MED

Nick Rodriguez, who performed early on as Medaphoar before shortening his name to MED, came of age in Oxnard, California amid a cluster of future Stones Throw artists. Raised in a musical household, he started freestyling at nine to amuse his parents, began composing original rhymes in junior high, and had become a local fixture by high school. Seeking beats, he stopped by the home of Otis Jackson Jr., known professionally as Madlib; the producer, struck by the MC’s ability, brought him into Lootpack as an unofficial member. His verses on the crew’s 1999 album Soundpieces: Da Antidote! caught the ear of label head Peanut Butter Wolf, who signed him to Stones Throw, after which MED appeared on projects by Quasimoto, Madlib, and Madvillain. His own debut, Push Comes to Shove, surfaced in 2005. Several Bang Ya Head compilations and mixtapes later, the 2011 album Classic arrived, carrying guest turns from Talib Kweli, Aloe Blacc, and Hodgy Beats. Two years afterward MED joined Madlib and rapper/producer Blu for the EP The Burgundy; the same trio issued the full-length Bad Neighbor in 2015, which contained the single “Rappcats.” Bang Ya Head 4 followed in 2016, and the EP The Turn Up, again with Madlib and Blu, appeared in 2017.