Madvillain: Madvillainy Demos [STONES THROW]

Why you'll love it

This is the first time the Madvillainy demos have been on vinyl. Madvillainy went on to rank on Rolling Stone's and NME's lists of the greatest albums of all time, and these are its first sketches.

About the album

Most albums keep their rough drafts in a drawer. In November 2002, Madvillainy's got out into the world, an early sequence of DOOM vocals over Madlib beats cut at his Bomb Shelter studio, and instead of killing the buzz it set the underground alight.

DOOM went back and rerecorded his vocals, even nodding to the leak in a later verse, while Madlib added new beats and reshuffled the running order. Here are the earlier takes, among them "Bistro," "Fancy Clown," "Figaro," "Money Folder," "Rainbows" and "All Caps," plus "Stakes" in its "Supervillain Theme" form and "Just for Kicks" in its "Meat Grinder" guise. The record closes with the instrumental of the "Great Day" demo of "One False Move." Madlib's beats are rawer here and DOOM's verses looser, so you can hear the two of them working out what Madvillain was going to be.

When the finished album arrived in 2004, Pitchfork called it one of the most anticipated in underground rap history. For anyone who already knows every word of the final version, this is the rare chance to hear the masked villain still trying on the mask.

Also at Kops: more Madvillain on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B

Tracklist

Listen

On Stones Throw (cat# STH2196).