Mike Ladd is an American hip hop musician from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. He is based in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, France. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described him as "the king of the hip-hop concept."

Early life

Mike Ladd was born in

. As a child, he lived in India and Zimbabwe for a while. He graduated from

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mo ...

Career

Mike Ladd's debut studio album, '' Easy Listening 4 Armageddon'', was released in 1997. He released '' Welcome to the Afterfuture'' in 2000. '' Nostalgialator'' was released in 2004. In 2005, he released '' Negrophilia: The Album'', which was inspired by Petrine Archer-Straw's book of the same name. In that year, he also released ''

Father Divine Father Divine (September 10, 1965), also known as Reverend M. J. Divine, was an African-American spiritual leader from about 1907 until his death in 1965. His full self-given name was Reverend Major Jealous Divine, and he was also known as "t ...

'' on

ROIR ROIR (pronounced "roar"), or Reachout International Records, is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper. Background ROIR was founded the same year that the Sony Walkman launched, and initially, the label ex ...

. He has also released several collaborative albums with jazz pianist

Vijay Iyer Vijay Iyer (born October 26, 1971) is an American composer, pianist, bandleader, producer and writer based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' has called him a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, histori ...

Style and influences

Mike Ladd's influences range from

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkade ...

King Tubby Osbourne Ruddock (28 January 1941 – 6 February 1989), better known as King Tubby, was a Jamaican sound engineer who greatly influenced the development of dub in the 1960s and 1970s. Tubby's innovative studio work, which saw him elevate the ...

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitar ...

, and

Charles Stepney Charles Stepney (March 26, 1931– May 17, 1976) was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and musician. Stepney is noted for his work with artists such as The Dells, Ramsey Lewis, Rotary Connection and Earth, Wind & Fire. Career He ...

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Easy Listening 4 Armageddon'' (1997) * '' Welcome to the Afterfuture'' (2000) * ''Gun Hill Road'' (2000) * ''Beauty Party'' (2003) * '' In What Language?'' (2003) * '' Nostalgialator'' (2004) * '' Negrophilia: The Album'' (2005) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Still Life with Commentator'' (2007) * ''Maison Hantée'' (2008) * ''Anarchist Republic of Bzzz'' (2009) * ''Bedford Park'' (2010) * ''Why Waste Time'' (2012) * '' Holding It Down: The Veterans' Dreams Project'' (2013) * ''Gain'' (2016) * ''Epiphany'' (2017) * ''La chose commune'' (2017) * ''Visions of Selam'' (2018) * ''The Dead Can Rap'' (2020)

Live albums

* ''Live from Paris'' (2000)

EPs

* ''Vernacular Homicide'' (2001) * ''Kids and Animals'' (2011)

Singles

* "Blah Blah" (1998) * "5000 Miles" / "Planet 10" (2000) * "Activator Cowboy" (2001) * "Wild Out Day" / "Jet Pack" (2003) * "Housewives at Play" (2004) * "Shake It" (2004)

Guest appearances

* Youngblood Brass Band - "Peace" from '' Unlearn'' (2000) *

Mr. Flash Gilles Bousquet (), known professionally as Mr. Flash, is a French record producer and DJ. He signed on the French electronic music label Ed Banger Records in 2003 and released the track "Radar Rider", which is also the first release of the label. ...

- "Basementized Soul" from ''Le Voyage Fantastique'' (2001) * Thawfor - "Where Thawght Is Worshipped 2.2" from ''Where Thawght Is Worshiped'' (2001) * The Opus - "Where Thawght Is Worshipped 3.0" from ''0.0.0.'' (2002) * Terranova - "Sublime" and "Heroes" from ''Hitchhiking Non-Stop with No Particular Destination'' (2002) * Emmanuel Santarromana - "Les Halles" from ''Métropolitain'' (2003) * Huge Voodoo - "NYPD Blues" from ''Affordable Magic'' (2003) *

Sonic Sum Sonic Sum is an American hip hop group based in Bronx, New York. It consists of Rob Sonic, Fred Ones, Eric M.O., and Preservation. The group was described by ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' as "hip-hop's Radiohead". In 1999, Sonic Sum released the fir ...

- "Films" from ''Films'' (2004) *

Jackson and His Computerband Jackson Fourgeaud, known professionally as Jackson and His Computerband (earlier Jackson and His Computer Band), is a French IDM artist. He released his debut album '' Smash'' with Warp Records in 2005. History Jackson Fourgeaud began making ...

- "TV Dogs (Cathodica's Letter)" from '' Smash'' (2005) * Daedelus - "Welcome Home" from '' Exquisite Corpse'' (2005) * Stacs of Stamina - "Baghdad Boogie" from ''Tivoli'' (2005) * Blue Sky Black Death - "Long Division" from '' A Heap of Broken Images'' (2006) *

Coldcut Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, ...

