''Champion Sound'' is the only studio album by the duo Jaylib (
hip hop musicians
J Dilla
J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon varia ...
and
Madlib
Otis Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. He is widely known for his collaborations with MF DOOM (as Madvillain), J Dilla (as Jaylib), and Fr ...
). Half of the songs are produced by Madlib and feature J Dilla on vocals, and the other half are produced by J Dilla and feature Madlib on vocals.
History
Jaylib began in 2000 when DJ J Rocc of the
Beat Junkies
The Beat Junkies is an American hip hop crew of DJs specializing in turntablism.
Established in 1992 in Orange County, California by J. Rocc. As of 2014, The Beat Junkie Crew also host their own record pool, clothing line and radio station. ...
gave a CD of unused
instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...
tracks by
J Dilla
J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon varia ...
to
Madlib
Otis Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. He is widely known for his collaborations with MF DOOM (as Madvillain), J Dilla (as Jaylib), and Fr ...
. Madlib recorded vocals over these beats and labelled them "Jaylib", without the intention of actually releasing them.
Stones Throw Records
Stones Throw Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. Under the direction of founder Peanut Butter Wolf, Stones Throw has released music ranging from hip hop to experimental psychedelic rock. '' LA Weekl ...
placed one of these recordings as the B-side to a promo 12" Madlib single, under the name Jaylib, which was eventually heard by Dilla. The pair recorded ''Champion Sound'' in separate cities, Madlib in
Oxnard, California
Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...
, and Dilla in
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
by sending recordings back and forth. The two met only once before or during this time, while Madlib was recording in Detroit for J Dilla's album ''
The Diary'' on MCA Records; a record that was not released until 2016. The album was released in 2003 after much delay due to
leaks
A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a tank or a ship's hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can enter the container. Leaks are usua ...
and
bootlegs and received positive reviews.
Following Dilla's move from Detroit to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
in 2004, they appeared together on tour in Spring 2004 in Los Angeles,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. Madlib debuted a yet-unreleased Jaylib song on a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
radio show in May 2005 titled "Take It Back aka The Unofficial", produced by J Dilla with vocals by Madlib. The track was released on
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim
Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...
and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
and
Stones Throw
Stones Throw Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. Under the direction of founder Peanut Butter Wolf, Stones Throw has released music ranging from hip hop to experimental psychedelic rock. ''LA Weekly' ...
's ''
Chrome Children
''Chrome Children'' is a co-production between Stones Throw Records and Adult Swim. The CD & DVD set, released on October 3, 2006, includes songs from Oh No, J Dilla, Madlib, and other Stones Throw artists. It also includes footage from a hip-h ...
'' compilation.
Releases
The first pressings of the album in the USA contained two bonus tracks: "Raw Addict," and "Ice" (which otherwise are only on a white label 12" issued by Stones Throw); the first pressing of the CD in Europe included those two and a third track, "Pillz," which was later featured as the b-side to the single for "McNasty Filth".
In 2005 Madlib's compilation of unreleased Jaylib tracks got leaked as an early version of
Madvillain
Madvillain was an American hip hop duo consisting of two MCs and producers, MF Doom and Madlib. Their only album, ''Madvillainy'', earned critical acclaim and cult popularity, widely regarded as one of the greatest rap albums of all time and ...
's
Madvillainy
''Madvillainy'' is the only studio album by American hip hop duo Madvillain, consisting of rapper MF Doom and producer Madlib. It was released on March 23, 2004, on Stones Throw Records.
The album was recorded between 2002 and 2004. Madlib cre ...
did before. These two CDs were compiled by Madlib in late 2002 to listen to on a trip to Brazil. The Jaylib compilation is called ''The Rough Drafts'' and the Madvillain compilation is called ''Madvillainy Preview''.
The 2007 re-issue of Champion Sound was abruptly delayed when Stones Throw was issued a cease-and-desist from the camp of artist
Cris Williamson
Cris Williamson (born 1947) is an American feminist singer-songwriter and recording artist. She was a visible lesbian political activist, during an era when few who were unconnected to the lesbian community were aware of Gay and Lesbian issues ...
. "The Red", one of the more popular songs from the LP, contained an unauthorized sample of her song "Shine On, Straight Arrow". According to J-Rocc of the
Beat Junkies
The Beat Junkies is an American hip hop crew of DJs specializing in turntablism.
Established in 1992 in Orange County, California by J. Rocc. As of 2014, The Beat Junkie Crew also host their own record pool, clothing line and radio station. ...
, the sample clearance issue came down to Williamson's gripe about a Madlib lyric: ''"There's a Jaylib track called ‘The Red’ they got sued for. Cris Williamson is the artist and she’s a total feminist, a real woman-power type. In that song Madlib says "mostly shitty women". She said, 'I’m not having that, take it off the album.' But she’s still letting them use the instrumental for licensing and so on. So even there they’ve worked something out"''. "The Red" appears on the reissue with an alternate beat, though one still arranged by Jay Dee. An alternate beat was also used for the song "No Games" on the re-issue.
Reception
In 2010, ''Champion Sound'' was listed by
Black Milk
Curtis Eugene Cross (born August 14, 1983), better known by his stage name Black Milk, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer.
Career
In addition to Slum Village, Black Milk has worked with J Dilla, Elzhi, Phat Kat, Frank-N-Dan ...
as one of the "Top Ten Albums of the Last Decade". In 2015, it ranked at number 41 on ''
Fact
A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...
''s "100 Best Indie Hip-Hop Records of All Time" list. In that year, it was also listed by
HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group.
...
as one of the "30 Best Underground Hip Hop Albums Since 2000".
Track listing
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2003 debut albums
J Dilla albums
Madlib albums
Stones Throw Records albums
Albums produced by J Dilla
Albums produced by Madlib
Collaborative albums