More than four years after the passing of MF DOOM, Stones Throw Records has remastered and released a pair of music videos from Madvillain, the beloved underground rapper’s iconic collaborative project with producer Madlib, in 4K for the first time. The remastered videos for “Accordion” and “Rhinestone Cowboy” arrived in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Madvillain’s sole album, 2004’s Madvillainy.
Per an announcement from Stones Throw, “When we uploaded Madvillain’s ‘Accordion’ and ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ music videos back in 2008, YouTube wasn’t capable of hosting HD videos, let alone 4K resolution. To celebrate the two-decade anniversary of MF DOOM and Madlib’s Madvillainy … music video director Andrew Gura has remastered both from the original and recently unearthed DV files.”
Watch the remastered, 4K videos for “Accordion” and “Rhinestone Cowboy” by Madvillain (MF DOOM and Madlib) below.
Madvillain (MF DOOM & Madlib) – Accordion [Official Music Video – 4k Remaster]
Madvillain (MF DOOM & Madlib) – Rhinestone Cowboy [Official Music Video – 4k Remaster]
Stones Throw Records is also preparing to release both a collection of Madvillainy Demos and an “Audiophile Edition” of the album on vinyl on Friday, November 29th. Per a press release, “Long before Madlib and MF DOOM had finished Madvillainy, the first demo sequence of the album leaked online. The demos were first officially released on tape in 2008, as part of a Madvillain box set, then individually for the first Cassette Store Day in 2013. Now the Madvillainy Demos are releasing on vinyl for the first time.” The demos were mastered by original Madvillainy mastering engineer Dave Cooley. Vinyl copies of the collection include an insert of Eric Coleman‘s contact sheets from the album cover shoot. The new audiophile edition, which celebrates the finished record, was re-cut at 45rpm and pressed to 180g vinyl. The gatefold jacket is made of heavy tip-on cardboard and features DOOM’s lyrics on the inside. Premium rice paper sleeves included. Order Madvillainy Demos on vinyl here and the audiophile edition of the album here.
While he never attained much in the way of commercial success, MF DOOM was universally admired among hip-hop fans and artists alike. His rhymes, cadences, and flows consistently challenged established artistic structures, and his enigmatic imagery never failed to twist the nature of reality into question. Committed to an aura of mystery and character study on every level, MF DOOM was known for performing in a metal mask a la Marvel’s Dr. Doom and adopting a variety of monikers over the course of his career, from MF DOOM to Viktor Vaughn to King Geedorah to Zev Love X.
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Even beyond the names, DOOM—born Dumile Thompson—was a shape-shifter, embodying the unique milieu of each project. On his 2005 collaborative album with Danger Mouse, DANGERDOOM, he leaned into the project’s cartoonish nature with Adult Swim audio clips and general frivolity like the tongue-in-cheek “Sofa King”. On Madvillainy, he adopted the “Madvillain” persona, crafting dense, complex tracks like “Accordion” and “All Caps” from that nefarious perspective. With DOOMSTARKS, his collaborative project with Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ghostface Killah, DOOM tested his villainous flow against the Staten Island Shaolin style. On 2004’s Mm..Food, he crafted an acclaimed album based entirely on food metaphors and imagery, without ever dipping into needless parody. The list goes on…
DOOM was known for making mysterious decisions off the mic, as well. He intentionally created storms of questions on various occasions by sending stand-ins to perform in his place at his shows, using the relative anonymity afforded by the mask to his advantage.