Reader Review: Madvillain (Madlib + MF DOOM) - Madvillainy (March 24, 2004)

(Here's something you probably didn't expect. For today's post, Nicolo helps HHID meet its Madlib and MF DOOM quota (I hate writing that guy's name in all caps) by discussing their project, Madvillain, and their debut album Madvillainy. I only just recently found this in my crates and want to write about this soon, but since Nicolo got to it first, he gets first crack at it. Enjoy!)

Although there are a handful of great hip hop albums that have yet to be reviewed by Max but deserve consideration and recognition here on Hip Hop Isn’t Dead, one LP stands alone to me as an album that was inexplicably overlooked in the hip hop community, yet made a large splash in a more… should I say, Pitchfork Media demographic. This is also the perfect opportunity to have another MF DOOM album reviewed on the blog.

Madvillainy is the first effort by the group Madvillain, which is made up of long-standing hip hop stalwarts DJ/Producer/MC Madlib and MC/Producer MF DOOM. Although Madlib and Doom (I have officially stopped writing the name in all caps for the rest of this review) make music on opposite ends of the country, they have oddly parallel careers. Both got their starts in obscure underground outfits (Lib in Lootpack, Doom in KMD) that never quite made it, but were taken under the wing of more successful peers (Tha Alkaholiks and 3rd Bass, respectively). Both are also extremely prolific, and have performed under more pseudonyms than you can shake a stick at. When it was first revealed that the two would make an album together, it turned a lot of heads, perhaps due to the fact that Doom, at least, was in the prime of his career.

Madvillainy was almost universally reviewed positively upon its release, but like I mentioned before, was a miss in the hip hop community. As far as I know, the album wasn’t even reviewed by the Source, XXL, etc, and on top of that, a friend of mine who is the biggest Doom fan I know is still indifferent to it to this day. I was first introduced to the album by a friend who was more of an indie rock fan than anything else, but for this review I will be taking another listen to each track from a more hip hop perspective. You may remember from my last appearance on this blog that I like to review long albums. This one is no different.

1. INTRO
You can already hypothesize how Doom and Lib’s style will mesh from this Intro. A sullen, jazzy instrumental backs one of those comic book-style narrations that don’t quite make sense that you can hear on any given Doom album.

2. ACCORDION
Madlib’s instrumental can get boring after a couple of listens, but this is one of the more accessible songs on the album. Doom is in strong form, complementing humorous battle rhyme musings with obscure pop-culture references.

3. MEAT GRINDER
This song is just awesome. Featuring beatnik bass and the best use of sitar in a rap song since "Bonita Applebum", Doom almost sounds like he’s spitting spoken word poetry. This song also contains my personal favorite couplet from the album: “Borderline schizo, sorta fine tits though.” Hilarious.

4. BISTRO
Madlib/Quasimoto/Yesterday’s New Quintet and MF Doom/King Ghedorah/Viktor Vaughn introduce all their various alter-egos.

5. RAID (FEAT M.E.D.)
This song was the catalyst for Madvillainy in finding its place among a plethora of alternative critic’s top-ten of the year lists. The reason? Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke included this track on a Celebrity Playlist of his. The accolade paid in dividends for the group, leading to the aforementioned critical acclaim and even garnering a Doom/Yorke collaboration on Doom’s latest album, Born Like This. Yes ladies and gentlemen, Thom Yorke is now a rap producer (but only on an iTunes bonus track). Oh and the song? It’s not bad. M.E.D.’s appearance is a well-appreciated change of pace from Doom.

6. AMERICA’S MOST BLUNTED (FEAT QUASIMOTO)
Madlib is already legendary in the rap community as a producer with trippy tendencies, but this song cements him in stoner rap subculture. I’m not publicly condoning weed smoking to all you readers, but the song makes a compelling case to listen to this album with an altered state of mind. Whatever your morals are, the little tidbits (especially the segment at the end) that Madlib works into the song about marijuana are very funny.

