MF DOOM and Madlib are Madvillain. The two met in 2002 and soon began working on Madvillainy which would be finished over the next year and released in March 2004. The music on Madvillainy went against the grain of all popular conventions in contemporary hip-hop: short songs, dirty sound, no choruses, and with lyrical themes which were not always clear to everyone on first listen. The album received the highest critical praise of a hip-hop album released in 2004, and years later has continued to generate interest and controversy.
MF DOOM went on to work with DANGERDOOM (with Danger Mouse), Gorillaz and Ghostface Killa. Madlib has continued developing his diverse production style for the likes of Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, Ghostface, as well as releasing several solo products under his own name and self-made creations Quasimoto, Yesterdays New Quintet and Beat Konducta.
They are currently working on a second album. In 2008, prolific as usual, Madlib remixed Madvillainy in its entirety. It was released in a limited edition box set in 2008.
Photos: Making Madvillainy
These are three sets of photos from the making of Madvillainy, 2002-2003.
PART 1
In Summer 2002 we announced that MF DOOM and Madlib were working together on a project which, at that time, had no title or projected release date. The two first met up at the Stones Throw house & Madlib’s studio The Bomb Shelter in Los Angeles, where Doom immediately began writing lyrics and recording demos. These photos were taken by Egon.
PART 2
Madlib took off to Brazil in late 2002 for the Red Bull Music Academy, where early cuts of Madvillain were premiered (and bootlegged) for the first time. He took these photos himself in his hotel room where he worked on beats for Madvillain’s “Strange Ways” and “Rhinestone Cowboy”. These two and others were created using the only equipment available: a portable record player, an SP 303 and a borrowed cassette deck.
PART 3
Back in Los Angeles, mid-2003: DOOM & Madlib take over PB Wolf’s room to record vocals. Eric Coleman came through on this day and shot these and other photos which were used on singles and the album.
First released was the Money Folder b/w America’s Most Blunted 12-inch single in Fall ‘03, and Madvillainy in March ‘04. 
www.stonesthrow.com/madvillain
