If there is one king of the underground hip-hop scene, it’s MF Doom. Though, I’m sure Doom would rather style himself a dictator, as he always played the villain role. Being dropped by his original label and left without money after his brother’s untimely death, Doom’s literal villain origin story became the centerpiece of his personality, wearing a mask based on Dr. Doom, and bringing a cartoonish sampling to many of his songs. In 2002, MF Doom started collaborating with Madlib, an influential producer, who is also known for adopting interesting alter egos, most notably Quasimoto. These two eventually released a groundbreaking album, “Madvillainy”, on Tuesday, Mar. 23, 2004.
Mostly alternative hip-hop, the album has a lo-fi sound to it, brought by the use of old jazz and soul music as samples, as well as tracks from old shows. In a way, this makes the album quite relaxing to listen to, emphasized by Doom’s coarse, but somehow not rough vocals. But our mask-wearing MC has a lot to say, especially on the album’s most famous track, “All Caps”. A song ripped out of a comic book, seen in its 1940s-style music video, “All Caps” is a testament to Doom’s personality, sounding like a theme for a supervillain, with the song mentioning vague threats, most famously “all caps when you say the man’s name.” Accompanied by sampled flute and trumpets, a more memorably villainous song is yet to be found. The “alternative” in alternative hip-hop is also not neglected, as shown by a song such as “Accordion.” It might seem like a strange choice for a rap song to have a whiny instrument accompaniment, but it simply works. Madlib somehow perfectly balances the repeating beat of the accordion with Doom’s vocals, where he references old villains like Dick Dastardly, and MCs such as himself, who he thinks should stand up for themselves to the “villains”.
“Madvillainy” inspired many hip-hop artists, such as J Dilla with his 2006 album “Donuts”. It was released days before his death, and captures a man facing his mortality with a smiling face, creating an eclectic array of instrumentals to suck the listener in. The Beastie Boys’ 1989 album “Paul’s Boutique” is also a testament to the power of sampling, with the album making frantic harmonies that catch the ears.
Often victims’ lives are boiled down to their interaction with a killer, which is unfair. They had goals, interests, families, and friends, all of which make them who they are, rather than the moment when someone decided to hurt them.
Victims’ families aren’t helped by countless media money grabs where their family member’s stories are glossed over. True crime media desensitizes people from the reality of these horrors. It distorts the reality of the occurrence of crimes and the demographics they affect. There are plenty of real monsters in this world; let’s stick to depicting the fictional ones.