Madvillainy is the first and only full-length LP by hip hop superduo Madvillain, consisting of legendary lyricist MF DOOM and equally regarded producer Madlib. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, with critics praising Madlib’s jazz inspired production and DOOM’s cold delivery.

Background

On Madvillainy, MF DOOM continues the villain narrative that was outlined on his previous album, Operation: Doomsday. But unlike Doomsday, Madvillainy portrays a less cartoon version of the character DOOM, a difference that can be seen across the two album covers. However, to understand the importance of Madvillainy, its concept, and its story, we first have to understand the background of MF DOOM’s career.

DOOM’s “villain backstory”, as it could be referred to, actually started under a completely different name. Daniel Dumile, also known as MF DOOM, first began his music career as part of the rap group KMD in 1988. He went under the name Zev Love X, with the other members of the group being his brother, DJ Subroc, and Onyx the Birthstone Kid, another Long Beach rapper. Early on, Dumile showed his passion for wordplay, with his name in reverse being “X evolvez.” KMD signed to Elektra records, a label that had previously signed artists such as Queen, The Doors, and AC/DC. The group released their first album under Elektra Records, Mr. Hood in 1991. After the release of the record, members of the group testified in congress to support the National Voter Registration act, as part of the Rock the Vote movement. 

The group began recording their second album, Black Bastards in 1993. During this time, Onyx left the group during the recording sessions. This did not affect the development of the album, as Zev Love X and Subroc were the core members of the group and were able to complete most of their work. The cover art for the album was created, featuring a Sambo caricature being hanged in a game of hangman. 

Shortly before the album was completed, DJ Subroc was killed in a car accident. Zev Love X decided to complete the album in light of the tragedy, believing that it was the best way to honor his brother’s legacy. However, Elektra Records believed otherwise, dropping KMD and canceling the album. The reason behind this was a journalist who criticized the record company for making the album, mostly based on the album’s name and title. Dumile received $20,000 and all of the master tapes as compensation.

For the next three years, Dumile bounced around, and at points, was homeless. In 1997, Dumile decided to return to music under the name MF DOOM. He released his first album under the new moniker, Operation: Doomsday in 1999 under the independent record label Fondle ‘Em Records. Operation: Doomsday explains MF DOOM’s character and his grand plan to destroy rap. It’s important to note now that Dumile portrays many characters, the most prominent being MF DOOM, the cartoonish supervillain whose goal is to destroy rap. One of the most important things to his character is a metal mask which he wears to almost every performance, resembling the likeness of Marvel’s Dr. Doom. On the opening track of Operation: Doomsday, DOOM introduces himself to the world as the supervillain that came to destroy rap.  In the lyrics, he raps, “Bound to go three-plat, came to destroy rap” describing his plan to become popular and “destroy” the rap world. In the finale of the album, DOOM reveals his true identity as Zev Love X, and writes a letter to Subroc. In the lyrics of the song ?, “The "SUBROC" three-finger ring with the ruby in the "O", / Truly the illest dynamic duo on the whole block / I keep a flick of you with the machete sword in your hand / Everything is going according to plan, man.” Upon release, Operation: Doomsday became a cult classic within the underground hip-hop scene.

Madlib started working on Madvillainy after moving away from hip-hop. He had previously released three albums under his record label, Stones Throw, Soundpieces: The Antidote (as part of Lootpack), The Unseen (under his alter ego Quasimoto), and Angles Without Edges (as part of Yesterday’s New Quintet, a group of made up members with everything actually made by Madlib). In the latter album, Madlib completely moved away from hip-hop, instead making a jazz record using samples and instruments. Stones Throw, Madlib’s record label, made attempts to regain his interest in hip-hop such as trying to make a Lootpack reunion album, which were unsuccessful. Egon Alapatt, who was the manager of Stones Throw at the time, sent a few of Madlib’s instrumentals to DOOM in an attempt to spark a collab album. Madlib had previously mentioned that his two dream collabs were with J Dilla and MF DOOM, with the prior happening on Champion Sound.

