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
"Sofa King" Released: October 25, 2005 "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
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
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 Christgau	A−[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:

• All songs produced by Danger Mouse
• All songs written by Daniel Dumile and Brian Burton except:
  • "The Mask" by Daniel Dumile, Dennis Coles and Brian Burton
  • "Benzie Box" by Daniel Dumile, Brian Burton and Thomas DeCarlo Callaway
  • "Old School" by Daniel Dumile, Brian Burton and Talib Kweli Greene
• "El Chupa Nibre" is named after a monster in Futurama

Samples

• "El Chupa Nibre" contains a sample from "Time Out for Tears" by Chris Connor.
• "Sofa King" contains a sample from "Chamber Pop" by Don Harper.
• "The Mask" contains samples from "Sadness Theme" by Franco Micalizzi, "If Only You Had the Time" by Nova Local and "Rhythm's Dealer" by Ted Atking and His Orchestra.
• "Perfect Hair" contains a sample from "Take Heart" by Geoff Bastow.
• "Old School" contains a sample from "Funky Fanfare" by Keith Mansfield.
• "A.T.H.F." contains a sample from "Next Episode" by Richard Demaria.
• "Basket Case" contains a sample from "Misty Canyon" by Sven Libaek.
• "No Names (Black Debbie)" contains samples from "Light 6" by Herbie Flowers & Barry Morgan and "Eleanor Rigby" by Vanilla Fudge.
• "Crosshairs" contains a sample from "Thoughtful Popper" by Dan Harper.
• "Mince Meat" contains samples from "Get Out of My Life, Woman" by The Fireballs, "Tabu" by Percy Faith & His Orchestra and "Get That Mouse!!!" from Klondike Kat.
• "Space Ho's" contains samples from "Rainmaker" by Harry Nilsson and "Morning Broadway" by Keith Mansfield.
• "Bada Bing" contains a sample from "Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO Speedwagon.

Release Details

Chart Positions

Personnel

• Money Mark – keys

References