Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms

"The basic conceit of Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms, that hip-hop producer Oh No sampled exclusively from the catalogue of composer Galt MacDermot, is a clever one. Oh No, aka Mike Jackson aka Madlib's little brother, getting permission to raid the archives of a jazz/funk cult hero is a big deal and a smart sales strategy -- a sort of Willy Wonka for crate diggers. But Exodus is more than a gimmick, because, as strange as it might sound, Oh No and his main source MacDermot seem to share a genuine rapport. Oh No gracefully layers these compositions the way MacDermont did with his own, fusing inspirations with the same wide-eyed gusto and ending up with the same kind of buoyant and elegant songs. The resulting record is a few things: exceptionally cohesive, revelatory, smart as hell, and livelier than any other hip-hop record this year."- Pitchfork

Stones Throw star and younger brother of Madlib samples exclusively from the catalogue of jazz/funk cult hero Galt MacDermot, but this buoyant and elegant record is no mere gimmick.

Not even Madlib can transform Dudley Perkins into a proper soul-man, but on the unexpectedly moving "T. Biggums"—the standout track from Oh No's Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms—Perkins finds greatness, if only for a song, by slipping into the itchy skin of Dave Chappelle's crackhead character Tyrone Biggums. While a…