- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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The A.V. ClubLike both artists' most transcendent work, Madvillainy retains its mystery and wonder after dozens of listens.
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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.
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Alternative PressAll invention and no indulgence. [Jun 2004, p.110]
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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.
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A glorious phantasmagoria of flow.
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A dizzying synergy of heavy brains and chemistry, culminating in blissfully fun, irreverent, and engaging brand of record-making magic.
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MojoThe wily creativity on display here is astonishing. [Jun 2004, p.114]
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Q MagazineOne utterly badass album. [Jul 2004, p.116]
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A definite tour de force for indie hip hop.
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It’s easily one of the best pieces of work of both participants’ careers and a mark of the incredible talent both possess.
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Madvillainy's strength lies in its mix between seemingly obtuse beats, samples, MCing, and some straight-up hip-hop bumping.
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The problem with Madvillainy, if it can even be termed a problem, is that Doom and Madlib just have too many ideas.
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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.
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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.
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FilterRaw, crunchy beats and ugly, monster flows delivered in a punk album format. [#9, p.110]
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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.
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An outlandishly imaginative collaboration.
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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.
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UrbBoatloads of fresh, clunky beats land ashore with narrative tongue trickery. [Apr 2004, p.86]
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BlenderA torrid album that marries old-school rap aesthetics to punk-rock concision. [May 2004, p.127]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 768 out of 838
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Mixed: 15 out of 838
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Negative: 55 out of 838
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Nov 6, 2011
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KevinLJun 26, 2006Wow...this is freaking dope...man this ...is the bomb...I reccomend this to all hip hop and underground rap fans.
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Jan 19, 2021