Madvillain Madvillainy label: Stones Throw Records released: 02.22.04 our score: 4.5 out of 5.0

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Hip-hop has always been slighted by more narrow-minded critics for never being able to produce actual albums. They argue that hip-hop LP's incorporate too many skits, that they focus narrowly through alter-egos, that the songs are too long, that the songs are too short, that the purity of rap has been stained by its success...etc., etc., etc..

This is why Madvillainy is such a triumph. It is a slap in the face to those who still refuse to believe in hip-hop's ability to challenge its listeners, and a breath of fresh air to those who feel it has become too processed and monopolized by egotistical producers. As for the casual pop fan, you may even grow to love this record, albeit after 3 or 4 spins.

In case you haven't yet been informed by your local music geek, Madvillain is a collaboration between two of the underground hip-hop scene's biggest stars, lyricist MF Doom and producer Madlib. In case these names don't impress you, just think of this as being the indie equivalent of Biggie Smalls and Rick Rubin hooking up around '94. However, while many of today's rap stars yearn to pose as street-smart gangstas or lady-killing macks, Madvillain have set themselves up as comic book anti-heroes, not so much interested in saving the day, but merely surviving it.

Madvillainy is built, loosely, on a concept regarding the importance of villains in our society; our need for them and our compassion for them seeming to be what makes them compelling. This idea is reinforced throughout the record in a style not unlike a comic-book. Each song seems to flow in and out of itself and tracks that would normally be classified as skits are hardly recognized as such, at least until you begin to recognize the method to Madvillain's apparent madness.

After the concept is established in "The Illest Villains", Madvillainy truly begins with "Accordion", a two minute rumination on the inner thoughts of an MC at work. While Doom's flow is impressive from the outset, it becomes painfully obvious that this album belongs to Madlib and his left-field rhythms. In "Accordion", Madlib has created what is simply the beat of 2004 - built straight from a nine second accordion loop mixed with an obtuse 808-type backbeat. "Accordion" hardly evens get the opportunity to wear out its welcome before transitioning into "Meat Grinder", which sounds eerily like the Beatles "Sun King", and "Bistro", which mixes a tripped-out funk bassline, R&B backup vocals and samples straight from a 50's detective film.

These four tracks all come and go, essentially as a way of alerting the listener to what lies ahead; that this is no easy listen and it isn't going to get easier. On that note, "Raid" begins with a sample of Bill Evans' "Nardis" before exploding into a soundscape which seems more in step with UK garage than US hip-hop. "America's Most Blunted" leads us into what is, in essence, a "weed-suite", with Doom spitting rhymes on weed, money, girls and, well, weed. Whether you like the fact that Doom seems to actually be stoned is completely your discretion; although you can't argue that it makes his flow seem a little jaded.

The second half of the record is a sort of grab bag of tracks, all but two lasting shorter than two and a half minutes. "Money Folder" is an amusing slant about Doom and Madlib themselves - it's also the most fun song on the LP (best bit: Doom's line, "He flipped it like Madlib did a old jazz standard", to which Madlib stops the track and plays an amusing piece not unlike his work featured on Adult Swim). Doom is at his absolute peak on "Figaro", twisting the English and Ebonics dictionaries until you're at a cross at trying to separate them. "Strange Ways", "Fancy Clown" and "Eye" all rely solely on vocal samples; a situation that wouldn't be so problematic if all the songs in the background didn't seem plucked straight out of a Slow Jams compilation.

The final three tracks, first single "All Caps, "Great Day Today" and "Rhinestone Cowboy" close the album on a high note. "All Caps" sounds like a great-lost 3 Feet High & Rising B-side, while "Great Day Today" is a throwback to Doom's solo work. "Rhinestone Cowboy", which sadly has nothing to do with Glen Campbell, evokes the scene at the end of a great party - the DJ playing his last song as he packs up, the clack of beer bottles being piled into a dustbin, the two passed-out stoners finally coming to - after which the track ends with the sound of an audience clapping - and that's when Madvillainy finally begins to make sense.

Madvillainy does not exist for conventional reasons - it isn't out to change the world, or even the neighborhood. Like their mainstream counterparts OutKast, they see the impact they can have on rap, but while OutKast seems to revel in re-imagining the future a lá George Lucas, Madvillain just see a need to strive forward in an otherwise unsteady present. Each song on the album seems to foreshadow something deeper and darker, where the line between fun and fear intersect. In this sense, Madvillainy, unintentionally, perfectly captures life in modern America - hazy, murky, full of mistrust and narcissism - not the worst of times, but certainly not the best, as we struggle to make it on to whatever lies ahead.

Doom and Madlib are incredibly capable of conveying whatever emotion they want, and they work very well together. At times you can see that these two aren't entirely comfortable with each other, but then again, regardless of what the hype misled you to believe, these guys aren't Eric B. & Rakim. However, working against such high expectations was a challenge in itself, and even if they didn't create the greatest hip-hop LP ever, this is in no way a failure.

Madvillainy is a bona-fide rap classic, as gutsy and ambitious as 21st century pop music gets - and it hopefully marks the beginning of a long and inspiring partnership.
30-Sep-2004 11:15 PM

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