Yesterday, Billboard reported that veteran underground rap producer Madlib had filed a lawsuit against his former manager, Eothen Alapatt — better known to rap fans as Egon of Stones Throw Records. According to Madlib’s lawsuit, Egon used his role as an executive at Stones Throw to self-deal, claiming profits for himself that were otherwise due to Madlib.
Madlib allegedly trusted Egon to set up two entities: Madicine Show, which would handle Madlib’s musical interests, and Rapp Cats, which would manage sales of Madlib’s merchandise. The producer says that he recently learned that Egon was abusing his privileged position by skimming profits for himself, either hiding accounts or providing false accounts of his work to Madlib about his compensation, and not giving written agreements to his business partner.
In another example of his alleged mismanagement, Egon supposedly secured a single lawyer and accountant to represent both partners in the two enterprises, then instructed them not to work with Madlib and only deal with him, even after Madlib secured new representation of his own. After reviewing accounts from 2018-2022, Madlib says his new team found irregularities and lack of hard copy that amounted to “several hundred thousand dollars” listed as “‘consulting,’ ‘commissions,’ ‘fees’ or ‘reimbursements’” for Egon.
‘Lib also accused Egon of locking him out of his digital accounts for services like Apple Music, Bandcamp, and Ingrooves, allowing Egon to take half of the producer’s royalties. Madlib’s complaint says he “demanded that Madicine Show and Rapp Cats be wound up and dissolved,” and that Egon instead told Madlib to buy him out.
Egon was also sued last year by the widow of the late MF DOOM, whose Madvillainy album with Madlib was put out through Stones Throw during Egon’s time there. Jasmine Dumile claimed Egon refused to return DOOM’s rhyme books, insisting on donating them to a digital archive rather than keep them secret as DOOM intended. Egon has derided that claim as “baseless and libelous” through his attorneys, but has yet to respond to Madlib’s newly filed suit.
Few albums have achieved the cult status and enigmatic allure of Madvillainy. Likewise, not many albums are as anticipated as the long-awaited follow-up album, Madvillainy 2. The brainchild of Madlib and the late MF DOOM, the first album is a collaborative masterpiece that defied convention and continues to inspire. It’s no surprise fans have patiently waited, hoping and praying for Madvillainy 2 to drop. However, so far, the sequel album has eluded listeners even though its creators have said it exists.
Madvillainy turns 20 on March 18th, 2024, so evidently, fans have been waiting quite a while for Madvillainy 2. Following the unfortunate passing of MF DOOM in 2020, however, the optimism is slowly waning. Since Doom’s death, more and more fans have been left wondering if the album will ever be released. While some have completely lost hope, there is still a slight chance that listeners will get to experience Madvillainy 2 sometime in the future. Here are the updates the duo has given us about the album over the years.
2009: Exciting News Of A Sequel
On March 24, 2004, the supergroup Madvillain released their critically acclaimed debut album Madvillainy. It remains their sole album and it is widely regarded as a classic in Hip Hop circles. Fans have clamored for a continuation of the musical gem, and for a while, they were met with silence. However, in 2009, they finally received some very exciting news about Madvillainy 2. Stones Throw, the label that released Madvillainy, announced that the duo would reunite on the sequel album. Although no timeline for release was given, this news was enough to keep fans going.
2011: MF DOOM’s Interview With The Red Bull Music Academy
Subsequently, in late 2011, fans got another update about the possible release of Madvillainy 2. During an interview with the Red Bull Music Academy in November 2011, MF DOOM spilled the tea. The rapper shared that he and Madlib had been working on the album for a while and that it has been nearly done for about two years. Although he didn’t give a specific date for the album’s release, he did say that it should be out “soon.” According to DOOM, he wasn’t done with his part on the album, at the time. However, he disclosed that he would probably finish his part on Madvillainy 2 sometime in January 2012.
