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Vaudeville Villain

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Vaudeville Villain
A grayscale photo of an apartment building with a black silhouette in front of it and gray "VIKTOR VAUGHN" text written in a blocky font on the right edge.
Studio album by
Viktor Vaughn
ReleasedSeptember 16, 2003 (2003-09-16)
GenreUnderground hip hop
Length56:42
Label
  • Sound-Ink Records
  • Traffic Entertainment Group
Producer
  • King Honey
  • Heat Sensor
  • Max Bill
  • RJD2
  • Mr Ten
MF Doom chronology
Take Me to Your Leader
(2003) 		Vaudeville Villain
(2003) 		Madvillainy
(2004)
Singles from Vaudeville Villain
  1. "Rae Dawn"
    Released: 2003
  2. "Saliva"
    Released: 2003 (promo)
  3. "Mr. Clean"
    Released: June 2004

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.

Background

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In early 2003, while MF Doom and Madlib were working on Madvillainy, the unfinished demo of the album was stolen and leaked on the internet. Frustrated, the duo decided to work separately on other projects. The first album released by MF Doom in that period was Take Me to Your Leader, followed by Vaudeville Villain.[1]

Recording

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Unlike MF Doom's previous albums, produced entirely by him, the majority of the tracks on Vaudeville Villain were produced by the members of Sound-Ink record label.[2] He met one of them, Heat Sensor, at a bar in Brooklyn. The two shared common interests, including interest in time travel. Heat Sensor later introduced him to King Honey and Max Bill.[3] The only song not produced by the producer trio was "Saliva", which was produced by RJD2.[4]

Music and lyrics

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Vaudeville Villain tells a story of Viktor Vaughn, who was described by NME as a "time travelling street hustler".[5] The character was named after Marvel supervillain Victor Von Doom.[6] While time traveling, Viktor Vaughn's time machine got damaged, which forced him to stay in the early 1990s New York City.[5][7] The album shows his day-to-day life,[5] with each track showing a different situation he ends up in as he tries to earn money to fix his time machine.[4][7]

Release

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Vaudeville Villain was released on September 16, 2003,[8] by Sound-Ink Records and Traffic Entertainment Group.[9] Two singles from the album were released commercially: "Rae Dawn" and "Mr. Clean".[10][11] 7-inch promo single "Saliva" was also produced for an online giveaway.[9] Music video for "Mr. Clean" was released to promote the album.[9]

Vaudeville Villain was a moderate commercial success, peaking at number 99 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[12]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
And It Don't StopA[14]
Entertainment WeeklyA[15]
HipHopDX4.0/5[16]
Pitchfork9.1/10[4]
SpinB+[17]
Stylus MagazineB[18]
Tiny Mix Tapes5/5[19]

Vaudeville Villain received critical acclaim. AllMusic reviewer Mark Pytlik claimed MF Doom was at his absolute best on Vaudeville Villain, calling the album "dense, bright, and packed with ideas".[13] Nathan Rabin, writing for The A.V. Club, commended MF Doom's "ultra-magnetic lyrics" and noted that the album's production isn't as strong as one of Take Me to Your Leader.[20] Neil Drumming of Entertainment Weekly praised the album for its punch lines and "eerie, droning, sci-fi-scented funk" beats.[15] HipHopDX called the album "stellar from start to finish" from the production standpoint, naming track "Saliva" the highlight of the album.[16] Roland Pemberton, writing for Pitchfork, praised the lyrical content of Vaudeville Villain, but criticized its production.[4] Conversely, Scott McKeating of Stylus Magazine thought production of the album was its real strength, and disliked Viktor Vaughn alias and the concept of the album, calling it "fundamentally silly".[18] PopMatters called Vaudeville Villain MF Doom's best work to date, saying rappers like him "helped kick hip-hop in a thousand directions, both sonically and psychologically".[8] Tiny Mix Tapes praised the album, noting that the production "lacks the overall rough and experimental quirkiness and unevenness" of Take Me To Your Leader, which puts vocal delivery in the forefront of the record.[19]

Retrospect

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Writing in 2021 after MF Doom's death, Robert Christgau said the album "could very well be his best" and viewed it as a consistent example of how he was "a fundamentally comic artist for whom rhyme as opposed to meaning was king".[14] In January 2021, NME wrote an article about the album, calling it an "undersung masterpiece" and "perhaps the most compelling reminder of the many talents of Daniel Dumile".[5]

Accolades

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Several publications included Vaudeville Villain in their lists of the best albums. Vaudeville Villain ranked at number 25 on Pitchfork's "Top 50 Albums of 2003" list.[21] Washington City Paper put it at number 4 on its list of the best albums of 2003.[22] Exclaim! listed the album among the best hip hop albums of 2003.[3] In 2010, Slant Magazine ranked Vaudeville Villain at number 217 in its list of 250 best albums of the 2000s.[23] In 2012, the album ranked at number 25 on Pigeons & Planes's "30 Best Underground Hip-Hop Albums" list.[24]

