Madlib and Freddie Gibbs' revival for their MadGibbs side project might have awakened a sleeping giant. In an interview published on Monday, iconic rapper MF DOOM alluded to the possibility of continuing his popular Madvillainy series with Madlib, claiming the duo is sitting on close to four albums worth of unreleased music.
"Since then, we’ve recorded a lot more stuff. There’s a few of them we could put out as whole albums. I’m just looking for the right time," MF DOOM explained to Spin's Will Gottsegen in regards to his work with Madlib. "It’s hard to choose a time, as far as the manufacturing side, and the business side. Once that’s all out of the way, people will hear more of it. It’s a ton of stuff that we got."
DOOM also talked about how he doesn't listen to hip-hop and only raps, which is an unsual statement given so many rappers are fans of him.
“I write rhymes and shit to get money. Other than that I don’t listen to hip-hop music,” DOOM said. “I only do this for the simple fact of points-per-rhyme, the point game. It seems to be a profitable thing these days, and nobody else is really paying attention to it. You can be about your points, and if nobody else can do it, you can get some change off that joint, because you’re the only one doing it like that. That’s what I get out of the rhyming.”
Since Madvillainy was released in 2004, the project has taken on a life of its own and become one of the biggest achievements for both artists. Not only did it solidify the Villian in hip-hop infamy, but it was also a crossover success. Madvillainy is considered a vibrant influence of the music fans experience today and has been named one of the greatest albums of all time. Because of this, MF DOOM is aware that fans are anxious to see how a sequel will compare to its predecessor.
"Either one could be recorded at the same time—if you heard them back to back, it would sound like both of them are interchangeable," DOOM said. "All three of them, there’s actually three or four of them by now. But they’re interchangeable, the feel of them."
Although MF DOOM says he's merely "looking for the right time" to unleash one of these projects, it is well known that both DOOM and Madlib work on a slower clock. This is best witnessed by Madlib's upcoming Bandana album with Freddie Gibbs. This tape is the sequel to their wildly successful Piñata, and while Gibbs finished joint projects with other artists, the Piñata follow-up has been slow-cooking for five years. Combining Madlib's methodical approach with MF DOOM's vow of secrecy might have fans waiting longer than they anticipated for Madvillainy II.
