Madvillainy's Anniversary: A Retrospective
Looking back at the release and lasting impact of MF DOOM and Madlib's acclaimed project.
Long live DOOM.
Over the past two decades, MF DOOM and Madlib have emerged as two of the most enigmatic and unconventional figures in the hip-hop universe. Both artists, known for their eccentricity and uncompromising approach to their craft, have navigated the genre with an inscrutable air, eschewing commercial success to create a diverse and imaginative body of work that has captivated a devoted audience. In the early to mid-2000s, these two creative forces collided and, through some inexplicable alchemy, birthed Madvillainy—an album 20 years after its release that has solidified its place among the most outstanding offerings of the 21st century.
Before the conception of Madvillainy, Daniel “MF DOOM” Dumile and Otis “Madlib” Jackson had already established themselves as formidable entities in the hip-hop world. DOOM, formerly a member of the group KMD, had garnered a cult following with the release of Operation: Doomsday in 1999. Madlib, who began his music career with the Likwit Crew and as one-third of The Lootpack, one of Stones Throw Records’ earliest signees, had similarly cultivated a dedicated fanbase. For these ardent supporters, Madvillainy was nothing short of a revelation.
Despite the duo’s extensive catalog of groundbreaking recordings, Madvillainy’s legacy stands unrivaled. Its enduring appeal is all the more remarkable given its uncompromisingly esoteric nature. While collaborative projects between a single emcee and producer began to regain popularity a decade and a half ago, this partnership has proven one of the most potent ever forged.
The origins of this album have taken on an almost mythical status. In 2002, following Madlib’s expressed desire to collaborate with DOOM (and J Dilla) in a Los Angeles Times interview, one of DOOM’s representatives reached out to Stones Throw Records, requesting plane tickets to Los Angeles and $1,500—a sum the label didn’t have readily available. Amidst some tense interactions between DOOM’s then-manager and Eothen “Egon” Alapatt, Stones Throw’s General Manager, DOOM and Madlib bonded over music and weed, laying the foundation for their partnership.
Over the course of the next few months, the two immersed themselves in an intense recording process at Madlib’s Bomb Shelter studio, fueled by copious amounts of liquor, weed, Thai food, and hallucinogenic mushrooms. As they continued to lay down tracks, they reached a level of creative symbiosis where verbal communication became superfluous. Eventually, they barely saw each other during the recording process, working independently with Madlib burning DOOM CDs containing 50 completed beats at a time, over which DOOM would record his preferred rhymes before receiving another batch of 50 beats.
During the recording process, Madlib ventured to Brazil with Egon, Cut Chemist, and J.Rocc for a Red Bull Music Academy Event. While there, he embarked on a crate-digging expedition, unearthing a treasure trove of raw material to transform into beats. Holed up in his hotel room, he reportedly crafted hundreds of beats, many of which found their way onto Madvillainy.
Despite the immense effort poured into the project, Madvillainy came perilously close to never seeing the light of day. While in Brazil, a cassette containing a nearly completed demo of the album was stolen and promptly leaked onto the Internet more than a year before the album’s intended release. This occurred before album leaks became commonplace, leaving Stones Throw and everyone associated with the project needing help handling the situation. Reportedly, Madlib and DOOM temporarily abandoned the album and focused on other endeavors.
Ultimately, the two reconvened to finish what they had started. DOOM re-recorded all of his verses and, according to PB Wolf, altered his delivery and stylistic expression. Madlib replaced and re-tooled some beats, and the pair recorded a few additional songs. The rest, as they say, is history.
On Madvillainy, DOOM and Madlib demonstrate an uncanny ability to push all the right buttons. DOOM’s rhymes, laden with obscure references to cartoons and pop culture, are delivered with a drunken flow that never loses its edge. Madlib, on the production front, weaves together immaculate beats that perfectly complement DOOM’s style, drawing inspiration from Brazilian jazz, psychedelic rock, easy listening, and ‘80s R&B. The result is a sonic dreamscape, meticulously crafted with an unwavering attention to detail.
The creative symbiosis between DOOM and Madlib shaped the trajectory of their careers and left a mark on a new generation of artists. The likes of Tyler, The Creator, and Earl Sweatshirt, among others, have openly acknowledged the profound influence of Madvillainy, with Earl’s recent album Some Rap Songs successfully channeling a similar creative energy.
