The Burgundy EP Collaborators MED, Blu & Madlib Recruit DOOM for "Knock Knock" from Bad Neighbor Full-length (Rappcats)
"DOOM's verse was [an] interesting one. DOOM's concept was that it's a text message. He text messages me while I'm not home, so he comes to my house anyway and starts borrowing all kinds of sh*t, you know, villain-style," veteran Oxnard-bred emcee MED (aka Medaphoar) revealed about his recent sample-heavy collaboration with fellow West Coast emcee Blu, prolific Stones Throw producer Madlib, and masked rhyming supper-villain MF DOOM, "Knock Knock." "I was like, 'what the f*ck is that?' So, there's this whole verse about him going to my house, drinking my beers, [and] going through my DVD's. It's so hilarious and genius," MED ecstatically continued. MED Blu Madlib, as they've been collectively referred to as of late, first linked up on MED-curated Bang Ya Head 3 label comp. cut, "Your Life" produced by Blu's Below The Heavens collaborator, Exile. Madlib was almost accidentally brought into the fold when Blu unleashed an unauthorized "street album" composed entirely of 14-15 of his dusty, soulful hand-crafted beats titled ucla (2012) which was abruptly pulled offline almost as quickly as it was mysteriously uploaded to Bandcamp; MED appeared alongside Blu, Jimetta Rose, and Jack Spade on ucla cuts "burgundy whip" and Prince-evoking "what u c." Although, a few select ucla tracks would ultimately end up re-appearing in re-mastered form on Madlib-authorized The Burgundy EP and Mayer Hawthorne & Dâm-Funk-featuring The Buzz EP (2013).
"A couple years ago, Blu got a few Madlib instrumentals and put together a few demos. The rough collection became the foundation of what would become Bad Neighbor. MED, a long-time collaborator of Madlib, put the pieces together, bringing together an impressive group of [emcees] and vocalists to complete the album;" managing to recruit and unlikely cast of characters including Mayer Hawthorne, Dâm-Funk, "Wake Me Up" vocalist Aloe Blacc, Dilla affiliate Frank Nitt, DJ Romes, former Odd Future emcee Hodgy Beats, Jimetta Rose, Black Spade, Oh No, DOOM, Stones Throw's latest signee Anderson.Paak, Phonte, and "B*tch Betta Have My Money" (1991) wordsmith AMG. "We weren't in a rush, because we knew we were working with one of the most classic producers of all time [who produced] some of the biggest classics: Jaylib, MADVILLAIN, Quasimoto, Lootpack, you know what I'm sayin'? So, we had to give the people something nice. We had some great records to follow up on," Blu recently revealed to Rolling Stone, concerning the nearly three-year gap between The Burgundy EP and long-awaited Bad Neighbor. Rappcats currently has MED Blu Madlib's proper full-length "debut," Bad Neighbor available for pre-order in either CD or 2LP formats, which are scheduled to start shipping on October 30th and December 1st, respectively. "LA is the best place to be in the world. I just hope they feel the same way with having us here," @HerFavColor remarked in closing.