Wiki
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Release Date
7 October 2003
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Length
17 tracks
Champion Sound was the first and only album released by Jaylib, consisting of producers J Dilla and Madlib, in 2003 via Stone Throw Records. It features frequent Dilla collaborators Frank N Dank and fellow Soulquarian member Talib Kweli. The project explores conventional hip-hop themes such as braggadocio, the street lifestyle, and even a little humor through Lib’s alter-ego Quasimoto.
The project was equally split: Dilla performed over Madlib’s instrumentals and vice versa. This was because, according to Complex, Champion Sound was recorded on only two tracks and sent to and from one another following their early communications:
Madlib got handed a CD’s worth of Dilla instrumentals by the Beat Junkies' J-Rocc “I can’t rap to too many other people’s beats,” admits Madlib. “And I can barely rap to my own. But when I hear shit, there’s just something to it that I connect with. I could just write to it all day.”
The album’s release went through several complications due to copyright problems in regard to an uncleared sample on the group’s most popular single “The Red”.
Both the LP and its 2007 reissue alike have gained universally acclaimed reception. It was featured on HipHopDX’s list of “30 Best Underground Hip Hop Albums since 2000”, and received a four-and-a-half star rating from Allmusic. Since neither artist is renowned for being an exceptional lyricist, fans have shown great appreciation for the instrumentals' blend of jazz and soul — the signature genres of Madlib and J Dilla.
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