The Villain in Black is the second full-length solo studio album by American rapper MC Ren. It was released April 9, 1996, through Ruthless Records. The recording sessions took place at the Edge Recording Studios in Inglewood, Audio Achievements in Torrance and Cherokee Recording Studio in Los Angeles. The album was produced by Cold 187um, Dr. Jam, Big Jessie, and Madness 4 Real. It features guest appearances from Above the Law, J-Rocc, Triggaman, and Khalid Abdul Muhammad.
The album debuted at number 31 on the Billboard 200 and number 7 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, with first-week sales of 31,000 copies. Its lead single, "Mad Scientist", did not make it to the charts. However, the second and final album's single, "Keep It Real", reached number 43 on the Hot Rap Songs chart.
Background
After the release and success of his critically acclaimed debut studio album Shock of the Hour in late 1993, M.C. Ren immediately began working on his sophomore album. The deaths of D.J. Train and Eazy-E would however prove to be a huge setback and Ren stepped off the scene for a while.
Meanwhile, he continued his work with the Nation of Islam and visited Egypt in mid-1995. Following his return from Egypt, M.C. Ren continued to work on his album, this time however scrapping all the material he recorded with DJ Train. Enlisting Cold 187um and Dr. Jam to produce his album, Ren began recording new material.
While making The Villain in Black, M.C. Ren was closely affiliated with the Nation of Islam, which had a large impact on the some parts of the album's content. Black nationalist Khalid Muhammad appeared in the track "Muhammad Speaks", where he spoke about the history of the rights of African Americans. He also made a cameo appearance on the closing track "Bring It On".
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