Madvillain is the duo of producer Madlib and rapper MF DOOM (1971–2020), whose lone album Madvillainy (2004, Stones Throw) is widely cited among the most important hip hop records of the 2000s. Dusty crate-dug beats, dense internal rhymes — it is a cornerstone of any underground collection. Shop Madvillain vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Madvillain is the collaborative project of Madlib (Otis Jackson Jr.) and MF DOOM (Daniel Dumile). Their landmark debut Madvillainy (2004) on Stones Throw Records - recorded across an extended period and famously leaked online in 2003 before its official release - has been widely cited as one of the most important hip hop albums of the 2000s and a defining document of contemporary underground hip hop. The album combines Madlib's distinctive sample-heavy production with DOOM's lyrical complexity, with extensive crate-digging samples drawing from jazz, soul, funk, world music, and film score sources. The follow-up Madvillainy 2: The Madlib Remix (2008) reworked the original album with new beats. A long-anticipated proper sequel Madvillainy 2 was reportedly developed but was not released prior to DOOM's death on October 31, 2020.
Madvillain combines hip hop, alternative hip hop, underground hip hop, abstract hip hop, jazz rap, and instrumental hip hop with Madlib's signature dusty sample-heavy production aesthetic and DOOM's distinctive monotone, internal-rhyme-heavy vocal delivery and lyrical content drawing on comic book villainy, surrealism, and wordplay.
Stones Throw Records pressings of Madvillainy are foundational items in underground hip hop collecting. Multiple anniversary editions, color variants, and the Madvillainy: The Box (2018) box set have been released. Cover variant pressings (the iconic MF DOOM mask cover) have collector demand.
Listeners new to Madvillain should start with Madvillainy (2004), with the Madlib and MF DOOM solo catalogs for full context.
