''Melatonin Magik'' is the ninth studio album by rap artist

Canibus Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Canibus, is an American rapper and actor. He initially gained fame in the 1990s for his ability to freestyle, and eventually released his debut album Can-I-Bus in 1998 ...

. The album contains a prolonged guest appearance by

Professor Griff Richard Griffin (born August 1, 1960), better known by his stage name Professor Griff, is an American rapper, spoken word artist, and lecturer currently residing in Atlanta. He was a member of the hip hop group Public Enemy, serving as the grou ...

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

who provides introductory or hype vocals on numerous songs. The album also features production from a collective of producers such as Sick Nature and ENG, as well as performance appearances by fellow rap artists such as DZK and Warbux of Warlab Records,

Blaq Poet Wilbur Bass (born May 31, 1969), better known as Blaq Poet, is an American rapper from Queensbridge, New York City. Biography Blaq Poet was first heard on the track "Beat You Down" from the Bridge Wars during 1987, a diss song towards KRS-O ...

K-Solo Kevin Madison, also known as K-Solo (born April 17, 1968) is an American rapper from Brentwood, New York who, along with Redman, EPMD, Das EFX, and Keith Murray, was part of the Hit Squad in the 1990s. Career K-Solo was a member of EPMD's "Hit S ...

, and

D12 D12 (an initialism for The Dirty Dozen) was an American hip hop collective from Detroit, Michigan. Formed in 1996, the group achieved mainstream success with its lineup of ''de facto'' leader Eminem, Proof, Bizarre, Mr. Porter, Kuniva and Swift ...

, among others.

Artwork

The conceptual artwork for ''Melatonin Magik'' is derived in part from the feature film ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

'', displaying Canibus in meditative posture, unchaining himself and his listeners from structural and unknown tyrannies while alluding to the central protagonist's ultimate choice of the liberating Red Pill as opposed to its Blue counterpart. The graphic design artist credited with its illustration was requisitioned by Canibus himself through Spitboss.

Track list

Deluxe Edition

A deluxe edition of ''Melatonin Magik'' featuring two bonus tracks, "Wu-Flix" and "Fraternity of the Impoverished (Extended Mix)", was released digitally on February 9, 2010.

Controversy

The song "Air Strike (Pop Killer)" generated controversy as Canibus reignited a feud with longtime rival Eminem and used

verses secured by DZK to create the illusion that they had sided with him.

Reception

The album received mixed to positive reviews, with RapReviews awarding it a 9 out of 10.

Charts

References

2010 albums Canibus albums {{2010s-hiphop-album-stub