Mike Ladd

Biography

Mike Ladd is an American alternative hip-hop artist. Based in Paris, France, The Guardian once described him as "the king of the hip-hop concept."

Early life

Mike Ladd was born in Boston, Massachusetts. As a child, he lived in India and Zimbabwe for a while. He graduated from Hampshire College.

Career

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 on ROIR. He has also released several collaborative albums with jazz pianist Vijay Iyer.

Style and influences

Mike Ladd's influences range from Funkadelic to King Tubby, Minor Threat, and Charles Stepney.

Studio albums

Easy Listening 4 Armageddon (1997)
Welcome to the Afterfuture (2000)
Gun Hill Road (2000) (as The Infesticons)
Beauty Party (2003) (as The Majesticons)
In What Language? (2003) (with Vijay Iyer)
Nostalgialator (2004)
Negrophilia: The Album (2005)
Father Divine (2005)
Still Life with Commentator (2007) (with Vijay Iyer)
Maison Hantée (2008) (with Alexandre Pierrepont)
Anarchist Republic of Bzzz (2009) (as Anarchist Republic of Bzzz)
Bedford Park (2010) (as The Infesticons)
Why Waste Time (2012) (as Sleeping in Vilna)
Holding It Down: The Veterans' Dreams Project (2013) (with Vijay Iyer)
Gain (2016) (with Jeff Parker, High Priest, and Tyshawn Sorey, as Illtet)
Epiphany (2017) (with Mankwe Ndosi, Sylvain Kassap, and Dana Hall)
La chose commune (2017) (with Emmanuel Bex, David Lescot, Elise Caron, Géraldine Laurent, and Simon Goubert)
Visions of Selam (2018) (with Arat Kilo and Mamani Keita)
The Dead Can Rap (2020)
Transatlantic (2023) (with David Sztanke Soundtrack from the Netflix Series)
EXILLIANS (2023) (with MIKE LADD, T.I.E, JUICE ALEEM)

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 - "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 - "Films" from Films (2004)
Jackson and His Computerband - "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 - "Everything Is Under Control" from Sound Mirrors (2006)
Soylent Green - "Eating People" from Software and Hardwar (2006)
dDamage - "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 - "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 - "Electric Blue" from Beaus$Eros (2012)
Mister Modo & Ugly Mac Beer - "Life at the 9th" from Modonut 2 (2012)
Roberto Fonseca - "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 - "Christine" from Aethiopes (2022)

Remixes

Enrico Macias - "Le Vent Du Sud (Mike Ladd Remix)" from Enrico Experience (2000)
Yo La Tengo - "Nuclear War (Version 4)" (2002)
Antipop Consortium - "Ghostlawns (Mike Ladd Mix)" (2002)
Yameen - "Spirit Walker (Mike Ladd Remix)" from Never Knows More (2009)