The union between two of PR’s great talents, producers Skeptic and Madvado have crafted something that exceeds any expectation one might have for such a meeting of the minds.
Conceptually about a guy trapped in a mental hospital, Madskeptic could be described as schizophrenic had it not been so well-arranged and composed. Each of the nine tracks have a flavor of their own, jumping seamlessly from the gritty reality of the streets to horny proclamations to stern views of the world. Sonically, the record relishes in its down tempo, going to the dark corners of ’90s East Coast beats, early horrorcore soundscapes, the stark production of acts like MF Doom (could the album’s title also be a reference to Doom and Madlib’s collab Madvillain?), smooth and melancholic beats, and even some trap. The production is intricate and ambitious to represent the many moods of the album without breaking too much out of character and tone.
Warped voices appear throughout Madskeptic, from sped-up diva vocals to samples of movie dialogue, background murmurs, and even a guest turn from frequent Skeptic collaborator Unochosiete. They have really outdone themselves this time; all that’s missing is more tracks from this union.