Track listing

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No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Overture" 0:34
2."Vaudeville Villain"King Honey2:31
3."Lickupon"Heat Sensor2:44
4."The Drop"Max Bill3:24
5."Lactose and Lecithin"Heat Sensor2:34
6."A Dead Mouse"King Honey3:55
7."Open Mic Nite, Pt. 1" (featuring Lord Sear, Brother Sambuca, Rodan as Dr. Moreau and Louis Logic)King Honey4:09
8."RaeDawn"Heat Sensor3:00
9."Let Me Watch" (featuring Apani B as Nikki)King Honey4:27
10."Saliva"RJD22:28
11."Modern Day Mugging"Heat Sensor2:43
12."Open Mic Nite, Pt. 2" (featuring Lord Sear, AJ Ready Wright and Creature)
  • King Honey
  • Mr Ten
3:13
13."Never Dead" (featuring M. Sayyid as Curis Strifer)Heat Sensor3:27
14."PopSnot"Max Bill4:39
15."Mr. Clean"King Honey2:13
16."G.M.C."Max Bill3:33
17."Change the Beat" (Hidden Track) (performed by MF Doom)Max Bill6:55

Notes

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  • Track 9 is sometimes also called "Can I Watch?".[5]

Personnel

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Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[25]

Personnel

  • N. Gosman – engineering, executive production
  • Mark Einstmann – mastering
  • D. Dumile – executive production
  • A. Threadgold – executive production

Artwork

  • M. McDonald (for Sound-Ink Records) – art direction
  • Ralph Borland (for Lazy-R) – layout, design

Additional personnel

  • M. Lawrence – executive gardening

Charts

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2003 chart performance for Vaudeville Villain
Chart (2003) Peak
position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[12] 99
2022 chart performance for Vaudeville Villain
Chart (2022) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[26] 133
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[27] 14

References

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  1. ^ Weiss, Jeff. "Searching for Tomorrow: The Story of Madlib and Doom's Madvillainy". Pitchfork. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  2. ^ Marlow, Oli (8 June 2013). "The genius of MF Doom in 10 essential tracks". Fact. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Best Hip-Hop Album Year in Review 2003". Exclaim!. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Pemberton, Rollie (15 September 2003). "Viktor Vaughn: Vaudeville Villain". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e Saleh, Oumar (11 January 2021). "Why 'Vaudeville Villain', released as supervillain Viktor Vaughn, is MF DOOM's undersung masterpiece". NME. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  6. ^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (4 January 2021). "10 Songs That Show Why MF DOOM Was the Ultimate Rapper's Rapper". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b "MF Doom is Viktor Vaughn :: Vaudeville Villain". RapReviews. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Viktor Vaughn: Vaudeville Villain". PopMatters. 25 January 2004. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  9. ^ a b c "CMJ New Music Report". CMJ. 8 September 2003. p. 39. ISSN 0890-0795. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Sound-Ink Records". Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Sound-Ink Records". Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  12. ^ a b "MF Doom Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Pytlik, Mark. "Vaudeville Villain – Viktor Vaughn". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  14. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (13 January 2021). "Consumer Guide: January, 2021". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  15. ^ a b Drumming, Neil (18 July 2003). "Vaudeville Villain". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  16. ^ a b K., Chris (8 October 2003). "Viktor Vaughn – Vaudeville Villain". HipHopDX. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  17. ^ "Breakdown". Spin. Vol. 19, no. 11. November 2003. p. 117. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  18. ^ a b McKeating, Scott (2 October 2003). "Viktor Vaughn – Vaudeville Villain – Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  19. ^ a b Wolfman. "Viktor Vaughn – Vaudeville Villain". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  20. ^ Rabin, Nathan. "Vaudeville Villain / Take Me To Your Leader". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2003 (3/5)". Pitchfork. 31 December 2003. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  22. ^ "The CP top 20 of 2003". Washington City Paper. Archived from the original on 6 April 2004. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  23. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (7 February 2010). "Rest of the Best of the Aughts: Albums & Singles (#101 – 250)". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  24. ^ "The 30 Best Underground Hip-Hop Albums". Pigeons & Planes. 27 June 2012. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  25. ^ Viktor Vaughn (2003). Vaudeville Villain (liner notes). New York, New York; Malden, Massachusetts: Sound-Ink Records; Traffic Entertainment Group. SIK 012; TEG 2409.
  26. ^ "MF Doom Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  27. ^ "MF Doom Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
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