By Roman Soto
As the 1990s ended, the underground hip-hop scene finally gained the publicity it deserved with the widespread acclamation of many masked rappers and their works. Among some of the artists who had earned exposure were rapper MF Doom and producer Madlib. On his own, MF Doom successfully piqued the interest of the hip-hop community with his clever wordplay, precocious rhyme work, and overall lyrical genius. On the other hand, Madlib was slowly earning his spot in the limelight with his signature gritty samples, curious sound play, and humbling chorus under the solo artist name Quasimoto. Once the two joined forces under the alias Madvillan, the duo would only release one album. Nowadays, the record is widely considered the greatest underground hip-hop album of all time.
As Madlib rose alongside his supportive record label, Stone Throw Records, an interviewer asked him who he would like to work with to produce his next album. Unhesitantly, the genius producer answered MF Doom. After hearing Doom’s incredulous wordplay in his 1999 album Operation: Doomsday, a young Madlib diligently trekked through connections within the hip-hop artist community to earn a collaboration with Doom.
Madvillainy, often praised for Doom’s outstanding lyrics and Madlib’s most creative sampling work, exhibited the perfect balance between the classic soul sound of the sixties or seventies and the modern hip-hop style trending when the album was released in 2004. After releasing Madvillainy, the duo parted ways and mysteriously never released another album under the alias again. Below, I will list some of my all-time songs on the album and their history.
“Meat Grinder”
Madlib’s musical knowledge across genres is vast, and his versatility shines on Madvillainy’s third track, “Meat Grinder.” The sample derives from a hula-inspired song that contrasts popular artists’ (such as Kanye West) use of sixties soul tracks. Despite what may seem like a lack of rhythm on behalf of MF Doom, the rapper manages to flow with the beat while maintaining a continuous series of rhymes throughout the song.
“Bistro”
“Bistro” intrigues the audience from the start with an iconic bassline chopped into a four-count partnered with Doom’s supervillain persona. Followed with a heavenly pair of strings from the seventies song “Second to None” by Atlantic Starr. The minute-and-a-half duration of the song displays Madlib’s expert manipulation of simple elements within a sample.
“All Caps”
Throughout the album, Madlib incorporates samples from old TV shows to match MF Doom’s vintage comic book personality. “All Caps” begins with the opening credits of the sixties TV Show, Ironside, followed by the introduction of the piano melody that sounds as if it were spiraling down into chaos.
*** The “Roman’s Empire” column is growing as The Shield issues come out. Previous articles revolve around the greatest works of Khruangbin and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.