Perfect to chill to, Headnodic and Jazz Mafia's astounding self-titled record blends hip-hop and jazz effortlessly, bringing the two genres together with their intrinsic beauty intact. Just 500 pressed for the world. Jazzy hip-hop on that mellow-melodic tip, Headnodic + Jazz Mafia is an unforgettable album with nothing but dope beats and dope bars. By way of introduction, Headnodic is a part of the fabric of underground hip-hop. From his contributions to the groundbreaking group Crown City Rockers, to his production work with Lateef & the Gift of Gab as The Mighty Underdogs, Headnodic embodies the spirit of hip-hop in a way that is both unique, rare and universal. In the year 2000, trombonist, bassist, composer, arranger, and producer Adam Theis co-founded Jazz Mafia -- an eclectic artist collective of forward-thinking and accomplished players in electro, hip-hop, world, classical, and jazz. 25 years in the making, Jazz Mafia is a prolific staple of the quintessential San Francisco sound, uniting creative and accomplished Bay Area instrumentalists, vocalists, MCs, composers, and arrangers. The collective quickly garnered a reputation for its collaborative and risk-taking spirit, and over the years has worked with Roy Ayers, Lyrics Born, Zion-I, Latyrx and Blackalicious, to name a few. Headnodic has been making beats since he was a teenager and, around the same time, he played electric and upright bass in jazz ensembles. This album is a true collaboration between Headnodic and Adam Theis, along with The Jazz Mafia collective of musicians. In essence, Headnodic made the beats, Adam reacted with the horn arrangements but, with the extended family of musicians they pulled in, it made it feel like they were painting with infinite colors. Indeed, some musicians -- like vibraphonist Dan Neville -- would replay and improvise over sampled loops, blurring the line between live performance and production. Other times, they'd strip out the sample entirely and build from the ground up with live players, leaving a recognizable loop to become a faint but welcoming echo of the original idea. They enlisted some amazing vocalists and emcees: Genra, Do D.A.T., Ozay Moore (Lightheaded), Eligh (Living Legends) and Breathless brought raw lyricism. It's been mastered for vinyl by Be With stalwart Simon Francis, cut by favorite engineer Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios and pressed at the legendary Record Industry in Holland. Quality to the end.