Wildchild

Lootpack's 1999 album, Da Anicdote, was a joyfully eclectic amalgamation of West Coast jazz collages, exacting turntable cuts, and fast-and-slippery battle rhymes. While other Lootpack members capitalized on the group's subsequent notoriety by helming various side projects, MC Wildchild (aka Jack Brown) remained oddly absent from the indie hip hop scene, fueling the theory that what had distinguished the band wasn't his work, but rather the lo-fi majesty of his cohort Madlib's production. Secondary Protocol, Wildchild's solo debut, dispels that notion by providing a convincing showcase for his talents.

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More About

• Lootpack (Musical Group)
• Da Anicdote
• Jack Brown
• Underground Hip-Hop
• Hip-Hop and Rap

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Apparently, the time away from the scene did Wildchild wonders; on Secondary Protocol he remains technically proficient yet opens up his thematic palette. Although the ubiquitous hip hop pose of artist-as-critic still plays a central role in Wildchild's lyrics, the release exposes a more paternal side of the MC. "Kiana" is an undiluted paean to his baby daughter, whom he declares to be "superhuman" and his "No. 1 inspiration." Perhaps the album's most initially engaging song is "Wonder Years," in which Wildchild wistfully seeks to understand that which is beyond his grasp. His desires are surprisingly romantic and cerebral; he wants to know, for example, "why you never say thanks to your loved ones before they die" and "if my daughter would use the true path that God has laid for her."

While this is Wildchild's show, Madlib and his brother/fellow producer Oh No also participate, laying down some of their most versatile and infectious tracks to date. Anticipating Wildchild's rapid-fire vocal cadence, Madlib and Oh No lace rattling drum tracks between the airy atmospheres of hypnotically sublime jazz samples, resulting in a finely textured yet intensely rhythmic sonic background. Still, the production never threatens to overwhelm the voice, and Secondary Protocol establishes that Wildchild can carry an act by himself. The only shame is that it took him four years to prove it.