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DiscussI’m an itty-bitty little white girl. I like movies by the Coen Brothers and novels about rural America. My style is a mélange of hippie, classic and indie. My taste in music is, for the most part, exactly what you would expect. Except sometimes, when I surprise even myself. Case in point: Viktor Vaughn. Attend.
Viktor Vaughn is a man of many names. He was born Daniel Dumile in London, 1971, to a Trinidadian mother and Zimbabwean father, and has since performed under seven different pseudonyms. Can you say multi-faceted, ya’ll? So, what sort of music does he play, you ask? Hip-hop. Really good hip-hop.
In roughly chronological order, Dumile has gone by the following aliases: MF Doom, Metal Fingers, King Geedorah, Viktor Vaughn, Madvillain, Danger Doom and Doom. We’re going to talk about two specific albums today (get pumped!) but they’re most certainly all worth a listen — there are often subtle differences from name to name and some are pretty rockin’ collaborations. Danger Doom, for example, is Dumile plus Danger Mouse. MF Doom released his first album in 1999. The latest Dumile masterpiece is under the Doom pseudonym, out this year, in 2009. We’re going to look at two records from his middle years, by Viktor Vaughn and Madvillain (get really pumped!).
Viktor Vaughn’s Vaudeville Villain was released in 2003. Vaudeville Villain is exactly what the name says: The sound is showy (though really, what hip-hop isn’t?), epic and overtly reminiscent of early superhero shows. The album opens with a 30-second baller “Overture” with blasting music and a clip from a Spiderman episode entitled “The Canon of Doom.” (You guys getting a doom vibe, here? He probably believes the world will end in 2012.)
The entire album feels to me like it’s it premised on 1950s kitsch: superhero comics, the Barnum and Bailey circus, The Twilight Zone. And it’s legitimately amusing, while somehow being serious and melancholy at the same time. I can’t pretend to be an expert on rap or hip-hop, but somehow Viktor Vaughn’s rhymes seem more laid-back and lyrical than rap often is. There are no TI-esque fake gunshots. The album mixes a lot of typical hip-hop beats (can I say thumpin’?) with some really new-age experimentation, and even some classical moments. Vaughn often overlays his irresistible back-beats with innovative sound experiments in an almost glam-rock style. It’s a pretty awesome crossing of the genres. The album does get, admittedly, a little repetitive by the end, but hey, when you get bored, you have six other Dumile aliases (aliae?) to choose from!
If you want to give Viktor Vaughn a test spin, let me suggest a few of my favorite songs for you. Or you can check out his other album, Venomous Villain. In any case, on Vaudeville Villain, I love the title track. It is one of the most bounceable, danceable tracks on the album, as well as one of the more innovative ones. Plus the whole villain theme makes you feel like a total badass. Also worth a listen are “Let Me Watch,” which features female rap artist Apani B, and “Saliva.” Please note: That’s the bodily fluid which gives you swine flu when swapped with members of the opposite sex at now-reinstated frat parties, not the hallucinatory drug … I made that (dyslexic) mistake too.
The second album I want to bring to your attention is Madvillainy, by Madvillain, a collaboration of Dumile and artist Madlib. They also recorded the highly originally titled album, Madvillainy 2. Madvillainy has a very similar 1950s Twilight Zone complex, and cartoon-y sound effects (for some reason Who Framed Roger Rabbit? always comes to mind. Maybe purposefully, you never know — the movie certainly has a terrifying madvillain). However, the record branches out a bit more than Vaughn’s Vaudeville Villain in terms of diverse influences. There are remnants of jazz, big band, new age, classic and funk sounds throughout the album, which is an awesome pangaea of a musical coming-together. “Accordian” and “Meat Grinder” both feature brass chorales and swinging bass-lines in an aping of Big Band style, as well as some rather new-age voice distortion. “Raid,” and “Figaro” have real great jazzy piano feels. My favorite tune from the album, “America’s Most Blunted,” (yes, it really is just about Mary J, and rather cleverly so), is again highly dance-y, but in a very complex way. It’s a fantastic mix of sound effects, rap, a swingy-circus-y bass-line and funk vocal techniques. Chillin’ like a villain at its finest.
So, if you’re looking for some good party music that thinks just a little bit outside the box, any of Dumile’s pseudonyms are probably a great way to go. I will admit I have not tried out all seven, but I plan to look up Dumile’s solo act, Metal Fingers, next. Metal Fingers has 10 albums, entitled, respectively, Special Herbs Vols. 0-9. Hey, man. That’s dope, man.