In the late вЂ™80s Daniel Dumile (pronounced doom-ih-lay) was rapping under the name Zev Love X in a group called KMD with his brother DJ Subroc - the chrome mask that would later turn Dumile to DOOM was nowhere to be found. MF DOOMвЂ™s origin story is shadowy and unclear by design. Madvillainy was, and still is, a reminder of the dirt and grit thatвЂ™s an integral part of the makeup of hip-hop. Artists like El-P, Little Brother, Deltron3030, and Cannibal Ox were making music more accustomed to the dark spaces of the underground, where the primordial ooze of hip-hop catalyzes artists that are either too unpolished for bright lights, or have no interest in them whatsoever.В Ten years later we find Macklemore collecting rap awards at the Grammys. Madvillain, though, belongs to the other category of early-aughts hip-hop artists: those that actively avoided the influence of pop. Another 2004 release, Danger MouseвЂ™s Grey Album, even grafted one of rapвЂ™s biggest artists ever onto one of the greatest pop groups of all time.

Prominent 2004 releases like TwistaвЂ™s Kamikaze, Talib KweliвЂ™s The Beautiful Struggle, and Kanye WestвЂ™s College Dropout, were crafted largely around soul samples just like those on Madvillainy, but KanyeвЂ™s pop-sensible fingerprint pushed those albums toward the mainstream. There were the artists that fully embraced the integration of hip-hop into pop culture. The seminal collaboration between two of underground hip-hopвЂ™s most respected members came about at a time when hip-hop was, in many ways, split between two camps. The cutting edge of the genre has been found under rocks, in dark corners - something thatвЂ™s never more true than when you speak of the woozy beats and lexicalВ gymnasticsВ of MF DOOM and MadlibвЂ™s Madvillainy. Born in unofficial dance parties spread only by word of mouth, hip-hopвЂ™s beginnings are rooted away from the mainstream. The initial sessions at MadlibвЂ™s home studio went so well, he was inspired to make some of the albumвЂ™s best tracks (including вЂњStrange WaysвЂќ and вЂњRhinestone CowboyвЂќ) with nothing more than a record player, cassette deck, and an SP 303 in a hotel room in Brazil-where he also debuted the first music from the album by playing вЂњAmericaвЂ™s Most BluntedвЂќ at the Red Bull Music Academy.The underground has always been hip-hopвЂ™sВ lifeblood. When Madlib and Doom started on Madvillainy, though, the partnership energized two parties notorious for being difficult to work with. Madlib (born Otis Jackson Jr.) is the sort of mad musical scientist who could make a masterpiece like The Unseen with nothing but an 8-track, a massive record collection, the considerable spiritual assistance of Melvin Van Peebles, and $50 worth of shrooms.Д«y the time the pair started working together in 2002, each had made a classic album in Doomsday and The Unseen, but it still mightвЂ™ve made sense to tamp down expectations-artists may have a proven history of excellent work, but that doesnвЂ™t guarantee the same alchemy will occur in a collaborative piece. His proper debut, 1999вЂ™s Operation: Doomsday, established an entire musical world, populated by monsters, scientists, dinosaurs, and supervillains, woven seamlessly out of a patchwork of samples ranging from The Beatles to Teena Marie to Scooby Doo. After a few years in the wilderness, Dumile emerged playing shows with a stocking over his head, a disguise that eventually morphed into the mask of Doom. DoomвЂ™s origin story is the stuff of legends: Daniel DumileвЂ™s brief, early career as part of the group KMD (under the name Zev Love X) came to a tragic end when his brother and groupmate, Subroc, was killed in a car accident the same week KMD was dropped by Elektra Records.

The frenzy that awaited Madvillainy certainly had grounds, considering the careers that led to its production.

Madvillainy album facts