7. SICKFIT
The first of a couple instrumentals sprinkled throughout the album.

8. RAINBOWS
Apparently Mos Def covers this song in concerts on a regular basis. This isn’t surprising to me at all: I saw Mos Def in concert last summer and only about half the songs he performed were his.

9. CURLS
This song, similarly to the majority of the album for me, took multiple listens to appreciate. It epitomizes the album, however: under two minutes long, stream-of-consciousness lyrics and sublime yet eccentric production.

10. DO NOT FIRE
Instrumental.

11. MONEY FOLDER
The small break at the beginning of the song ruins the momentum, but overall this may be the best display of Doom’s ability to carry a song on this album. Although he doesn’t get a chance on Madvillainy because the songs are so short, Doom has great bar-spitting stamina and a good flow, qualities evidenced on Operation: Doomsday and the Vaudeville Villain albums.

12. SHADOWS OF TOMORROW (FEAT QUASIMOTO)
Trippiest song on the album. Hell, Quas even shouts out Sun Ra at the end of the song.

13. OPERATION LIFESAVER A.K.A. MINT TEST
Kind of funny if you listen to it once, but in the long run it’s only worth not skipping because it’s a minute and a half long.

14. FIGARO
Maybe the most traditional hip hop song of the album. Pretty good.

15. HARDCORE HUSTLE (FEAT WILDCHILD)
Former Lootpack cohort Wildchild joins the party for this track, but the beat isn’t that great, and Doom doesn’t even appear on it. This song is just alright for me.

16. STRANGE WAYS
Madlib impresses with some boom-bap on this track. The beat outshines the rhymes on here a bit, though. The interlude at the end makes me chuckle.

17. FANCY CLOWN (FEAT VIKTOR VAUGHN)
The most story-driven and non-abstract of any of the Doom’s appearances on the album is also the most ironic. Doom appears as his alter-ego Viktor Vaughn in this track, the give-away coming when Doom essentially makes fun of himself in the lyrics. It took me a couple of listens to get the story, but other than that this is a great song.

18. EYE
A trip-hoppy song with a female vocalist that is credited as Stacy Epps. It’s not the type of song you’d expect from Madlib until you consider the J Dilla influence, which is obvious here.

19. SUPERVILLAIN THEME
Instrumental.

20. ALL CAPS
It’s fitting that Doom made a song like this at some point. Although it isn’t a fully committed effort towards the reason he spells his name in all caps or wears a mask, it is as much as you’re going to get from him. The beat draws you in nice as well. This is a solid song.

21. GREAT DAY
This is another great song. The beat is the smoothest on the whole album and Doom is consistently witty in his choice of metaphors.

22. RHINESTONE COWBOY
I think they made a video for this song. I’m not really sure why, though, this track isn’t really good enough to be a single. Nevertheless, it’s good enough way to end the album.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Quite frankly, I’m at a loss to why this album isn’t mentioned more often among the better rap releases of the last 5 years. Madvillainy embraces its experimental tendencies, but overall is a consistent, album-driven hip hop album. Maybe it’s a matter of timing that it wasn’t more popular (hell, Little Brother didn’t even get play, and bloggers love that stuff), but most importantly, this album transcends any kind of age discrimination because sounds like it could have been released in the 90’s. Incidentally, when questioning how “hip hop” this album is, there are a couple of old school rap samples throughout the album (notably Just Ice’s “Cold Getting Dumb” on “Supervillain Theme”). Don’t get me wrong, though, this is still an alternative hip hop album, but it stands as a classic in the genre, along with Deltron 3030 and Dr. Octagonecologyst.

BUY OR BURN: Buy buy buy. And get the entire album: this release wasn’t meant to listen to in terms of individual songs. It’s a complete effort.

BEST SONGS: “Accordion”; “Meat Grinder”; “America’s Most Blunted”; “Curls”; “Strange Ways”; “Fancy Clown”; “All Caps”; “Great Day”.

-Nicolo

(Questions? Comments? Do you prefer to see readers take on lesser known albums or would you rather they stick with the rivers and the lakes that you're used to? Let me know below.)