Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain (Album Review)

 

Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain

(2003)

My copy: 2022 limited Record Store Day reissue by Get On Down.

Daniel Dumile Thompson is a name that almost feels more like an alias than the English born, Long Island native rapper’s many iconic characters. Viktor Vaughn may be less popular than the MF Doom persona, but Vaudeville Villain is not a record to take lightly by any means. Predating Thompson’s biggest hit in the Madlib produced Madvillainy by just one year, Vaudeville Villain unfortunately feels overshadowed slightly. Though Doom is meant to be Thompson’s main evil-doer role, Viktor Vaughn’s beats and excursions feel more brooding and visceral in general. 

“Vaudeville Villain” is one of the best openers Thompson has ever produced, mixing gnarly growls of distortion with bumping bass and pulsating key blasts. The flow perfectly compliments the hopping, syncopated percussion and the rhymes are as stylish as they are entertaining. Vaudeville Villain is home to a slew of co-producers, but every detail works hand-in-hand to create a cohesive unit. “Lickupon” continues Vaughn’s momentum with a mysterious blend of staccato key samples - hinting at and setting up the time travel themes. Vaughn’s punchlines may be crude, but they are humorous and clever, and sometimes mixed in interesting ways such as the reversed phrase that begins “The Drop.”  The third track is home to a slightly underwhelming beat, though it is an attempt at intentional subtlety that partially pays off. 

“Lactose And Lecithin” dives headfirst into sci-fi themes, now with Thompson’s signature use of chopped samples to advance the narrative of an album. The album concept is undoubtedly similar to Del and Dan The Automator’s ambitious Deltron 3030 project though the mood here is far more humorous and rhyme focused. A bevy of Middle-Eastern samples coat “A Dead Mouse” with a beat that demonstrates interesting dynamics by mixing and matching cymbals and snare types. Twinkling and spacey is the vibe of “Raedawn” before the romantic duet of “Let Me Watch," which makes use of female rapper Apani A to tell a story of adolescent sexual mischief. The two part, multi-faceted skit “Open Mic Night” is as hysterical as it is unique: featuring several rappers and characters with their own distinct flows and beats, culminating in Viktor Vaughn himself crashing the party in part two. 

“Sauva” kicks off the second half of the record with bombastic horn samples, though Vaughn’s rapping is occasionally given breathing room between the dramatic swaths. Sci-fi digital chattering continues into “Modern Day Mugging” and “Never Dead” introduces rapper M. Sayyid as a fellow high schooler who helps Vaughn turn back time through a witch’s spell to retrieve a video game from a bully. Thompson’s lyrical ideas are grand in theory, but humble and frequently comedic in execution - he takes flak for some questionable and goofy rhyme schemes at times, but mostly his work is creative and natural. The tone dials back on “Popsnot” where jazzy bass samples prop up reverberating sax. 

“Mr. Clean” and “G.M.C.” are all about the rhymes, and maintain similar instrumental styles. The bonus track “Change The Beat” is a masterpiece of weird hip-hop tempo changes, as the song moves through five different pieces with Vaughn’s flow shifting slightly to match each new rhythm. Where MF Doom feels like the story of a comic villain who’s got things more figured out through experience, Vaudeville Villain is the tale of an up-and-comer who stumbles through curious instrumental adventures with youthful vigor. The two characters would clash on 2004’s Madvillainy, but Vaughn just might be a touch closer to my heart for his gloomier, more experimental vibe. Sadly, the world lost Thompson in 2020; though his cast of villains live on to terrorize the world through each of their respective libraries.