We’ve always been captivated by the archetype of the villain. Of course, we all love a gratifying hero’s journey, but a well executed, memorable villain becomes legend. In cinema, we have characters like Thanos, Darth Vader and the Joker. In rap music, it's MF DOOM and Madlib.

Both outcasts of hip-hop and thriving underground artists, the infamous duo teamed up in 2004 under their moniker “Madvillian” to release their cult classic Madvillainy.

Although the 22 tracks of the project breeze by in under 50 minutes, Madvillainy’s razor edge rhymes and transcendent production makes for an album as iconic as DOOM’s metal mask.

In the years leading up to Madvillainy, DOOM and Madlib were on two completely different paths. Madlib saw success early in his career as his inherent knack for mixing obscure samples from every corner of the music world with hip-hop aesthetics was recognized. In 1999, he was signed to Stones Throw Records. After his debut solo album The Unseen (released under the alias Quasimoto) was met with critical praise, Madlib was poised for a successful career as a producer.

But DOOM’s path to success was anything but similar to Madlib’s. Under the name Zev Love X, DOOM formed the group KMD with his younger brother DJ Subroc and another rapper named Rodan. The group achieved minor commercial success in New York with singles “Peachfuzz,” and “Who Me?” But all of KMD’s potential was crushed when Subroc was struck by a car and while crossing the street, killing the 19-year-old. That same week, KMD was dropped from their label, partly due to their extremely controversial then upcoming project titled Black Bastards. DOOM was devastated and became nearly homeless for three years. He dropped off the radar and swore revenge on the industry that he believed ruined his life.

In 1997, a masked man started showing up at open mic events in Manhattan, stealing the show with clever rhyme schemes and mythical narratives that drew attention from the music industry. That masked man was of course MF DOOM, no longer under the name Zev Love X. DOOM continued to impress and was signed to Fondle ‘Em records in 1997 and two years later, released his debut studio album, Operation: Doomsday, to critical acclaim. DOOM didn’t stop there, releasing Take Me to Your Leader and Vaudeville Villain under aliases King Geedorah and Viktor Vaughn respectively. Both projects were successful ventures into world building, establishing DOOM’s untamed creative mind.

After his early run of success and wildly unique persona, DOOM grabbed the attention of Madlib and they began working together.

As soon as the news broadcast cuts in on “The Illest Villains,” the listener is thrown into a fictitious realm, ruled by the Madvillain.

“As luck would have it, one of America’s two most powerful villains of the next decade is turned loose to strike terror into the hearts of men/one of the worst of all was the Madvillian/ villains who possess supernatural abilities/villains who were the personification of carnage.”

Throughout Madvillainy, Madlib’s visionary production paired with DOOM’s dark, deep voice and lyrical ability allows Madvillainy’s mythical world building to become a reality. Each track is a new scene of the movie, with DOOM’s villainous reign illustrated somewhere between reality and fiction. DOOM finds himself in situations rooted in reality (mental health struggles, drug addiction), while simultaneously acting as an imaginary nefarious villain, ruling his realm with an iron fist.

The album plays on a “seminal connection that audience can relate their experiences to the villains and their dastardly doings,” as heard on “The Illest Villains.” The result is a one-of-a-kind project in hip-hop, that manifests a world of abstract antiheroism that feels as developed as the plot of a Marvel movie.

Madvillainy sees both DOOM and Madlib at their most inventive. Often rapping in third person, DOOM develops his own character, stringing together clever bars about his villainous deeds and life as a “ruthless mass conqueror.” Yet we get moments of introspection peppered throughout tracks, concerning mental illness, drug addiction and bad habits that keep DOOM in a cycle of perpetual wrongdoings. By the end of the project, the masked man staring back at you on the cover of Madvillainy seems tangible, a real-life villain living in our world.

On the track “Rainbows,” DOOM warns the streets that he is watching, establishing himself as a threat lurking in the shadows. Behind Madlib production that sounds like it’s straight out of a Batman cartoon, the track is an example of the unparalleled expertise in scene setting.

From playing the role of a disgruntled Viktor Vaughn, making a phone call to his girlfriend who cheated on him with DOOM on “Fancy Clown,” to rhyming about his kleptomania as a result of his rough childhood on “Curls,” Madvillainy is DOOM’s most cohesive lyrical performance in his discography.

Digging into the deepest caves and crevices of soul and jazz, Madlib produces the most imaginative beats of his illustrious career on Madvillainy. While working on the project, Madlib travelled to Brazil to hunt for loops he could utilize in samples. Sifting through mom-and-pop record shops in Sao Paulo, Madlib bought multiple crates of soul, jazz, Brazilian and Indian records. His unique sampling and use of audio clips from 1940’s movies like “Frankenstein” gives Madvillainy its inimitable quality of production. “Accordion” remains one of the most recognizable and unique beats in hip-hop history. The hard baselines that grace “Meat Grinder” represents the essence of Madvillainy; a godly and iconic rhyme scheme from DOOM and a multi-sample masterpiece of a beat that gives the project its grimey, ominous tone. With more stunning production on “Raid,” “All Caps,” and “Rhinestone Cowboy,” Madvillainy shows one of the best producers in hip-hop history in rare form.

Madvillainy was received with rave reviews upon release and has stood the test of time as an undisputed underground rap classic.

As the applause slowly fades on “Rhinestone Cowboy,” you slowly come back to reality after being utterly immersed in a fictional land created by DOOM and given life by Madlib. In contemporary hip-hop, Madvillainy sits on an island as an isolated work of perfection. Even Madlib’s later team-up with Freddie Gibbs on Pinata and Bandana doesn’t nearly reach the level of mastery and excellence of Madvillainy. As long as our society has a secret affinity for the villain, Madvillainy will continue to captivate hip-hop as the quintessential antihero of the genre.

Favorite tracks:

Meat Grinder

All Caps

Rhinestone Cowboy

Rating: 10

Listen to Madvillainy here:

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