Mike Ladd

Iconoclastic rapper and producer Mike Ladd fuses revolutionary poetry with soundscapes ranging from fractured, futuristic hip-hop to avant-garde jazz. Emerging from backgrounds in hardcore punk and spoken word performance, he released the major label-distributed Easy Listening 4 Armageddon in 1997. The more ambitious and even more apocalyptic Welcome to the Afterfuture followed in 2000, as Ladd broke away with the Infesticons and the Majesticons, two related side projects poised as a battle between mainstream rap's material excess and the integrity of underground hip-hop. From there, Ladd continued making literate, experimental hip-hop albums like 2004's Nostalgialator while strengthening his ties to the jazz world through collaborations with artists like Vijay Iyer, Tyshawn Sorey, and Jeff Parker. He also participated in a vast array of groups from the noisy, no wave-influenced Anarchist Republic of Bzzz to the Brazilian fusion outfit Ekundayo. The Boston-born artist has increasingly worked with French and African artists since moving to Paris, as heard on efforts like 2018's Visions of Selam, with Arat Kilo and Assitan Keïta. During the 2020s, he helped compose the soundtrack to the series Transatlantic, teamed up with underground rap duo ShrapKnel on Saisir Le Feu, and issued his first solo full-length in two decades, 2026's Nonechosen. Mike Ladd was born in Boston, and got his start drumming in punk bands during the '80s. He counts Minor Threat, Funkadelic, and Chess arranger Charles Stepney among his wide-ranging influences. He gained favor in spoken poetry circles, winning the Nuyorican Poets Café Slam and also having his writing published in the 1996 protest tome In Defense of Mumia. He made his recorded debut with 1997's Easy Listening 4 Armageddon, released by Scratchie Records, an alternative label founded by members of the Smashing Pumpkins and Fountains of Wayne. He then became associated with the Ninja Tune-affiliated leftfield hip-hop imprint Big Dada, who released his 1998 single "Blah Blah." Second full-length Welcome to the Afterfuture, featuring a collaboration with the similar-minded Company Flow, was released by Ozone Music in 2000, with EPs Vernacular Homicide and Activator Cowboy appearing the following year. Meanwhile, Ladd remained with Big Dada for releases by the battling supergroups the Infesticons and the Majesticons. The anti-commercial Infesticons made their debut with 2000's Gun Hill Road, a sprawling effort including appearances by Saul Williams and members of Antipop Consortium, while the Majesticons (including El-P and Cannibal Ox's Vast Aire) satirized bling-bling pop-rap on 2003's Beauty Party. In What Language?, Ladd's first collaboration with jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, was released by Pi Recordings in 2003. Third solo effort Nostalgialator, one of Ladd's more accessible efforts, was initially issued by German label !K7 in 2004, then saw an American re-release on El-P's Definitive Jux three years later. Negrophilia: The Album, inspired by and taking its name from the book by Petrine Archer-Straw, was released by Thirsty Ear in 2005, featuring jazz musicians such as Iyer, Guillermo E. Brown, and Andrew Lamb. Ladd also appeared on the punk-minded ROIR label with solo album Father Divine. Ladd's second full-length with Iyer, Still Life with Commentator, was released by Savoy Jazz in 2007. Maison Hantée, with French poet Alexandre Pierrepont, was released by Rogueart in 2008, including contributions from Roscoe Mitchell, Thurston Moore, Matana Roberts, William Parker, and several other luminaries. In 2009, Anarchist Republic of Bzzz, an experimental collective featuring Ladd as well as no wave pioneer Arto Lindsay, polymath guitarist Marc Ribot, and avant-rap visionary Sensational, released their self-titled debut LP via Sub Rosa (later reissued on CD by Important Records). The Infesticons returned with the punkish Bedford Park in 2010. Ladd issued solo EP Kids and Animals in 2011, and collaborated with Rob Mazurek, Naná Vasconcelos, Scotty Hard, and others in the collective Ekundayo, whose self-titled album appeared on Ropeadope. As part of the improvisational quartet Sleeping in Vilna, Ladd released Why Waste Time in 2012. A third joint effort with Iyer (along with Maurice Decaul and Lynn Hill), Holding It Down: The Veterans' Dreams Project, appeared in 2013. Ladd also contributed to Emmanuel Bex and Nico Morelli's B2Bill - A Modern Tribute to Bill Evans. Ladd was featured on the 2014 album Wasteland by French trumpeter and flugelhorn player Antoine Berjeaut. He also released a live album with Hubert Dupont and Ibrahima Diasse titled Vox XL. Second Anarchist Republic of Bzzz album United Diktaturs of Europe appeared in 2016, featuring guests like saxophonist Archie Shepp and turntablist eRikm. Ladd also collaborated with lyricist Hprizm (Antipop Consortium), guitarist Jeff Parker (Tortoise), and drummer Tyshawn Sorey as Illtet, releasing the album Gain on Rogueart. Visions of Selam, with French band Arat Kilo and Malian singer Assitan Keïta, was issued by Accords Croisés in 2018. Ladd teamed up with London-born street artist and producer Remi Rough for a self-titled 2020 album as TheDeadCanRap, featuring appearances by Open Mike Eagle, Nosaj from New Kingdom, and Malik Ameer. Reverse Winchester: Route 2 Ulysses, with Mathieu Souriseau, was released in 2022. Ladd and David Sztanke co-composed the score for the Netflix series Transatlantic, which appeared in 2023. Saisir Le Feu, a full-length with ShrapKnel, was issued by Fused Arrow in 2025. Ladd released the mature yet uncompromising-as-ever Nonechosen on billy woods' Backwoodz Studioz in 2026. ~ Paul Simpson & John Bush, Rovi