Masked rapper MF Doom had vanished somewhere between Long Island and Atlanta after a rough patch in both his personal and professional life when ace hip-hop producer Madlib and the folks at Stones Throw Record lured him out of self-imposed exile with a plane ticket to Los Angeles in 2001 in hopes of sparking a dream collaboration.

Their cunning plan worked, Doom and Madlib bonded in the studio over healthy amounts of beer, weed and mushrooms and an iconoclastic lo-fi hip-hop classic was born, albeit at a bit of a snail's pace. An early version of the record was leaked online back when that was supposed to spell (ahem) doom and the pair walked away from it for awhile, eventually regrouping to redo some of Doom's vocals and bring some closure to the project. The rest, as they say, is history. Madvillainy didn't exactly light up the charts, making it to just No. 179 on the Billboard 200 upon release, but a cult following developed around its lunatic mix of stream-of-consciousness jibber-jabber and cheap, globally sourced beats -- most of which Madlib recorded in a hotel room in Brazil. These days, it's acknowledged as one of the greatest hip-hop records of all time and, arguably, the best thing the late, great MF Doom ever did. Doom and Madlib were just ahead of their time, that's all.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Illest Villains
2. Accordion
3. Meat Grinder
4. Bistro
5. Raid (feat. MED)
6. America's Most Blunted (feat. Quasimoto)
7. Sickfit
8. Rainbows
9. Curls
10. Do Not Fire!
11. Money Folder
12. Shadows of Tomorrow (feat. Quasimoto)
13. Operation Lifesaver AKA Mint Test
14. Figaro
15. Hardcore Hustle (feat. Wildchild)
16. Strange Ways
17. Fancy Clown (feat. Viktor Vaughn)
18. Eye (feat. Stacy Epps)
19. Supervillain Theme
20. All Caps
21. Great Day
22. Rhinestone Cowboy