The Mouse and the Mask | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 10, 2005 | |||
Recorded | 2003–2005 | |||
Genre | Underground hip hop | |||
Length | 39:51 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Danger Mouse | |||
Danger Doom chronology | ||||
| ||||
MF Doom chronology | ||||
| ||||
Danger Mouse chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
Singles from The Mouse and the Mask | ||||
|
The Mouse and the Mask is the only studio album by Danger Doom,a collaboration between the hip hop artists Danger Mouse and MF Doom. It was released in Europe on October 10,2005,and on October 11,2005 by the independent punk label Epitaph Records in the United States. It was also released by Lex Records in the UK on October 17,2005,with different cover art.
The album is composed almost entirely of raps by MF Doom,performed over beats created by Danger Mouse sampling music from various television shows airing on Cartoon Network's programming block Adult Swim. The album was heavily promoted by the network prior to its release.
"Sofa King" was released as a 12-inch single on November 4,2005,and was followed by "Old School" on July 10,2006. A video for "A.T.H.F." has also been made.
Comedian Dave Chappelle created an iTunes Celebrity Playlist and selected the Danger Doom track "Mince Meat" for his Block Party Picks. He stated,"Two very consistently good artists collaborate to make my head nod. DOOM,Mouse - Thank You. Wherever you are,nice album." MF Doom mentions Chappelle in the song "Peoples,Places,and Things" (called "Name Dropping" on his CD "Live from Planet X"). Doom says "Rap cats act brave as hell/Get on the mic and turn 'Gangsta!' on some 'yeah,see' like Dave Chappelle",in reference to a bit Chappelle performed in his stand up "Killin' Them Softly".
MF Doom disses MF Grimm in this album by referring to the Monsta Island Czars (aka M.I.C.) as 'Midgets Into Crunk' in the song "El Chupa Nibre" (on the paraphrased remix version the line is changed to 'Monkeys Into Crime'). Grimm responded by releasing an entire Doom diss track,titled "Book of Daniel" (which concludes his 2006 triple album American Hunger),in which he mainly accuses Doom of having sold out.
"Old School" features a mix of Keith Mansfield's song "Funky Fanfare," and "Space Ho's" sample Mansfield's "Morning Broadway."
The rap that Meatwad performs at the end of "Bada Bing" is a verse from "Beef Rapp",the first song on MF Doom's album MM..Food .
As of November 6,2008 the album has sold 170,081 copies. [1]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 81/100 [2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
The Austin Chronicle | [4] |
Entertainment Weekly | A− [5] |
The Guardian | [6] |
Los Angeles Times | [7] |
Pitchfork | 7.8/10 [8] |
Rolling Stone | [9] |
Spin | B [10] |
Uncut | [11] |
The Village Voice | A− [12] |
The Mouse and the Mask was met with overwhelming favourable reviews from critics,scoring 81 out of 100 on the review aggregator Metacritic,indicating "universal acclaim". [2] Spin ranked it 25 on their "40 Best Albums Of 2005",and said that "together,these two dudes are more animated than the cartoon characters who pop up on this disc.". [13] Entertainment Weekly gave it an A−,calling it a "hip-hop tour-de-farce". [5] Magnet said "wading deep into hip hop's rich history,they deliver a record that conjures the classics without sounding willfully retro". The Wire called it "[a] frenetic comedy both above and of a kind with its fratboy origins,admirably absurdist in some respects and coolly demented in others" and Vibe similarly said "[a] headphone-friendly soundtrack...[of] deliciously demented narratives." Mojo gave it 3 out of 5 stars,noting "the stoned,late-night hilarity is grounded by some deft soundtrack-funk production from Dangermouse..." [14]
Notes:
No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "El Chupa Nibre" | MF Doom, Master Shake | 2:40 |
2. | "Sofa King" | MF Doom, Aqua Teen Hunger Force | 2:57 |
3. | "The Mask" | MF Doom, Ghostface Killah, Brak and Zorak | 3:12 |
4. | "Perfect Hair" | MF Doom, Master Shake | 2:03 |
5. | "Benzie Box" | MF Doom, Cee Lo Green | 3:00 |
6. | "Old School" | MF Doom, Talib Kweli, Aqua Teen Hunger Force | 2:40 |
7. | "A.T.H.F." | MF Doom, Aqua Teen Hunger Force | 3:03 |
8. | "Basket Case" | MF Doom, the cast of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law | 2:35 |
9. | "No Names" | MF Doom, the cast of Sealab 2021 | 3:07 |
10. | "Crosshairs" | MF Doom, Brak, Thundercleese | 2:27 |
11. | "Mince Meat" | MF Doom | 2:33 |
12. | "Vats of Urine" | MF Doom, Mooninites | 1:48 |
13. | "Space Ho's" | MF Doom, Space Ghost | 3:29 |
14. | "Bada Bing" | MF Doom, Aqua Teen Hunger Force | 4:35 |
Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | October 11, 2005 | Epitaph Records | CD | 86775 |
LP | 86775 | |||
United Kingdom | October 17, 2005 | Lex Records | CD | LEX036CD |
LP | LEX036LP |
Chart (2005) | Peak position |
---|---|
U.S. Billboard 200 | 41 |
U.S. Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums | 31 |
U.S. Top Independent Albums | 2 |
The Cactus Al/Bum is the debut album by hip hop trio 3rd Bass, released on Def Jam Recordings on November 14, 1989. The album received positive reviews from the hip hop press and is also notable for featuring the recording debut of rapper Zev Love X of KMD, later known as MF Doom, on "The Gas Face". It was certified gold by the RIAA on April 24, 1990.
