Q&As: Madlib and Freddie Gibbs Talk ‘Piñata,’ Shrooms, Prog Rock, and Rich White Friends

What’s your day-to-day like?

Well, shit, I have three kids, so that’s enough right there. My shit is strictly music and my kids. I may take two days off, or a day off, or I may just listen to records for a couple months. Or I may take a week and not sleep [and make music]. It’s always different.

Did you ever have a musician’s version of writer’s block?

Oh yeah. Every real artist is gonna get that. May be a week, may be a year. But I have so much material, nobody would know. If I wanted to stop making stuff, I could just put out stuff that I have on my walls.

Can you take me back to the day you created your alter ego, Quasimoto?

Oh, I really don’t remember. I was doing a lot of shrooms and stuff back then. I was just trying to make music without thinking about it. And talk how I wanted to talk. Just free. Just trying to be free.

He’s the more expressive, wilder side of you?

Right. All my friends look at me as a quiet mute or some shit. It was a joke first. I was trying to fool people. My friends didn’t know it was me for a long time.

I know you’ve tried to do a Quasimoto live show. Any chance you’d try that again?

Yeah. It didn’t work out. I mean, if I could stand beside him … that’s the only way it’s gonna work. Hopefully a new Quasimoto album coming though.

Oh, really?

I got songs done but when it’s there, it’s there. It’s no rush. It’s just like Madvillain — it just has to be right. I’m also thinking about putting out the album before [the first Quasimoto album] The Unseen. That was the first album I recorded [but didn’t release]. Just gonna have to be brave and not care about it and put that shit out there.

Speaking of the Madvillain sequel, any word on more work with Doom?

He wants to do it. It’s just like me with Quasimoto — it just has to be right. It ain’t like it’s gonna be worse or better. It’s a continuation. We got like 10, 12 songs. It’s up to him. We talk. He saying he recorded new material. We gon’ see, we gon’ see very soon. I’m gonna go to Europe, we gonna hook up with him. Next month, London, first thing I do is go see Doom.

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