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Madvillainy
by Madvillain

Madvillain reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 93 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.9 out of 10
based on 20 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 125 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

'Madvillainy' is a collaboration between rapper MF Doom and producer Madlib.

LABEL: Stones Throw
RELEASE DATE: 23 March 2004
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Indie, Rap

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Like both artists' most transcendent work, Madvillainy retains its mystery and wonder after dozens of listens.
100
Dusted Magazine
While every Ivy League dog kennel worker with a paycheck from Blender or Revolver may write dissertations about how Outkast re-invented pop music (and if we follow that logic) then Madvillain simply destroys the boundaries.
Read Full Review
100
Alternative Press
All invention and no indulgence. [Jun 2004, p.110]
94
Pitchfork
Madvillainy is inexhaustibly brilliant, with layer-upon-layer of carefully considered yet immediate hip-hop, forward-thinking but always close to its roots.... Good luck finding a better hip-hop album this year, mainstream, undie, or otherwise.
Read Full Review
91
Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
A glorious phantasmagoria of flow.
Read Full Review
90
Q Magazine
One utterly badass album. [Jul 2004, p.116]
90
Tiny Mix Tapes
A dizzying synergy of heavy brains and chemistry, culminating in blissfully fun, irreverent, and engaging brand of record-making magic.
Read Full Review
90
Mojo
The wily creativity on display here is astonishing. [Jun 2004, p.114]
90
Dot Music
A definite tour de force for indie hip hop.
Read Full Review
90
Delusions of Adequacy
It’s easily one of the best pieces of work of both participants’ careers and a mark of the incredible talent both possess.
Read Full Review
90
All Music Guide
Madvillainy's strength lies in its mix between seemingly obtuse beats, samples, MCing, and some straight-up hip-hop bumping.
Read Full Review
90
PopMatters
The problem with Madvillainy, if it can even be termed a problem, is that Doom and Madlib just have too many ideas.
Read Full Review
90
Splendid
Madvillainy isn't really an inaccessible record. It may take a couple of spins for you to get involved, but once you've passed that initial adaptation, it stays with you.
Read Full Review
89
Austin Chronicle
Not only does it capture the unstructured verse of a masked maniac within a sheer net of plausibility, it parades his inner dementia among instrumental adornments of the highest order.
Read Full Review
88
Filter
Raw, crunchy beats and ugly, monster flows delivered in a punk album format. [#9, p.110]
80
Urb
Boatloads of fresh, clunky beats land ashore with narrative tongue trickery. [Apr 2004, p.86]
80
ShakingThrough.net
Madlib creatively melds electronic and jazzy elements, entertaining voiceovers akin to the kind heard on Batman or Superman cartoons, and snippets of Sun Ra to fashion a wildly diverse yet coherently executed tableaux of brainy, original noise-art.
Read Full Review
80
Village Voice
An outlandishly imaginative collaboration.
Read Full Review
80
Stylus Magazine
By trimming excess fat (read: R’n’B choruses), Madvilliany keeps a sense of spontaneity, cutting off unexpectedly and never allowing anything to get stale.
Read Full Review
70
Blender
A torrid album that marries old-school rap aesthetics to punk-rock concision. [May 2004, p.127]

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 125 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Wes M. gave it a10:
I admit, this took a LOT of listens for me to get into, and I only finally got into after listening to the excellent Mouse and the Mask -- reinvigorated my interest in hip-hop -- highly recommended!

Daro gave it a10:
Pure genius.

Brandon S gave it an8:
Its a great album but i wouldnt give it a straight 10.

Nick D. gave it a9:
A masterpiece; at turns amusing, threatening and even downright psychopathic. Just for the record, anyone who - like Eric Y - refers to this as "rap" doesn't know of what they speak and should get back to their Fifty Cent record collection.

Krish B gave it a10:
DOOM + MADLIB = Greatest Combination EVER!!!

Lukas gave it a10:
Utterly unique, thick bass lines, fantastic jazz samples and the greatest rapper of all time to boot, any of you fools that gave this a bad review have no taste and are the reason most hip hop is crap nowadays.

Blak000 K gave it a10:
A classic album. This is one of my favorite hip-hop albums of all time. The CD is filled with great songs, and even greater beats. Doom can sound like he's rambling (as he often does), but his songs usually have a profound (or at least meaningful) message. If you're into jazzy style hip-hop, then this CD might be worth looking into.

Read more user comments...

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