- "Everything Is Under Control" from ''

Sound Mirrors An acoustic mirror is a passive device used to reflect and focus (concentrate) sound waves. Parabolic acoustic mirrors are widely used in parabolic microphones to pick up sound from great distances, employed in surveillance and reporting of o ...

'' (2006) * Soylent Green - "Eating People" from ''Software and Hardwar'' (2006) *

dDamage dDamage is a French electronic music duo from Paris, composed of brothers Frédéric and Jean-Baptiste Hanak. dDamage released 8 albums, several singles, EPs and soundtracks, over a period of 20 years. Career Their first album, "Reverbreak Thi ...

- "Alphabet & Burners" from ''Shimmy Shimmy Blade'' (2006) * Mister Modo & Ugly Mac Beer - "Machiavelli vs. Lao Tseu" and "Machiavelli vs. Lao Tseu (Remix)" from ''Mo' Dougly Weird Stories'' (2007) * Apollo Heights - "Missed Again" from ''Disco Lights'' (2007) * Grand Pianoramax - "Showdown" from ''The Biggest Piano in Town'' (2008) * Arsenal - "Turn Me Loose" from ''Lotuk'' (2008) * Solex vs. Cristina Martinez & Jon Spencer - "R Is for Ring-A-Ding" and "Action" from ''Amsterdam Throwdown King Street Showdown!'' (2009) * Mister Modo & Ugly Mac Beer with Jessica Fitoussi - "Dirty Finders" from ''Modonut'' (2009) * DJ Spooky - "Known Unknowns" from ''The Secret Song'' (2009) *

U-God Lamont Jody Hawkins (born November 10, 1970), better known as U-God, is an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He has been with the group since its inception, and is known for his deep voice and rhythmic flow t ...

- "Lipton" from '' Dopium'' (2009) * Mister Modo & Ugly Mac Beer - "Norman Bates" from ''Remi Domost'' (2010) * Walker Barnard - "Ooty on Wax" and "Ooty on Wax (Iron Curtis Remix)" from ''Alacazam'' (2011) * Grand Pianoramax - "Domestic Bliss" from ''Smooth Danger'' (2011) * Birdapres - "Not the Only Man" from ''Catch an L'' (2011) *

Busdriver Regan Farquhar (born February 12, 1978), better known by his stage name Busdriver, is an American rapper and producer from Los Angeles, California. He has collaborated with rappers such as Myka 9, Milo, Nocando, Open Mike Eagle, 2Mex, and Ra ...

- "Electric Blue" from ''

Beaus$Eros ''Beaus$Eros'' (pronounced "bows & arrows") is a studio album by American rapper Busdriver. It was released on Fake Four Inc. in 2012. Critical reception At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream ...

'' (2012) * Mister Modo & Ugly Mac Beer - "Life at the 9th" from ''Modonut 2'' (2012) *

Roberto Fonseca Roberto Fonseca (born 29 March 1975) is a Cuban jazz pianist. From an early age, Fonseca was surrounded by music: his father was drum player Roberto Fonseca, Sr, his mother, Mercedes Cortes Alfaro, a professional singer (she sings on her son ...

- "Mi Negra Ave Maria" from ''Yo'' (2012) * Ben Muller - "The Last One to Preach" (2013) * Mister Modo & Ugly Mac Beer - "Wild Gun Mike" from ''Modonut Invasion'' (2013) * Dr. John - "Mack the Knife" from '' Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch'' (2014) * Nevche - "Rendez-Nous L'Argent" from ''Rétroviseur'' (2014) * Uncommon Nasa - "Black Hole" from ''Written at Night'' (2017) * R.A.P. Ferreira - "An Idea Is a Work of Art" from ''Purple Moonlight Pages'' (2020) *

Billy Woods Billy Woods (stylized as billy woods) is an American rapper based in New York. He is also the founder of the record label Backwoodz Studioz. Woods has been a member of Armand Hammer, Super Chron Flight Brothers, and The Reavers. Early life Bill ...

- "Christine" from '' Aethiopes'' (2022)

Remixes

* Enrico Macias - "Le Vent Du Sud (Mike Ladd Remix)" from ''Enrico Experience'' (2000) *

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James M ...

- "Nuclear War (Version 4)" (2002) * Antipop Consortium - "Ghostlawns (Mike Ladd Mix)" (2002) * Yameen - "Spirit Walker (Mike Ladd Remix)" from ''Never Knows More'' (2009)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ladd, Mike Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Hampshire College alumni Rappers from Boston American rappers American male rappers 21st-century American rappers American spoken word artists Hip hop record producers Big Dada artists Definitive Jux artists ROIR artists Thirsty Ear Recordings artists 21st-century American male musicians