DOOM got back to Alapatt and told them that he liked the instrumentals, resulting in Stones Throw flying out DOOM to Los Angeles, which led to Madlib and DOOM working together on a project, with the flight and payment of $1500 using what little remained of Stone Throw’s money, and DOOM’s contract being written on a paper plate. During these sessions, in 2002, most of the beats for the album were produced by Madlib, using only a portable turntable, a tape deck, and a Boss SP-303 sampler. While Madlib was on a trip to Brazil, fourteen months before the album’s release, a demo of the album was leaked online, which led to a temporary pause on the project and its release to be postponed. But after each artist worked on solo projects of their own, they returned to working on Madvillainy and finished the album, releasing it on March 23, 2004.

Tracklist

At the very beginning of the project, we get an instrumental interlude, “The Illest Villains”. Even at the very beginning of the record, we see the intricate sample choice and setting up the mood for the rest of the album. In the second song, “Accordion”, we start to see DOOM’s lyricism over the instrumentals. The beat seems out of place in a hip-hop album, with the accordion serving as the main instrument behind the sample. In the song, he raps, “And get more cheese than Doritos, Cheetos or Fritos / Slip like Freudian / Your first and last step to playing yourself like accordion.” In this verse, DOOM claims he gets more cheese (money) than Doritos Cheetos, or Fritos. While this may seem random and out of place, especially given that Fritos don’t even have any cheese on them, the next line clears up the confusion, saying that he made a Freudian slip, making the mistake, and then finally wrapping the verse up by saying that you get played like an accordion when you make a Freudian slip, also connecting back to the song’s title and main loop. The next track, “Meat Grinder”, continues the streak of amazing lyricism, while also having amazing production by using two separate samples, one for the introduction and one for the main loop. This leads into the next track, “Bistro”, a short skit by the supervillain himself. The next track, “Raid” again uses the technique of two separate samples to make different parts of the song, which work perfectly together despite being from different sources. The track also features M.E.D., who goes back and forth with DOOM lyrically. The next track, “America’s Most Blunted”, which features Madlib rapping as Quasimoto in a tribute to marujuana. The brief instrumental interlude, “Sickfit”, leads into the next song, “Rainbow”, where DOOM sings instead of rapping. DOOM becomes a lot more introspective, leaning into his roots on KMD, on the next track, “Curls”. We get another instrumental interlude, “Do Not Fire!”, which leads into “Money Folder”, where DOOM reflects on the value of his music. On the next track, “Shadows of Tomorrow” only Madlib raps, in a more philosophical tone. “Operation Lifesaver AKA Mint Test” is a humorous rap song by DOOM about a girl who has bad breath. On the next track, “Figaro”, DOOM raps with his best flow in one straight verse. In the track, “Hardcore Hustle”, neither of the members of Madvillain are rapping, just Wildchild rapping over a Madlib beat. “Strange Ways” strays of the supervillain theme by addressing political issues, bringing irony to the villainy of DOOM and Madlib. In the next song, “Fancy Clown”, Dumile puts on the persona of Viktor Vaughn, a teenage fan of DOOM. Viktor phones a girl, who has cheated on him—ironically, with DOOM himself. It is one of the few examples where a rapper is dissing themselves on a song. “Eye” is sung by Stacy Epps, giving a chill atmosphere to the track. The next song—probably the best instrumental on the album—is “Supervillain Theme”, which gives a dark, villainous atmosphere. It is followed by the most iconic song from the album, “All Caps”, where DOOM raps using multiple intricate rhymes and creative flows. The next track, “Great Day”, follows DOOM over a jazzy beat from Madlib. The final track on the album, “Rhinestone Cowboy”, ends the album with an epic tone and villainous skit.

Conclusions

Madvillainy is one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, which I believe is the greatest in the abstract hip-hop space. DOOM’s lyricism matches Madlib’s beats in a new narrative of the supervillain DOOM plays.

Rating: 10/10