Madvillainy, released in 2004, is considered one of hip-hop’s greatest feats, and with good reason. Its eclectic, rough, and often very avant-garde production is something only the best of hip hop can come close to. Its subject matter is bizarre and somewhat unnerving at times, as the metal-faced villain MF DOOM will rap about anything from an encounter with a girl with bad breath, to hosting an upper-class bistro, to world domination. And of course, DOOM’s bouncy, buttery smooth bars give the album character with his gruff voice and delivery while painting a clear and often unnerving picture. DOOM has displayed incredible technical ability for his entire career, but on this album, he truly lives up to the line “wrote the book on rhymes a note from the author.” off the track Raid.
The album starts off with the skit-like sequence “The Illest Villains,” which is full of psychedelic sounds and samples from old superhero shows and newsreels, referring over and over again to the two villains and their dastardly deeds. As soon as the track ends, we transition into the first real track of the album, “Accordion.” As one might assume from the title, the track relies on an accordion sample throughout as MF DOOM raps in a freestyle-like manner throughout the song, describing his villainous personality and his futuristic rhymes. Madvillainy doesn’t necessarily stray far from this formula in its 47-minute runtime. There are, of course, other skit sequences like “Bistro,” where it appears that MF DOOM is hosting an upscale bistro as the main act of the night. There’s “America’s Most Blunted,” an appropriately trippy experience dedicated to marijuana, with infomercials sprinkled in between verses about just how high the villain and his goons can get. There’s “Rainbows,” a dirty, dusty track with no rapping and MF DOOM vocalizing out of tune over jazz samples as DOOM coolly plots his criminal enterprises, telling an unknown figure to watch their back. “Eye” is another track that strays far from the typical formula, with vocals from Stacy Epps and zero rapping from DOOM or anyone else, and winds up sounding like a 90s R&B track from the Upside Down, with eerie echoey vocals sounding reversed at some points. “Operation Lifesaver” is another standout track, but not entirely for its production or rapping, though its stereotypically 80’s sample and poetic lyrics go over smoothly and very well as usual. Its subject matter (DOOM’s encounter with a girl in a club with extremely bad breath) exemplifies just how talented DOOM is in that he can turn such an odd and comedic interaction into an enthralling experience.
There are some entirely instrumental tracks on the album as well, which act almost like interludes to DOOM’s endless flow of quotables. There’s “Sickfit,” a dark, grimy production with jangly, haunting piano lurking in the background; there’s “Do Not Fire,” driven by a deep, rumbling bass and featuring downright creepy samples of villainous and insane laughter as well as piercing screams and lines from Street Fighter. Finally “Supervillain Theme,” a very appropriately titled track, sounds right out of a 70’s Saturday Morning Cartoon, with bouncy hip hop drums and some additional sampling.
While one might think that even with all this variety, the tracks that fall under Madvillainy’s more formulaic elements might get tiring, many a track shows quite the opposite. “Meat Grinder” starts with a thirty-second period of a rock sample with odd, gremlin-esque voices repeating “the jar is under the bed—” and then suddenly the sample cuts off and we get deep, rumbling bass and eerie guitar lines echoing across the track along with DOOM’s bars about his lame shoe game, his bad luck with a girl, and his immense rhyming skills as he looks down on other emcees. There’s “Fancy Clown,” a sad downtrodden song from the perspective of one of DOOM’s other personalities, Viktor Vaughn, after he finds out his girlfriend cheated on him with MF DOOM himself. The sound of a girl responding to his lines hangs in the background, which perfectly illustrates MF DOOM’s cartoonish personalities and his storytelling abilities. “Figaro” starts with a series of descending chords on a piano leading into the song. DOOM takes a big inhale as the song enters a stumbling, creepy beat, and the rapper describes a cold, lonely man, with evil intentions and a bad history, once again touting his bars.
The last couple tracks perfectly show what this album is about. “Great Day” is about just what the title implies, along with DOOM’s usual lyrical topics and quotables. It features a beat made up of a sample of warm 70’s synth chords, which can only be described as going for a walk in Central Park with your family on a beautiful day, all while trapped in the Matrix. It’s an example of familiar and nostalgic elements that have been twisted and deformed just enough to bring a genuine sense of fear and discomfort at some points. Madvillainy is ahead of its time; strange, fascinating and wholly unique. There will most likely never be another album like it, and its status as a classic is completely deserved. There are no flaws that come to mind when describing this album. It’s a solid 10/10 for me.