For ‘Meat Grinder’, Madlib has used as his beats and bass line a sample from a pretty obscure library music track called ‘Hula Rock’ by The Lew Howard All-Stars, which was originally recorded for the Bosworth library, suggesting he might be or was at some point a library music digger. The track was also commercially released by UK library music guru Jonny Trunk, on the first record that he put out on his own label, Trunk Records, which was a compilation of tracks from the Bosworth archive which were recorded in the 60s and 70s.

Mad Lib and MC Doom combine their evil forces to bring you Mad Villain – Mad Villiany. This album may very well fully restore your faith in hip hop. Thoughtful production and rhymes give you a cohesive listening experience from beginning to end that you won’t find in mainstream rap.

Much credit to Mad Lib for making this album highly listenable. Using mainly organic sounds and instruments (even an accordion!), Mad Villian has presented approachable music that remains firmly in the realm of independent (and just darn good) hip hop. Doom’s performance is a subtle mixture of serious lyrics, tongue in cheek humor, and laid back yet undeniable rhyming talent.

Though the album features a few stand out tracks, (“Accordion” and “Operation Lifesaver…” are two of my favorites) I really recommend that you abstain from ignoring any part of the whole. Good albums manage to churn out hit singles, great ones deliver from the first track to the last.