introduction
0:33
02
Slim’s Return
3:56
03
Distant Land
3:59
04
Mystic Bounce
3:56
05
Stormy
3:42
06
Blue Note Interlude
0:42
07
Please Set Me at Ease
5:03
08
Funky Blue Note
3:08
09
Alfred Lion Interlude
0:45
10
Stepping Into Tomorrow
7:37
11
Andrew Hill Break
1:07
12
Montara
5:52
13
Song for My Father
5:46
14
Footprints
4:58
15
Peace / Dolphin Dance
5:39
16
Outro
0:15
Moments Worth Listening For
The heavy, head-nodding bump added to Donald Byrd's 'Steppin' Into Tomorrow' that transforms a jazz-funk classic into a hip-hop anthem.
The educational spoken-word interludes that frame the album as a historical documentary of the Blue Note label.
The way the vibraphone on 'Montara' floats over a beat that feels like it was recorded through a thick layer of velvet.
Reviews

How does Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note sound next to the rest of Madlib's catalogue?

Nostalgia+2.1σ

The writing leans far further into nostalgia than the rest of the catalogue.

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