The legendary jazz sounds of Blue Note Records live on in the Madlib album Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note. Originally released in 2003, the classic LP has been reissued to a 20th-anniversary special edition vinyl, with Madlib’s remixes, reimaginations, and reinterpretations of selections by Donald Byrd, The Three Sounds, Ronnie Foster, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter and more.

Featured on Shades of Blue was the late MF DOOM, who contributed an opener to “Stepping Into Tomorrow,” a flip of Byrd’s 1975 album of the same name. In 2004, DOOM and Madlib, legal name Otis Jackson Jr., released their Madvillainy collaboration LP.

As shared on Hot 97, Jackson plans to release a follow-up to Madvillainy, also as an honor to DOOM, who died in October 2020.

“The second one is just not complete, it’s more like a demo to me,” he said. “We didn’t piece it together or anything, and some of them, he sounds like he just did a one take and that’s it.”

Along with the Shades of Blue vinyl release, Jackson participated in a “First Look” segment with Blue Note Records president and musician Don Was, explaining how Shades of Blue came about.

Madlib on “First Look” with Don Was of Blue Note Records

Next, Jackson is expected to drop posthumous Mac Miller album MacLib, which the 49-year-old produced entirely. During a Liberation 2 promo stop with Talib Kweli, Jackson revealed that he was finishing up production on MacLib, along with albums from Planet Asia and Erykah Badu.

Shades of Blue is available on Blue Note Records and Vinyl, Me Please.