Since Operation: Doomsday, DOOM has been gradually moving away from traditional hip-hop song structures, eschewing the conventional three-16-bar verse format in favor of one or occasionally two lengthy verses. Madvillainy takes this approach to its logical extreme, with DOOM and Madlib crafting a 22-track album that clocks in at 46 minutes, the vast majority of its songs barely exceeding the two-minute mark. DOOM says everything he needs to say in a single verse (two verses at most) before moving on, resulting in an album almost entirely devoid of hooks—a bold decision in the hook-driven landscape of the early to mid-2000s.
Madvillainy has oddly inspired moments that few other artists would dare attempt. Barely 30 seconds into the hectic “Money Folder,” DOOM abruptly stops the song, launching into an interlude featuring Madlib flipping “an old jazz standard”—not exactly the type of thing one would expect to hear on an album’s first single.
The album is at its best when it sounds unlike anything else of its time. “Accordion,” the opening track, sets a surreal tone, with DOOM rhyming over an accordion loop from Daedelus’ “Experience.” In a 2013 interview with XXL, DOOM revealed that “Accordion” was one of the first beats he heard while recording the project, and he wrote the verse almost as a freestyle, jotting down his initial thoughts on paper and recording them as is.
The all-too-brief “Curls” evokes the soundtrack of a demented carnival, with its warbling guitars and mutated steel drums. DOOM balances whimsy and poignancy in his verse, describing his hardscrabble upbringing with his brother and mother.
Madvillainy often shines brightest when Madlib’s understated production lends an air of mystery. On “Meat Grinder,” DOOM delivers sinister vocals over a subtle bassline and a Hawaiian guitar sample, concluding the song with the tongue-twisting couplet, “The van screeches, the old man preaches about the gold sand beaches/The cold hand reaches for the old tan Ellesse’s … Jesus.”
“Figaro” showcases Madlib pairing the album’s crispest drums with a watery, muffled guitar sample. DOOM, a.k.a. “the best emcee with no chain ya ever heard,” brings his A-game, lyrically dancing across the track with complicated rhyme schemes and flows. He raps, “Off pride, tykes talk wide through scar meat / Off-sides, like how Worf rides with Starfleet,” ending his first verse unexpectedly, imbuing the song with an unfinished charm.
Some tracks on Madvillainy sound like they could have been lifted from Operation: Doomsday or Take Me to Your Leader, with Madlib closely adhering to DOOM’s production aesthetic. Most notable is “All Caps,” the album’s second single, where Madlib pieces together elements from the opening credits of Ironside and the score from an episode of The Streets of San Francisco to create a trundling jazzy funk backdrop. Another example is the fun and goofy “Operation Lifesaver, aka Mint Test,” in which DOOM interacts with an attractive woman with bad breath, searching for ways to offer her the titular Lifesaver mint subtly. Here, Madlib samples George Duke’s “Prepare Yourself,” splicing in vocals from a “Justice League of America” record.
Other songs on Madvillainy are conceptually brilliant. On “Fancy Clown,” DOOM re-assumes his Viktor Vaughn persona. Over vocal samples from ZZ Hill’s “That Ain’t the Way to Make Love,” the young and brash Viktor rails against his girlfriend, who has been cheating on him with none other than MF DOOM. “Don’t make me have to pound his tin crown face in,” Viktor warns, “And risk being jammed up like traffic, inbound from spacing.” After confessing his infidelities, Viktor issues a final missive:
“Ain’t enough room in this f**king town
When you see tin head tell him be ducking down
I’m not romping around, he better be
Ready and prepared to be stomped in the ground.”
DOOM makes use of many unconventionally conceived Madlib beats throughout Madvillainy. On “Strange Ways,” he offers rare political commentary, first exploring police corruption and brutality before pondering the complicated and tragic situation in the Middle East. Like “Fancy Clown,” he fashions his schemes around the sampled vocals throughout the song, creating the illusion of a strange duet.
