The Mouse and the Mask

The Mouse and the Mask
Studio album by Danger Doom
Released October 10, 2005 (EU)
October 11, 2005 (United States)
Recorded 2003-2005
Genre Underground hip hop
Length 39:51
Label Lex / Epitaph
#86775
Producer Danger Mouse
Danger Doom chronology
The Mouse and the Mask
(2005)		 Occult Hymn
(2006)
MF Doom chronology
Mm.. Food
(2004)		 The Mouse and the Mask
(2005)		 Occult Hymn
(2006)
Danger Mouse chronology
The Grey Album
(2004)		 The Mouse and the Mask
(2005)		 Occult Hymn
(2006)
Alternative cover
European cover
Singles from The Mouse and the Mask
  1. "Sofa King"
    Released: October 25, 2005
  2. "Old School (UK Only)"
    Released: July 10, 2006

The Mouse and the Mask is a collaboration album by Danger Mouse and MF Doom under the name Danger Doom, released on October 11, 2005 by punk label Epitaph Records in the United States, marking it the third hip hop release for the label. It was also released by Lex Records in the UK on October 17, 2005, with different cover art.

Concept and History

The album is composed almost entirely of raps by MF DOOM, performed over beats created by Danger Mouse sampling music from various television shows airing on Cartoon Network's programming block Adult Swim. The album was heavily promoted by the network prior to its release.

"Sofa King" was released as a 12-inch single on November 4, 2005 and was followed by "Old School" on July 10, 2006. A video for "A.T.H.F." has also been made.

Comedian Dave Chappelle created an iTunes Celebrity Playlist and selected the Danger Doom track "Mince Meat" for his Block Party Picks. He stated, "Two very consistently good artists collaborate to make my head nod. Doom, Mouse - Thank You. Wherever you are, nice album." MF DOOM mentions Chappelle in the song "Peoples, Places, and Things" (called "Name Dropping" on his CD "Live from Planet X"). Doom says "Rap cats at brave as hell/Get on the mic and turn 'Gangsta!' on some 'yeah, see' like Dave Chappelle." in reference to a bit Chappelle performed in his stand up "Killin' Them Softly".

MF DOOM disses MF Grimm in this album by referring to the Monsta Island Czars (aka M.I.C.) as 'Midgets Into Crunk' in the song "El Chupa Nibre" (on the paraphrased remix version the line is changed to 'Monkeys Into Crime'). Grimm responded by releasing an entire DOOM diss track, entitled "Book of Daniel" (which concludes his 2006 triple album American Hunger), in which he mainly accuses Doom of having sold out.

"Old School" features a mix of Keith Mansfield's song "Funky Fanfare," and "Space Ho's" sample Mansfield's "Morning Broadway."

The rap that Meatwad performs at the end of "Bada Bing" is a verse from "Beef Rapp", the first song on MF DOOM's album MM..Food.

As of November 6, 2008 the album has sold 170,081 copies.[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
AllHipHop.com[3]
HipHopAve.net[4]
Okayplayer[5]
PopMatters(8/10)[6]
RapReviews.com(8.5/10)[7]
Slant[8]
Pitchfork Media(7.8/10)[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Robert ChristgauA−[11]

The album was well received by critics, scoring 81/100 on the review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim".[12] Spin ranked it 25 on their "40 Best Albums Of 2005", and said that "together, these two dudes are more animated than the cartoon characters who pop up on this disc.".[13] Entertainment Weekly gave it an A-, calling it a "hip-hop tour-de-farce".[14] Magnet said "wading deep into hip hop's rich history, they deliver a record that conjures the classics without sounding willfully retro". The Wire called it "[a] frenetic comedy both above and of a kind with its fratboy origins, admirably absurdist in some respects and coolly demented in others" and Vibe similarly said "[a] headphone-friendly soundtrack...[of] deliciously demented narratives." Mojo gave it 3 out of 5 stars, noting "the stoned, late-night hilarity is grounded by some deft soundtrack-funk production from Dangermouse..."


Track listing

Notes:

No. TitlePerformer(s) Length
1. "El Chupa Nibre"  MF Doom, Master Shake 2:40
2. "Sofa King"  MF Doom, Aqua Teen Hunger Force 2:57
3. "The Mask"  MF Doom, Ghostface Killah, Brak and Zorak 3:12
4. "Perfect Hair"  MF Doom, Master Shake 2:03
5. "Benzie Box"  MF Doom, Cee Lo Green 3:00
6. "Old School"  MF Doom, Talib Kweli, Aqua Teen Hunger Force 2:40
7. "A.T.H.F"  MF Doom, Aqua Teen Hunger Force 3:03
8. "Basket Case"  MF Doom, the cast of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law 2:35
9. "No Names"  MF Doom, the cast of Sealab 2021 3:07
10. "Crosshairs"  MF Doom, Brak, Thundercleese 2:27
11. "Mince Meat"  MF Doom 2:33
12. "Vats of Urine"  MF Doom, Mooninites 1:48
13. "Space Ho's"  MF Doom, Space Ghost 3:29
14. "Bada Bing"  MF Doom, Aqua Teen Hunger Force 4:35

Release Details

Country Date Label Format Catalog
United States October 11, 2005 Epitaph Records CD 86775
LP 86775
United Kingdom October 17, 2005 Lex Records CD LEX036CD
LP LEX036LP

Chart Positions

Chart (2005) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 41
U.S. Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums 31
U.S. Top Independent Albums 2

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Babygrande U.S. Sales Figures as of Thursday, November 6, 2008". Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  2. ↑ Allmusic review
  3. ↑ AllHipHop.com review
  4. ↑ HipHopAve.net review
  5. ↑ Okayplayer review
  6. ↑ PopMatters review
  7. ↑ RapReviews.com review
  8. ↑ Slant review
  9. ↑ Pitchfork Media review
  10. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  11. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  12. ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/music/the-mouse-and-the-mask Metacritic review
  13. ↑ http://www.spin.com/articles/40-best-albums-2005?page=0%2C1 Spin Best Albums 2005
  14. ↑ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1114691,00.html Entertainment weekly review
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