Shades Of Blueis 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…‘Madlibwas afforded the opportunity to mine the crates of Blue Note. OnShades Of Blue, he delivers remixes and brand spanking new interpretations of Blue Note classics. Whether funking outRonnie Foster’soriginalMystic Brewand transforming it into theMystic Bounceor givingWayne Shorter’sFootprintsa go withYesterday’s New Quintet, rest assured thatMadlib’sinnovativ

The sound of Blue Note Records has been embedded in hip-hop since the musics early days with artists like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, J Dilla, Beastie Boys, and more mining Blue Notes rich catalog for inspiration and sampling from tracks by Grant Green, Lou Donaldson, Lonnie Smith, and others.

In the early 1990s, Blue Note invited Us3 into the vaults for a jazz/hip-hop remix album that produced the smash single Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) and in 1996 went even further with The New Groove: The Blue Note Remix Project featuring remixes by Guru, The Ummah, The Roots, and more.

It was Madlib who raised the bar next when the acclaimed DJ, producer, rapper, and multi-instrumentalist invaded the Blue Note vaults to create his 2003 masterpiece