With “Great Day Today,” DOOM raps over Madlib’s jazz-fusion cover of Stevie Wonder’s “How Can You Believe?” In the early 2000s, Madlib created the Yesterday’s New Quintet project, an “alias” under which he recorded and released straight jazz records. About a month after Madvillainy’s release, Stones Throw would put out Stevie, an album featuring Madlib’s interpretations of Stevie Wonder songs. DOOM uses the “How Can You Believe” cover (which didn’t make the cut for Stevie) as the sonic backdrop for one of his best lyrical performances on the album. The track also includes one of DOOM’s most evocative lines, as he describes writing his rhymes “in cold blood with a toothpick.”
On “Raid,” DOOM shares mic duties with Lootpack-affiliate M.E.D., rhyming over a soundscape that blends straight-ahead jazz with quirky Brazilian pop. “America’s Most Blunted” stands as the most conventionally structured and executed track on Madvillainy, with DOOM rhyming alongside Madlib and his alien aardvark alter ego, Quasimoto. The two (or “three”) extol the virtues of good weed over a muffled sample of Fever Tree’s version of “Ninety-Nine and One Half.” It’s one of the few songs that could have comfortably appeared on another DOOM or Madlib-fronted project.
It’s often overlooked that DOOM is absent during whole chunks of Madvillainy, with the tracks where he’s missing ranging from the bustlingly bizarre to the album at its most straight ahead. “Shadows of Tomorrow” falls into the former category, an ode to jazz titan Sun-Ra, one of Madlib’s biggest influences. Madlib and Quasimoto wax philosophic over a swirling track lifted from an Indian film soundtrack.
“Hardcore Hustle” features Madlib’s former Lootpack cohort Wildchild kicking a verse over a loop of The Supremes and The Temptations’ version of “Sing a Simple Song.” Wildchild raps, “Who rushes in head first with the full force of a ram? / So the source of the verse coerces the course of a jam,” before pushing his mic straight through the heart of a wack emcee.
Meanwhile, “Eye” stands as one of the best-produced songs on the album. Madlib transforms a loop from a mid-1980s track by the Whispers into a shimmering, soaring, soulful ode to love sung by longtime DOOM associate Stacey Epps.
“Rhinestone Cowboy,” reportedly the product of the re-recording sessions for the album, came about when everyone involved noticed that the earlier version lacked a proper ending. DOOM selected a Madlib beat that had emerged from the Brazilian marathon production sessions and recorded an album-closing track for the ages. “Rhinestone Cowboy” is one of the greatest album-ending songs of the past 20 or so years, with its piercing, soaring strings lending it an epic feel as DOOM seemingly holds command of an enraptured audience. It’s one of the few songs where the Metal Faced Villain kicks full verses, delivering some of his best stream-of-consciousness rhymes and adding a definitive exclamation point to the project.
A proper sequel to Madvillainy has been nearly 15 years in the making but has yet to see the light of day. In 2008, Stones Throw released Madvillainy 2, a remixed version of the original album. The following year, The New Yorker ran a profile on DOOM that followed him in Los Angeles as he recorded vocals for a follow-up to the project. However, its current status remains unknown.
Complications arose when DOOM went to the UK to perform, and they were never allowed to re-enter the U.S. due to passport issues. Five years ago, PB Wolf posted an email from DOOM on his Instagram stating that the album was almost done, but he quickly removed it, attempting to pass it off as an April Fool’s Day joke. However, in a recent interview with Spin, DOOM revealed that the pair had “a ton” of unreleased material from the new sessions.
Another complication is that Madlib is no longer officially affiliated with Stones Throw. Some years back, PB Wolf and Stones Throw parted ways with Egon, who then founded Now Again Records and took Madlib with him. Now Again distributes Madlib’s Rappcats imprint, through which he puts out projects like the Piñata album with Freddie Gibbs and various other esoteric releases. So, even if the follow-up albums were to materialize, it’s unclear which label would act as the conduit.
DOOM and Madlib’s fans continue to clamor for a follow-up to Madvillainy because the album felt like the beginning of a long-lasting partnership rather than a one-time “lightning in a bottle” exercise. The pair’s chemistry led to a long and fruitful collaboration. But sadly, DOOM passed in 2020, and the prospects of even one proper follow-up ever materializing are increasingly dim.