Madvillainy

This album is so important to me. Back in early high school, I was a "rock is the only REAL music" kid. Electronic music was just dumb bleeps made by computers, and rap wasn't real art. The journey away from that began with Gorillaz Demon Days, which featured MF DOOM on a track. I was intrigued for many reasons, but primarily because it actually seemed like thought was put into his flows and rhymes, unlike the rap I was being exposed to (Flo Rida, Pitbull, and the like). I googled what was his best record, and spun this bad boy. My mind was blown. I didn't even really LIKE it yet, it was so far outside my usual taste. But I couldn't deny that there was true thought and artistry put into every dense rhyme, double entedre, and off-kilter beat in here. It started me down a journey of wider musical horizons that never would have been possible otherwise. RIP MF DOOM

MF DOOM, just remember all caps when you spell the man's name.

This should absolutely be on the list. It is more deserving than half the selections from 2004 at the very least. Shit, even the old fogeys at Rolling Stone put this in their top 500. Get with it Dimery.

RIP MF Doom. An excellent addition to the list, very fitting to include one of the most important rappers of the modern era, with excellent production backing him up.

The second-time-around to this duo comes at the same time as a similar visit to bebop. Appropriate, but comic book colors are something easier to describe. Madvillain sidesteps the pitfalls of DOOM's supervillain shtick by jumping forward a few generations. That is, there's no linear narrative, just panels as form, a kind of post-post-anti-shtick. Character still totally there. And dipping back into jazz, as the sampler does deftly, Madvillainy is more bebop than name-dropped Sun Ra, words and songs following each other less than nesting inside one another. The album's legendary: It's easy enough to pick out the well-known lines. But pay attention to the arrival deeper and deeper over the course of the listen.

Always have to give it up for MF Doom

Hands down one of the best albums of all time. When this popped up I was a little confused. SURELY this was on the actual 1,001 list already? It HAD to be! If there was room for 273 mediocre post-punk albums by Scottish 1-hit-wonders, then there must be room for Madvillain?!? Oh well. Now it's here, thanks to another real one who put in the work.

L'album est juste malade pour être franc. On s'arrête pour écouter de temps en temps et ca juste pas de sens. 5

No clue if this "deserves" a 10 based on how I've rated past albums. This album has plenty of flaws, oddball moments, intermissions, and all sorts of stuff that make it a singular listening experience. But I always come back to it. And for that reason, I think it earns its score. 10/10

Iconic album 00s cover. Surprised this wasn't on the main list to be honest. Overall this is the type of hip-hop I'm into: esoteric sampling, dense lyrics, odd song structures.

This album has gotten a lot of love on various lists but I don't get it. The beats and lyrics are pretty run of the mill to me.

hell yeah, love this album

DOOM fan going a long way back (thanks to my brother, as is the case with almost all my hip hop exposure), but I'd actually only heard bits and pieces of this. The density and intricacy of lyrics makes it a tough nut to crack without repeated listening as usual but great regardless.

It said I didn't listen to this, but I did! It's average rap but mixed with sorta Tarantino soundtrack tunes. Wasn't really my thing but could've been way worse. 3/5.

I even had to check. I could have sworn that this album was on the 1001 list. Not that I was ever a big fan, but I'm very surprised that it's not there, given all the relevance and reverence it has achieved since it was released

5/10. Some of the ways they mixed sounds reminded me a more of The Avalanches' album from the main list than most hip-hop. And, like with that album, I thought this one was memorable and worthy and a good submission and whatnot, but not that enjoyable for me to listen to, personally.

Not bad at all!

It's always hit and miss with rap/hiphop acts, but in this case I thought was pretty cool! Especially because of the creative beats and samples and sophisticated raps, this turned out pretty nice!

Hated some songs, like 'Rainbows'. Could tolerate some others. This is not an album for me

It's alright for what it is, but not a type of music I enjoy much. 2 stars.

Not into rap music at all

Really should have been on the list already 4

Been meaning to listen to this one for a while, and it (mostly) didn’t disappoint. Madlib’s bars flow over MF DOOM’s tapestry-like beats, the airtight production meaning not a single note, sample, or beat goes unnoticed. My main complaint here is that I wanted more out of each track – there are some amazing melodies here that get going only to end abruptly right when the flow was hitting. Coupled with the fact there are some 20-30 second expositional samples on a good amount of the songs, it’s almost like the heavy-hitting portions end before they’ve even begun.

Very clever rhyming tongue-twisting word-play. Not altogether my thing, but kudos to the rhyming and assonance.