MF Doom and Madlib’s ‘Madvillainy’ – now 20 years old – is the timeless, classic album we all thought would be released in 2004

It’s a bit of hard to inform since my social media circles are older and into ’90s hip-hop, but MF Doom – born Daniel Dumile – seems almost as relevant now as he did in his heyday in the ’90s and 2000s. I’m sure this statement is not entirely accurate, but there are many podcast episodes dedicated to his influence and entire shows about his life (“Did I Ever Tell You The One About…MF Doom” hosted by MC Serch). Donald Glover’s hit FX show “Atlanta” devoted a whole episode to MF Doom and his death following his October 2020 death.

MF Doom, an MC who began in the early ’90s, seems almost timeless. His extremely unconventional rhyming couplets and persona (he was known for wearing his signature metal face mask, of which I own a reproduction) were as at home in 2024 as they were in 1999. While MF Doom was never a mainstream rapper, people were aware of that about him , he loved it and because of that he had a big fan base.

Likewise, Madlib (born Otis Jackson, Jr) is an “underground” rapper and producer who has been a favourite of all of us hip-hop heads since the Nineties. When Kanye West released his album “The Life of Pablo” in 2016, the song “No More Parties in Los Angeles” starring Kendrick Lamar and produced by Madlib, was a simple standout. This was mainly attributable to the rhythm and the indisputable fact that Kanye also looked as if it would know what we all did. Madlib is a monster behind the boards.

Madlib’s album “Shades of Blue” – a transforming of several songs from the Blue Note Records catalog – has long been one among my favorite albums. If you asked me what hip-hop album best represents me, I would say “Shades of Blue.” Madlib has produced must-listen projects, and Madlib has something like a billion songs and projects featuring a wide selection of artists, from J Dilla to Freddie Gibbs to Kendrick Lamar. That’s lots of stuff to take heed to.

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The purpose of those introductions was to spotlight the indisputable fact that MF Doom and Madlib are artists whose work has been long overdue. I bet the primary reason is their 2004 collaborative album “Madvillainy,” a 22-track project released on March 23, 2004 that took the hip-hop streets by storm. To bring up an album highly expected would be an understatement; a leak of potential tracks from just a few years ago had the streets talking much like how they were READY for a Jay Electronica album ten years later.

Be that as it might, the album lived as much as expectations. Almost immediately, discussions about “instant classic” and “album of the year” arose. I also remember talking to friends about not only the impact of the album, but how necessary it would be. For reference, Jay-Z had just released “The Black Album” in 2003, and the conversation after “Madvillainy” ended was this: Many of us wanted Jay-Z to rap over the beat that Madlib provided for “Madvillainy.” ” The closest we got was Jay-Z’s 2017 album “4:44,” which was (it seems) a response to Beyoncé’s 2016 album “Lemonade.” The entirety of “4:44” was produced by No ID and had a more underground feel hip-hop rather than the glossier, big-budget album that topped the charts. And I remember thinking that we finally had Jay’s version of “Madvillainy.”

However, “Madvillainy” was included on almost every list that had to say the biggest albums (NO just hip-hop) of all time, which was quite a big achievement by two underground hip-hop artists at the time. The album could be released in 2024 and would fit in with many non-mainstream hip-hop releases. This comes as no surprise to most of us who heard “Madvillainy” in 2004. What appeared like hyperbole at the time now seems obvious. True genius is obvious – sometimes you simply should wait for everybody else to catch up. Of course, in 2004 the album received great recognition and excellent reviews. And it sounds as fresh (though also vintage) now because it did after I first put a compact disc in my automotive’s CD changer.

“Madvillainy” has retained its cult status. Both MF Doom and Madlib have had prolific careers, but “Madvillains” is a feather in the cap. The “Madvillainy 2” rumors never materialized, but that is okay. The duo gifted the music-loving world with a project that now seems to be appealing to music fans of all stripes. Currently, each song on the project has hundreds of thousands of streams on Spotify, with “ALL CAPS” having almost 150 MILLION streams. This may not sound amazing in comparison with a few of the more popular hip-hop acts, however it is absolutely incredible considering the two artists who created this project.

It’s good to be right about classic material, and “Madvillainy” is just that – an album I’ll definitely be listening to until I am unable to hear it anymore.