2012: MF DOOM Spills On BBC Radio 1
January 2012 went by, and fans hoped that meant that DOOM had finished with his part on Madvillainy 2. Many diehard fans who had seen the Red Bull interview were confident that a release date would finally be announced sometime soon. However, that was unfortunately not the case. After hearing nothing from Madvillain, fans finally got the next update about Madvillainy 2 in September 2012. During an appearance on Benji B’s late-night BBC Radio 1 show, which he co-hosted, DOOM shared that he only had to “touch up a couple of tracks” on the album. The rapper then said that there was still a possibility that the album would drop in late 2012. According to him, it depended on when Madvillain’s label, Stones Throw, would choose to release the project.
2014: Madlib’s Interview With Dazed
On January 9, 2014, Dazed published their interview with Madlib. Among the many things the DJ and producer spoke about, Madvillainy 2 was arguably the most exciting for fans. However, the news he shared about the album was not exactly what fans had hoped they would hear. When Madlib was asked about the album, he admitted that it was yet to be completed.
“I’m not forcing him to do it. He doesn’t even have to do it,” Madlib said referring to DOOM. “I just want to know where we are at with it because we recorded like, 10, 13 songs, but out of those we probably only used 4, so I want to see how the recordings are going. It’s not close to finished because it has to be a continuation of the last one. It doesn’t have to be better or worse but it has to be a continuation,” he added.
2021: Peanut Butter Wolf Spills The Beans
Apparently, the album was 85% done, according to Stones Throw Records founder, Peanut Butter Wolf. In a 2021 interview with Pete Rosenberg and Cipha Sounds on the Juan Ep Is Dead podcast, Wolf explained that DOOM submitted 11 songs for Madvillainy 2, though he wanted to add a few more records. “DOOM was always telling me ‘It’s 85% done, it’s 85% done.’ That was the magic number,” Wolf said, though he eventually began growing impatient. “I got a little frustrated, and I was just like, you know, ‘It’s gonna happen when it’s gonna happen.’ I don’t wanna be the guy to force creativity or anything.” However, he admitted that he wasn’t sure if those songs would ever see the light of day.
2023: Madlib’s Appearance On Hot 97
In March 2023, Madlib made an appearance on Hot 97 with Talib Kweli to promote their joint album, Liberation 2. While the aforementioned project was the primary reason for the interview, Madlib did give fans a new update on Madvillainy 2. This was several years after DOOM’s passing, and many fans had lost hope that the project would be released. However, Madlib successfully revived the excitement in the hearts of some fans.
“It’s more like a demo to me because we didn’t piece it together or anything and some of them it sounds like he just did one take and that’s it. [But] I’m gonna finish it. I gotta change a lot of the beats because some of the beats were used also,” he said. While there still is no release timeline or specific date, that’s a very clear confirmation from Madlib that Madvillainy 2 is still on the way. It may arrive later than we’d hoped it would, but according to Madlib, the album will come out sometime.
Few albums have achieved the cult status and enigmatic allure of Madvillainy. Likewise, not many albums are as anticipated as the long-awaited follow-up album, Madvillainy 2. The brainchild of Madlib and the late MF DOOM, the first album is a collaborative masterpiece that defied convention and continues to inspire. It’s no surprise fans have patiently waited, hoping and praying for Madvillainy 2 to drop. However, so far, the sequel album has eluded listeners even though its creators have said it exists.
Madvillainy turns 20 on March 18th, 2024, so evidently, fans have been waiting quite a while for Madvillainy 2. Following the unfortunate passing of MF DOOM in 2020, however, the optimism is slowly waning. Since Doom’s death, more and more fans have been left wondering if the album will ever be released. While some have completely lost hope, there is still a slight chance that listeners will get to experience Madvillainy 2 sometime in the future. Here are the updates the duo has given us about the album over the years.
