Shades Of Blue is an unique project that turns over the legacy of the esteemed Blue Note jazz label to one of hip-hop’s most unique artists, Madlib. He is considered to be one of hip-hop’s most inventive visionaries and connects it’s productions through smart lyrics and poetics.
The album opens with the declaration that “We are now having a little cooking session for Blue Note right here on the scene…” Madlib was afforded the opportunity to mine the crates of Blue Note. On Shades of Blue, he delivers remixes and brand spanking new interpretations of Blue Note classics.
Whether funking out Ronnie Foster’s original “Mystic Brew” and transforming it into the “Mystic Bounce,” or giving Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints” a go with Yesterday’s New Quintet, rest assured that Madlib’s innovative sonic vocabulary will fill the ears.
Other artists receiving a Madlib reimagination include Donald Byrd, Bobbi Humphrey, Bobby Hutcherson, Horace Silver, The Three Sounds and many more. Pitchfork album reviewer Scott Hreha rates the album 8.6 “Listening to Madlib’s music, I’m reminded of the Black radical maestros responsible for some of the outermost-limits musicmaking of the past half-century: Sun Ra, George Clinton, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry”.
In 2014, it ranked at number 11 on Paste’s “12 Classic Hip-Hop Albums That Deserve More Attention” list.