The Mouse and the Mask

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The Mouse and the Mask
Studio album by Danger Doom
Released October 10, 2005 (EU)
October 11, 2005 (US)
Genre Hip hop
Length 39:51
Label Epitaph
#86775
Producer Danger Mouse
Professional reviews
Danger Doom chronology
The Mouse and the Mask
(2005)		 Occult Hymn
(2006)
MF Doom chronology
MM..Food
(2004)		 The Mouse and the Mask
(2005)		 Born Like This
(2009)
Danger Mouse chronology
The Grey Album
(2004)		 The Mouse and the Mask
(2005)		 St. Elsewhere
(2006)
Alternate cover
European cover
Singles from The Mouse and the Mask
  1. "Sofa King"
    Released: October 25, 2005
  2. "Old School"
    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 Epitaph Records in the United States. It was also released by Lex Records in the UK on October 17 2005, with different cover art.

Contents

[edit] 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. (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)" 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 "Soul Thing," 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]

[edit] Reception

Professional reviews

  • Spin (p.62) - Ranked #25 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2005" - "Together, these two dudes are more animated than the cartoon characters who pop up on this disc."
  • Magnet (pp.89–93) - "Wading deep into hip hop's rich history, they deliver a record that conjures the classics without sounding willfully retro."
  • The Wire (pp.55–56) - "[A] frenetic comedy both above and of a kind with its fratboy origins, admirably absurdist in some respects and coolly demented in others."
  • Vibe (p.152) - "[A] headphone-friendly soundtrack...[of] deliciously demented narratives."
  • Mojo (p.120) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he stoned, late-night hilarity is grounded by some deft soundtrack-funk production from Dangermouse..."

[edit] 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

[edit] Track listing

  1. "El Chupa Nibre" (Brian Burton, Daniel Dumile) – 2:40
  2. "Sofa King" (Burton, Dumile) – 2:57
  3. "The Mask" (Burton, Dennis Coles, Dumile) – 3:12
  4. "Perfect Hair" (B. Burton, D. Dumile) – 2:03
  5. "Benzie Box" (B. Burton, D. Dumile, Cee-Lo Green) – 3:00
  6. "Old School" (B. Burton, D. Dumile) – 2:40
  7. "A.T.H.F. (Aqua Teen Hunger Force) " (Burton, Dumile) – 3:03
  8. "Basket Case" (Burton, Dumile) – 2:35
  9. "No Names (Black Debbie)" (Burton, Dumile) – 3:07
    • Appearance by the cast of Sealab 2021
    • Samples "Light 6" by H. Flowers
  10. "Crosshairs" (Burton, Dumile) – 2:27
    • Appearance by Brak and Thundercleese
    • Samples: "Thoughtful Popper" by Don Harper
  11. "Mince Meat" (Burton, Dumile) – 2:33
    • Lyric: "I'll make mince meat out of that [beat] mouse!" sampled from Total Television's Klondike Kat cartoon
  12. "Vats of Urine" (Burton, Dumile) – 1:48
  13. "Space Ho's" (Burton, Dumile) – 3:29
  14. "Bada Bing" (Burton, Dumile) – 4:35

[edit] Album singles

"Sofa King"

  • Released: October 25, 2005
  • B-side: "Mince Meat"

"Old School" (UK Only)

  • Released: July 10, 2006
  • B-side: "Space Ho's (Madlib Remix)" & "Sofa King (Danger Mouse Remix)"

[edit] 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

[edit] Personnel

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Babygrande U.S. Sales Figures as of Thursday, November 6, 2008". http://www.babygrande.com/scoreboard.jsp. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 
v • d • e
Daniel Dumile (MF Doom)
Solo
MF Doom
Viktor Vaughn
King Geedorah
Metal Fingers
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The Mouse and the Mask · Occult Hymn
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See also
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mouse_and_the_Mask"
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