2009: Exciting News Of A Sequel
On March 24, 2004, the supergroup Madvillain released their critically acclaimed debut album Madvillainy. It remains their sole album and it is widely regarded as a classic in Hip Hop circles. Fans have clamored for a continuation of the musical gem, and for a while, they were met with silence. However, in 2009, they finally received some very exciting news about Madvillainy 2. Stones Throw, the label that released Madvillainy, announced that the duo would reunite on the sequel album. Although no timeline for release was given, this news was enough to keep fans going.
2011: MF DOOM’s Interview With The Red Bull Music Academy
Subsequently, in late 2011, fans got another update about the possible release of Madvillainy 2. During an interview with the Red Bull Music Academy in November 2011, MF DOOM spilled the tea. The rapper shared that he and Madlib had been working on the album for a while and that it has been nearly done for about two years. Although he didn’t give a specific date for the album’s release, he did say that it should be out “soon.” According to DOOM, he wasn’t done with his part on the album, at the time. However, he disclosed that he would probably finish his part on Madvillainy 2 sometime in January 2012.
2012: MF DOOM Spills On BBC Radio 1
January 2012 went by, and fans hoped that meant that DOOM had finished with his part on Madvillainy 2. Many diehard fans who had seen the Red Bull interview were confident that a release date would finally be announced sometime soon. However, that was unfortunately not the case. After hearing nothing from Madvillain, fans finally got the next update about Madvillainy 2 in September 2012. During an appearance on Benji B’s late-night BBC Radio 1 show, which he co-hosted, DOOM shared that he only had to “touch up a couple of tracks” on the album. The rapper then said that there was still a possibility that the album would drop in late 2012. According to him, it depended on when Madvillain’s label, Stones Throw, would choose to release the project.
2014: Madlib’s Interview With Dazed
On January 9, 2014, Dazed published their interview with Madlib. Among the many things the DJ and producer spoke about, Madvillainy 2 was arguably the most exciting for fans. However, the news he shared about the album was not exactly what fans had hoped they would hear. When Madlib was asked about the album, he admitted that it was yet to be completed.
“I’m not forcing him to do it. He doesn’t even have to do it,” Madlib said referring to DOOM. “I just want to know where we are at with it because we recorded like, 10, 13 songs, but out of those we probably only used 4, so I want to see how the recordings are going. It’s not close to finished because it has to be a continuation of the last one. It doesn’t have to be better or worse but it has to be a continuation,” he added.
2021: Peanut Butter Wolf Spills The Beans
Apparently, the album was 85% done, according to Stones Throw Records founder, Peanut Butter Wolf. In a 2021 interview with Pete Rosenberg and Cipha Sounds on the Juan Ep Is Dead podcast, Wolf explained that DOOM submitted 11 songs for Madvillainy 2, though he wanted to add a few more records. “DOOM was always telling me ‘It’s 85% done, it’s 85% done.’ That was the magic number,” Wolf said, though he eventually began growing impatient. “I got a little frustrated, and I was just like, you know, ‘It’s gonna happen when it’s gonna happen.’ I don’t wanna be the guy to force creativity or anything.” However, he admitted that he wasn’t sure if those songs would ever see the light of day.
2023: Madlib’s Appearance On Hot 97
In March 2023, Madlib made an appearance on Hot 97 with Talib Kweli to promote their joint album, Liberation 2. While the aforementioned project was the primary reason for the interview, Madlib did give fans a new update on Madvillainy 2. This was several years after DOOM’s passing, and many fans had lost hope that the project would be released. However, Madlib successfully revived the excitement in the hearts of some fans.
“It’s more like a demo to me because we didn’t piece it together or anything and some of them it sounds like he just did one take and that’s it. [But] I’m gonna finish it. I gotta change a lot of the beats because some of the beats were used also,” he said. While there still is no release timeline or specific date, that’s a very clear confirmation from Madlib that Madvillainy 2 is still on the way. It may arrive later than we’d hoped it would, but according to Madlib, the album will come out sometime.
