Growing up in Oxnard, California with many other artists who ended up on the Stones Throw label, Nick Rodriguez, aka Medaphoar (and later, MED), grew up in a musical family, and by age nine he was freestyling to entertain his parents. By junior high he was writing his own rhymes, and by high school he was something of a local celebrity. Looking for beats one day, Medaphoar went to the house of Otis Jackson Jr., or Madlib, who was impressed by the MC's skills and invited him into his crew, Lootpack, as an unofficial member. After hearing his appearances on the group's 1999 full...