PopSyndicate.com

Can we get a “real” Madvillainy 2 anytime soon?

Thinking back to summer 2004, I’m trying to remember exactly why I bought Madvillain’s Madvillainy. Walking through the hip-hop section at Tower Records (when it was still in business on the East Coast) the cover certainly drew me in right away, with the weird image of a man in what looked to be the mask Russell Crowe wore in Gladiator. Up until this point, I knew nothing about MF DOOM and for that matter, Madlib. The album’s quirky and mysterious intro, complete with a mix of dialogue from 50’s movies, was enough to get my attention. DOOM’s off-kilter rhyme style and Madlib’s stripped down approach to production ultimately sold me. Madvillainy proved to be one of the few albums in recent memory to remind hip-hop fans just how far the genre can go if you think outside the box.

After Madvillainy, MF DOOM’s star was certainly on the rise. In addition to putting out several CDs showcasing his production skills, he also released MM FOOD, quite possibly one of the best concept hip-hop albums that I’ve ever heard. Using food as the overall metaphor, DOOM covered a vast array of topics and cemented himself as one of hip-hop’s vanguards. DOOM also made time to collaborate with producer Dangermouse on The Mouse and the Mask, created in conjunction with Cartoon Network/Adult Swim. So the question remains, when are we going to see Madvillainy 2?!?

Technically, there is a Madvillainy 2 that’s recently been released, but it’s a remix album!!! This is a two-fold fail, ‘cause for one, any remix album the record label may have wanted to put out, should have come out a whole lot sooner than four years after the fact! The original Madvillainy is far too ingrained in our minds for us to properly process any kind of reinvention of the material. Second of all, it’s very telling of where the artists are at right now, and may not be encouraging for anyone still waiting for a real follow-up to what many would consider a classic hip-hop album. How frustrated must Madlib be (probably wanting to do a follow-up record more than DOOM), waiting on DOOM for so long, and essentially being forced to put out recycled material? And what of DOOM? He’s gotten a lot of fans psyched up for a lot of projects that have yet to see the light of day. I’m still waiting on that collab album with him and Ghostface Killah, dammit!! C’mon, man! Let’s cut the crap and get to work!!