So why is Madvillain’s Madvillainy 2: The Madlib Remix on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
As I noted in the entry for Viktor Vaughn’s Vaudeville Villain(#991 of best 1,000 albums ever), the artist born as Daniel Dumile went on to become one of the most fascinating figures in all of hip hop, going under a number of different names (including Vaughn and MF Doom) during his career.
I find everything he does to be wildly interesting, and that includes a bunch of bizarro creative genius collaborations with other likeminded spirits, of which producer and rapper Madlib is certainly one. Put the two together and, presto, you get the duo known as Madvillain. In 2004, Madvillain produced Madvillainy, an all-time great and super eclectic album (which, spoiler alert, we’ll be getting to down the line on the best 1k albums ever proj, so stay tuned).
That gets us to Madvillainy 2: The Madlib Remix, which as it turns out is a fantastic and original in its own right remix of Madvillainy.
“Space Ho’s Coast to Coast” represents the peak of lunatic creativity on the album for me. Madlib’s production sounds just-this-close to cheesy lounge music that you might find in a supermarket in Jacksonville, Florida in 1982, but instead goes hard when put against a hip hop beat – incorporating elements of funk and jazz as well – and MF Doom’s gruff but razor sharp flow.
“Never Go Pop” is a much subtler number that has grown on me over time, leaning heavily on a simple funk bass line, staccato piano chords, and MF Doom’s superior rapping.
The funk and jazz mixing seamlessly and wonderfully on “Boulder Holder”* is easily worth the price of admission.
* Yes, the Madvillain boys like to have a little fun with their song titles and lyrics – it can lean into the R rated territory at times.
Look out for Madvillainy and more MF Doom, and the meanwhile also check out Madlib & Freddie Gibbs’ Bandana entry (#569 of best 1,000 albums ever).
Some stats & info about Madvillain – Madvillainy 2: The Madlib Remix
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Hip Hop, Rap, Alternative Rap
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – not rated!
- When was Madvillainy 2: The Madlib Remix released? 2008
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #540 out of 1,000
Madvillain’s Madvillainy 2: The Madlib Remix on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Madvillain’s Madvillainy 2: The Madlib Remix that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Hey bro, Day Glo, set the bet, pay dough before the cheddar get away, best to get Maaco.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.