Brian Joseph Burton, known professionally as Danger Mouse, is an American musician and record producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from the Beatles' The Beatles, also known as The White Album. In 2008, Esquire named him one of the "75 most influential people of the 21st century".
Daniel Dumile, also known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom, was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and "supervillain" stage persona, Dumile became a major figure of underground hip hop and alternative hip hop in the 2000s. After his death, Variety described him as one of the scene's "most celebrated, unpredictable and enigmatic figures".
Lex Records is a British independent record label. Most releases on the label are alternative hip hop, alternative rock or electronic music. Dazed described Lex as a label "...whose wildly creative output spans over a decade of landmark releases that have changed the music industry no end."
Madvillainy is the only studio album by American hip hop duo Madvillain, consisting of British-American rapper MF Doom and American record producer Madlib. It was released on March 23, 2004, on Stones Throw Records.
KMD was an American hip hop trio active from 1988 to 1994, during the golden age. The core of the group was composed of brothers Daniel "Zev Love X" Dumile and Dingilizwe "DJ Subroc" Dumile. The group's original third member, Jade 1, left before the group signed with Elektra Records, being replaced with Onyx the Birthstone Kid. The group dissolved in 1994 following the sudden death of DJ Subroc in 1993, the departure of Onyx and conflicts with Elektra that resulted in them being dropped from the label.
Demon Days is the second studio album by the British virtual band Gorillaz. It was released on 11 May 2005 in Japan and 23 May 2005 in the United Kingdom by Parlophone and May 24, 2005 in the United States by Virgin Records. Produced by Gorillaz, Danger Mouse, Jason Cox, and James Dring, it features De La Soul, Neneh Cherry, Martina Topley-Bird, Roots Manuva, MF Doom, Ike Turner, Bootie Brown of the Pharcyde, Shaun Ryder and Dennis Hopper.
Otis Lee Jackson, Jr., known professionally as Madlib, is an American record producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. Critically acclaimed for his eclectic and sample-heavy production style, he is regarded as one of the most influential producers in modern hip hop and alternative hip hop. His frequent collaborators include MF DOOM, J Dilla, Freddie Gibbs, Talib Kweli, and Erykah Badu.
Operation: Doomsday is the debut studio album by British-American rapper MF Doom, released through Fondle 'Em Records on 19 October 1999 and reissued by Sub Verse Records in 2001 with a slightly altered track listing. It was his first solo release under the MF Doom moniker after previously performing as Zev Love X in the group KMD. Operation: Doomsday is regarded as one of the most influential albums in independent hip-hop history. A deluxe remastered version of the album was released by Doom's own Metal Face Records on 24 October 2011.
Vaudeville Villain is the third studio album by British-American rapper-producer MF Doom, released on September 16, 2003 under the pseudonym of Viktor Vaughn. All of the tracks are produced by Sound-Ink record label members Heat Sensor, King Honey, and Max Bill, with the exception of "Saliva", produced by RJD2.
Mm..Food is the fifth studio album by British-American rapper and producer MF Doom, released through Rhymesayers on 16 November, 2004. The album peaked at number 17 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart, and number 9 on Heatseekers Albums chart. The title Mm..Food is an anagram of "MF Doom".
Black Bastards is the second and final studio album by American hip hop group KMD, recorded in 1993 and eventually released on May 15, 2000, through Readyrock Records. Initially, the album was scheduled for release in May 1994, but Elektra Records canceled the album, reportedly due to the controversial cover art, which shows a Sambo figure being lynched. Zev Love X's brother DJ Subroc was killed when he was struck by a car shortly before the album was completed, and subsequent releases of the album have featured dedications to him.
Danger Doom was an American hip hop supergroup consisting of Danger Mouse and MF DOOM. Their first album, The Mouse and the Mask, was released in 2005, and followed by the Occult Hymn EP in 2006.
Dingilizwe Dumile, known professionally as DJ Subroc, was an American hip-hop artist and a member of KMD and Constipated Monkeys.
British-American rapper and record producer Daniel Dumile, also known under several stage names, most notably MF DOOM, released six studio albums, two live albums, three compilation albums, 10 instrumental albums, seven collaborative albums, 14 singles, and 32 music videos in his career.
The Slickness is the first solo studio album by Prince Po, one half of American hip hop duo Organized Konfusion. It was released on Lex Records in 2004. It peaked at number 53 on the CMJ Top 200 chart.
Special Blends Volume 1 & 2 is a 2-CD set, remix album released by Daniel Dumile under the Metal Fingers moniker on his Metal Face Records label. Each track is a remix of famous hip hop songs by other MCs and rappers remixed to instrumentals from Dumile's early Special Herbs albums. Mixed by DOOM himself, this collection incorporates vocals from a wide range of iconic records.
NehruvianDoom is the collaborative studio album by American hip hop duo NehruvianDoom which consisted of MF DOOM and Bishop Nehru. The album was released on October 7, 2014, by Lex Records.
Cheat Codes is a collaborative studio album by American songwriter/producer Danger Mouse and American rapper Black Thought, released on August 12, 2022, by BMG. It followed three albums of solo work for Black Thought, but was Danger Mouse's first hip-hop album since The Mouse and the Mask in 2005.
"Doomsday" is a song by British-American rapper MF Doom featuring singer Pebbles the Invisible Girl, taken from the former's debut studio album Operation: Doomsday (1999). Produced by MF Doom himself, it contains samples of "Kiss of Life" by Sade and "Poetry" by Boogie Down Productions.