MADVILLAINY

MADVILLAIN

Coming to appreciate hip-hop was a bit of a lengthy journey for me. During my most impressionable years, I was introduced to hip-hop by way of MuchMusic. I wound up consuming endless amounts of music content at the height of nu-metal and Eminem's popularity. Their aggressive and confrontational styles bridged the gap from the alternative rock world for which I was heavily engrossed, into this other outsider culture. Reflecting back on this time though, I think I put more stock in the edgy subject matter and gratuitous use of profanity as opposed to the characteristics that truly made hip-hop a special art form. It wasn't until my 20s that I really started getting into it. I probably owe it to Girl Talk for giving me a fantastic crash course. His sample based, mega-mixes turned me on to so many classic verses that spanned multiple subgenres and decades. Primed and ready to venture out, I started diving into some of the classics. A more modern classic that I gravitated towards was the 2004 collaboration between producer extraordinaire Madlib, and the masked wordsmith MF DOOM.

On the instrumental side of things, I fell in love with Madlib's incredibly simple approach to beat making. It all starts with a great sample, for which Madlib has a perfectly tuned ear for. While other producers would then go to work -- meticulously chopping, re-arranging, and doing whatever else -- Madlib often keeps the integrity of the original source material. I get the sense that Madlib's goal isn't so much to create something new, but rather to be this first-class sound curator. If there's any sort of transformative element in Madlib's process, it probably manifests in how he captures these samples. They have a real dusty, vintage quality thanks to all the clicks, pops and static that Madlib prefers to leave in. I wouldn't say Madlib displays a lack of care, but rather recognizes that all these imperfections can create a rather grimy aesthetic that is just begging for an MC to rhyme over.

To further build my case on Madlib's expert curation, MADVILLAINY showcases just how expansive his instrumental palette is. Psychedelic, jam, and progressive rock is represented on instrumentals like that of America's Most Blunted and the intro to Meat Grinder. There's all flavours of jazz as well; syncopated, latin grooves form the instrumental for Raid, Curls has a distinctly bossa nova flair, and Rainbows occupies a seedier, film noir lane. Some instrumentals are starkly skeletal and bass heavy (Meat Grinder and Figaro), while others are surprisingly full and lavish (Bistro). Fancy Clown's punchy drums and crestfallen pianos have it fitting the definition of 'New York boom-bap,' and Strange Ways gives listeners a dose of Baroque with Madlib's genius flip of a Gentle Giant track. I could keep going, but I think I've made it pretty clear that MADVILLAINY offers so much instrumental variety, making this project an engaging and joy-filled listen from start to finish.

On the other side of the coin, we have the incomparable MF DOOM on the mic. In a genre that has become so saturated, what I value the most in hip-hop is an MC who has a unique, instantly recognizable voice as well as a distinct, truly original style. MF DOOM most definitely has both. His voice may not be the most energetic or animated, but his effortlessly cool, bass accentuated timbre is very pleasing to listen to. What makes his style wholly unique is his ability to bend the English language in order to create rhyme dense bars. A DOOM verse is packed with so many internal rhymes such that a visual annotation of all the rhyme schemes would look awfully similar to a fireworks show. When you put these two characteristics together, you get a presence on the mic that is entrancing; borderline hypnotic.

What's more unique than his complex rhyme schemes is the deep reservoir of esoteric knowledge he possesses, and how he leverages that to communicate very simple ideas in the most convoluted, and verbose ways. Thank goodness we have platforms that allow hip-hop fans to crowd source their knowledge in order to piece together what DOOM is saying. Otherwise, deciphering his lyrics, I imagine, would be as challenging as the most studious cryptic crossword in existence. One could say that DOOM's lyrics are unapproachable, but as someone who often doesn't perseverate on lyrics, no matter the genre, I find myself deeply invested in what DOOM is relaying. Not many lyricists can say they have that effect on me.

Other characteristics of this record that I find myself drawn to include its 'mixtape-like' quality. Track lengths are kept very short, giving the sense that the record is constantly in motion. This also doesn't leave room for hooks and choruses which is no loss as far as I'm concerned. When it comes to hip-hop, I definitely prefer to be hit with bar after bar, especially when you have someone as masterful on the mic as DOOM. Another aspect of MADVILLAINY that I enjoy is the role crossover between DOOM and Madlib. DOOM's production trademark of weaving together lines of narration from old radio, television, and film also finds its way on to MADVILLAINY with the purpose of fleshing out the MADVILLAIN lore. The way DOOM unearths these buried treasures, chops them up, and recompile's them into a coherent narrative is quite remarkable. On the other hand, Madlib (under the Quasimoto alias), drops a few verses where his vocal pitch shifting gimmick is often just as disorienting as listening to DOOM spin his web of rhymes.

MADVILLAINY is everything I look for in a hip-hop record. I like really simple production that has great grooves, great basslines, but most importantly, covers an eclectic range of styles and instruments. The record is also very economical; no waste, no clutter, just a strong focus on delivering timeless, witty, fantastic verses. Even the instrumental interludes are kept very short staving off impatience as we wait for DOOM to return. I was a few years late when I first got around to this record, but it didn't take long for me to see why it was considered a classic almost instantly. Now MADVILLAINY is twenty years old, and that means I've been a hip-hop fan long enough to see that it is still influencing today's artists, further cementing this fantastic piece of work as one of the greatest ever.