Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
RapReviews.com	[2]
Pitchfork Media	(7.4/10)[3]
The Grand Inquisitor	(8/10)[4]

Champion Sound is an album by the duo Jaylib (hip hop musicians J Dilla and Madlib). Half of the songs are produced by Madlib and feature J Dilla on vocals, and the other half are produced by J Dilla and feature Madlib on vocals. This album was the first of the Madlib duo collaboration albums made during the 2000s.

History [link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Jaylib began in 2000 when DJ J Rocc of the Beat Junkies gave a CD of unused instrumental tracks by J Dilla to Madlib. Madlib then recorded vocals over these beats and labelled them "Jaylib", without the intention of actually releasing them. Stones Throw placed one of these recordings as the B-side to a promo 12" Madlib single, under the name Jaylib, which was eventually heard by Dilla. The pair recorded Champion Sound in separate cities, Madlib in Oxnard, California, and Dilla in Detroit, Michigan by sending recordings back and forth. The two met only once before or during this time, while Madlib was recording in Detroit for J Dilla's album on MCA Records; a record that was never released. The album was released in 2003 after much delay due to leaks and bootlegs and received positive reviews.

Following Dilla's move from Detroit to Los Angeles in 2004, they appeared together on tour in Spring 2004 in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Toronto. Madlib debuted a yet-unreleased Jaylib song on a BBC radio show in May 2005 titled "Take It Back aka The Unofficial", produced by J Dilla with vocals by Madlib. The track was released on Adult Swim and Stones Throw's Chrome Children compilation.

Releases [link]

The first pressings of the album in the USA contained two bonus tracks: "Raw Addict," and "Ice" (which otherwise are only on a white label 12" issued by Stones Throw); the first pressing of the CD in Europe included those two and a third track, "Pillz," which was later featured as the b-side to the 12-inch single for "McNasty Filth".

In 2005 Madlib's compilation of unreleased Jaylib tracks got leaked as an early version of Madvillain's Madvillainy did before. These two CDs were compiled by Madlib in late 2002 to listen to on a trip to Brazil.^[5] The Jaylib compilation is called The Rough Drafts and the Madvillain compilation is called Madvillainy Preview.

The 2007 re-issue of Champion Sound was abruptly delayed when Stones Throw was issued a cease-and-desist from the camp of artist Cris Williamson.^{[citation needed]} "The Red", one of the more popular songs from the LP, contained an unauthorized sample of her song "Shine On, Straight Arrow". The song appears on the reissue with an alternate beat, though one still arranged by Jay Dee.

An alternate beat was also used for the song "No Games" on the re-issue.

Track listing [link]

1. "L.A. to Detroit" – 1:19
   • Contains samples of "Long Red" by Mountain and the motion picture "Forbidden Planet"
2. "McNasty Filth" (Ft. Frank-N-Dank) – 2:55
   • Contains samples of "Melancholy Man" by Paul Mauriat
3. "Nowadayz" – 3:08
   • Contains samples of "Wring Out the Ground (Loosely Now)" by Egg
4. "Champion Sound " – 2:23
   • Contains samples of "Dharmatma Theme Music (Sad)" by Kalyanji Anandji
5. "The Red" – 3:14
   • Contains samples of "Shine On, Straight Arrow" by Cris Williamson
6. "Heavy" – 3:46
   • Contains a sample of Heavy Duty by Herman Chin Loy
   • Contains a sample of "One Step Beyond" by Madness
   • Contains a sample of "Stuffed Aubergine" by Vangelis (used in the outro beat)
7. "Raw Shit" (Ft. Talib Kweli) – 3:08
8. "The Official" – 3:31
   • Contains a sample of "Diana In the Autumn Wind" by Gap Mangione
   • Contains a sample of "Stomped & Wasted" by Dizzy Gillespie
9. "The Heist" – 3:05
   • Contains a sample of "Persuasion" by Throbbing Gristle
   • Contains a sample of "The Advent of Panurge" by Gentle Giant
10. "The Mission" – 2:24
11. "React" (Ft. Quasimoto) – 2:45
    • Contains a sample of "Plain Truth" by Gentle Giant
12. "Strapped" (Ft. Guilty Simpson) – 3:13
13. "Strip Club" – 2:50
    • Contains samples of "Opus Pocus" by Jaco Pastorius
14. "The Exclusive" (Ft. Percee P) – 1:23
    • Contains samples of "Here Comes The Hot Stepper" by Ini Kamoze
15. "Survival Test" – 3:55
    • Contains samples of "Been Music/Man Dole Mera Tan Dole" by Hermant Kumar, rather say "Leaving " from Steve Hackett "
16. "Starz" – 3:03
    • Contains a sample of "The Stars Are Out Tonight" by Starcastle
    • Contains a sample of "Living for the Love of You" by The Isley Brothers
17. "No Games" – 1:47
    • Contains a sample of "Huit Octobre 1971" by Cortex
18. "Raw Addict" – 3:02 - Unlisted bonus track on the first US & UK pressing
    • Contains a sample of "God Gave Rock And Roll To You" By Argent
19. "Ice" – 1:17 - Unlisted bonus track on the first US & UK pressing
20. "Pillz" - 3:05 - Unlisted bonus track on the first UK pressing
    • Contains a sample of "Malaguena" written by Ernesto Lecuona

Deluxe edition [link]

Disc two

Tracks #1-9 were previously unreleased, whereas tracks #10-24 were previously unreleased on CD.

Album singles [link]

References [link]

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ RapReviews.com review
3. ^ Pitchfork Media review
4. ^ The Grand Inquisitor review
5. ^ Stones Throw Records

External links [link]

• Video interview with J Dilla discussing his work with Madlib