Madvillain was an American hip hop supergroup formed in 2002, consisting of rapper MF Doom and producer Madlib. Their only album, Madvillainy (2004), earned critical acclaim and cult popularity, widely regarded as one of the greatest rap albums of all time and a benchmark record for alternative hip hop. Their intricate rhymes and lyrics, short song structures and use of obscure, stylistically diverse samples made for a sound that was generally unfriendly to commercial radio but was lauded for its influence on underground rap. A follow-up album to Madvillainy was rumored to be in production at various times since the late 2000s,[1] but no further original material has surfaced from the duo since 2010, and MF DOOM's death in 2020 has left the future of the project uncertain.

Madvillain
MF Doom (left) and Madlib (right)
MF Doom (left) and Madlib (right)
Background information
OriginUnited States
Genres
Years active2002–2020
LabelsStones Throw
Past membersMF Doom
Madlib
Websitestonesthrow.com/madvillain

History

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In 2006, Madvillain was featured on Stones Throw Records and Adult Swim's DVD/CD Chrome Children with a new song and live performance. Kidrobot followed this by announcing a Madvillain action figure.[2]

Madvillain's label Stones Throw announced in 2009 that MF Doom and Madlib were currently working on a second Madvillain album.[3]

On May 26, 2010, Madvillain released the song "Papermill" via Adult Swim's website.[4] On January 3, 2011, Madvillain released the songs "Avalanche" and a remix of the Doomstarks song "Victory Laps" via Stones Throw mixtape.[5]

In late 2011, during an interview at the Red Bull Music Academy in Madrid, MF Doom admitted that the second Madvillain album had been nearly done for about two years and that it should be out "soon", sometime after MF Doom finishes his part on it in "say, January" 2012.[6]

On September 6, 2012, MF Doom co-hosted Benji B's late night BBC Radio 1 show. As well as talking about the origins of Madvillain and what it was like to work with Madlib, he announced during the show that he just had to "touch up a couple of tracks" on the new Madvillain album and said that it should be out by the end of 2012, depending on when Stones Throw choose to release it.[7]

On January 9, 2014, Madlib stated in a Dazed & Confused interview that it is up to MF Doom to decide on whether he wants to finish the second Madvillain album, and that he does not have to. "It’s not close to finished because it has to be a continuation of the last one. It doesn't have to be better or worse but it has to be a continuation."[8]

MF Doom died on October 31, 2020, leaving the future of the project uncertain.[9]

Discography

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Album

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Remix album

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Instrumental album

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  • Madvillainy Instrumentals

Demo album

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Singles

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References

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  1. ^ "Madvillain | Stones Throw Records". Stonesthrow.com. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  2. ^ "Madvillain Figure by Kid Robot & Stones Throw | Stones Throw Records". Stonesthrow.com. 2007-01-15. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  3. ^ "Madvillain | Stones Throw Records". Stonesthrow.com. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  4. ^ "Madvillain - Papermill | MP3 Download | Stones Throw Records". Stonesthrow.com. 2010-05-26. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  5. ^ "Stones Throw Podcast 64: Stones Throw 2011 mixed by PB Wolf". Stones Throw. 3 January 2011. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  6. ^ "DOOM". Red Bull Music Academy. 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  7. ^ "BBC Radio 1 - Benji B, MF DOOM Takeover, MF DOOM's Benji B Takeover". Bbc.co.uk. 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  8. ^ "A rare encounter with Madlib | Dazed". Dazeddigital.com. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  9. ^ Jacobs, Julia (31 December 2021). "MF Doom, Masked Rapper With Intricate Rhymes, Is Dead at 49". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 January 2021.
  10. ^ "MF DOOM". Madvillain's Madvillainy: 9–32. 2023. doi:10.5040/9781501389269.ch-3.
  11. ^ "British certifications – Madvillainy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 May 2023.