The Mouse and the Mask [LP]

by Danger Doom

Overview

Rapping with cartoon characters was artistic suicide until Gorillaz dropped a bomb in 2001 with a platinum album and what turned out to be a surprisingly long shelf life. Next out of the box is Danger Doom, the stunning and welcome collaboration of two of hip-hop's most innovative artists, both of whom already have close ties to the world of animation -- Danger Mouse not only named himself after a cartoon but is also a part-time Gorillaz beatmaker, and the rapper MF Doom has imagined himself variously as a comic-book character and fire-breathing monster-movie hero (not to mention, he's rarely photographed without wearing an iron mask that makes him look like an early version of the Marvel supervillain Doctor Doom). Their partners for The Mouse and the Mask are the characters of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block, a cast whose creators share with Danger Mouse and MF Doom the same influences (obscure '70s superheroes, some making a resurgence on Adult Swim) and motivations (a parade of surrealist fantasies intersecting with real life, like the crusading happy meal that airs on Cartoon Network as Aqua Teen Hunger Force). Granted, none of these cartoon characters are rappers, and they're wisely given only backgrounds, transitions, or samples (all of them hilarious). No, it's the experts who handle nearly all of this record, and they're at the top of their game. Doom's dense flow and ciphered allusions have much in common with Adult Swim; both presuppose a large body of cultural knowledge to appreciate what's going on and both rely on a series of bankable eccentricities presented at light speed with high artistry and innumerable subtleties for later parsing by fans. Danger Mouse's productions have the same punch and catchy flair as on Gorillaz's Demon Days, but they're even more impressive here with the absence of Damon Albarn's interference and need to court a pop audience. He calls on the same type of rollerskating pianos, brassy fanfares, flutes, vibraphones, and cavernous drum loops that anyone of a certain age will recall from Fat Albert or Electric Company. It all adds up to the best album of the year in the hip-hop underground, and perhaps the best with any degree of popularity. ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	08/21/2015
Label:	Lex
UPC:	0801061536015
Rank:	10511

Tracks

Disc 1

1. El Chupa Nibre
2. Sofa King
3. Mask
4. Perfect Hair
5. Benzi Box
6. Old School Rules
7. Aqua Teen Hunger Force

Disc 2

8. Basket Case
9. No Names (Black Debbie)
10. Crosshairs
11. Mince Meat
12. Vats of Urine
13. Space Hos
14. Bada Bing

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Danger Doom   Primary Artist
CeeLo Green   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Talib Kweli   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Ghostface Killah   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Black Thought   Featured Artist
Zorak   Guest Artist
Vincent Price   Featured Artist
Mark Linkous   Bass
Master Shake   Guest Artist
Brak   Guest Artist
Aqua Teen Hunger Force   Guest Artist
Monkey Mark   Keyboards
Harvey Birdman   Guest Artist
The Cast of Sealab 2010   Guest Artist
Mooninites   Guest Artist
Space Ghost   Guest Artist

Technical Credits

CeeLo Green   Composer
Dennis Coles   Composer
Madlib   Remix Engineer
Brian Burton   Composer
Morgan Garcia   Engineer
Daniel Dumile Thompson   Composer
Jason DeMarco   Executive Producer