Not your kids' hiphop

Madvillain

Ever heard of them? Most likely not. As an iTunes addict, I have been unsuccesful in willing (using Jedi mind trickery) Apple to offer Madvillain's latest album, "Madvillainy."

In spite of the iTunes dis, the New Yorker took notice of these indie hiphop artists (Madvillain consists of 'MF Doom' and 'Madlib'). The magazine summarizes Madvillain thusly:

"..But on “Madvillainy” (Stones Throw) the duo Madvillain—the m.c. MF Doom and the producer Madlib—demonstrate that hiding out can be the right move. Madvillain’s music is accessible but idiosyncratic, catchy but soaked in noise, lighthearted but full of abstractions. Madvillain is why independent hip-hop isn’t such a bad idea; this group needed breathing space."

The phrase 'soaked in noise' is a great way to describe Madvillain's sound. I began listening to hiphop (formerly known as Rap) as a fourteen year old 8th-grader. MF Doom's voice reminds me of ur-old school rappers like EPMD and Big Daddy Kane. However, the production by Madlib is, IMHO, unique to hiphop. Not only because of his voice (referred to as Quasimoto), which is sped up to resemble someone rapping in between hits off a helium balloon.

The unique sound comes from samples of classic Jazz recordings cracklingly injected with snippets of 60's reel to reel science/science fiction documentaries, throat clearing and other unidentifiable noises.

The sound is offset nicely by Doom's rhymes (none of which appear to be about bling, Mercedes or Kristal):

"..on one scary night I saw the light / heard a voice that sounded like Barry White / said, "sure you're right"

- from Raid

"..close but no crils / toast for po' ills/ post no bills coast to coast joe shmoes flows ill / go chill not supposed to overdose, No Doz pills"

- from Figaro

Put down the Eminem and listen to this. It's an entertaining trip.