Who is Madlib? Everything to know about the hip-hop producer amid mismanagement lawsuit against ex-manager

Rapper, DJ and record producer Madlib, whose real name is Otis Lee Jackson, Jr., sued Eothen “Egon” Alapatt, his former manager, for "persistent and pervasive mismanagement." According to Variety, the lawsuit, filed in an LA court on October 31, alleged that Egon used his Now-Again record label as the middleman to funnel funds from the record producer to profit himself.

According to court documents, the DJ hired Egon to oversee the “financial, legal, and business aspects" of his record store, Rapp Catts. He also appointed Egon to manage the record producer's Quasimoto merchandise and other related business aspects. However, the lawsuit claimed Egon was not "performing his duties," adding:

“Not only was EGON not performing these duties, but he was also engaged in rank self-dealing, concealing information from and repeatedly breaching his duties to Madlib, and otherwise engaging in persistent and pervasive mismanagement.”

Madlib is an American DJ, record producer and rapper with 11 solo albums and 22 collaborative albums to his credit at the time of writing this article. He has worked with artists like Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Tyler, the Creator and Erykah Badu, among others.

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Madlib is self-described as "DJ first, producer second, and MC last”

Hailing from Oxnard, California, Otis Lee Jackson Jr. was born in October 1973. According to his biography in The Vogue, the DJ came from a musical family, his father was a singer and jazz musician, and his mother was a songwriter and pianist.

Jackson Jr. started a pop-locking group called the 'Lootpack' with his friends in elementary school and took on the moniker of Madlib in high school. The group released its debut album in 1999.

The record producer released his first debut album under another moniker, Quasimoto. This was a hip-hop group with him and Lord Quas, his alter ego. He released three LPs under the moniker, in 2000, 2005 and 2013.

His alter ego, Lord Quas, was characterized by his high-pitched voice, which the record producer explained was because he did not like hearing himself rap in his original voice. According to The New Yorker, in a 2005 interview, he said:

“When it comes to my own lyrics, I have to think about it more than Quas does. He brings ideas, and then I come with it.”

In 2001, the DJ also experimented with Jazz music, before returning to hip-hop to collaborate with artists like J Dilla and MF DOOM. He launched his imprint, Madlib Invazion, in 2010. He also announced his music series, Madlib Medicine Show, a 13-album monthly series between 2010 and 2011.

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Further exploring the "mismanagement" lawsuit

The lawsuit also alleged Egon refused to be transparent about the accounts of his business endeavours. It added that a "forensic accounting" commissioned by Jackson Jr. showed several discrepancies in the finances of his record store and other businesses entrusted to Egon.

The suit also claimed Egon allegedly used his record label to funnel money “off the top of income generated by the sale and distribution of Medicine Show’s recorded music.” According to Rolling Stone, Medicine Show is a company jointly owned by the two.

“[Egon] has refused to account to Madlib regarding how he and Now-Again have been compensated in that connection or to proffer any written agreement between the two entities,” the suit added.

The DJ also alleged Egon had locked him out of his online social media and Apple Music accounts. He requested that the court help dissolve "any contractual relationships" between them.

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Egon has not publicly commented on the lawsuit as of writing this article.