Kicked around as a good "underground" rap album.
I used to have mixed feelings about Danger Mouse. The Grey Album is goddamned terrible, and everything after Crazy on the Gnarls Barkley album is middling at best. On the other hand, his album with MF Doom was good-to-great, and his work with Jamer Mercer and The Black Keys proved that he can provide whatever a collaboration needs; his touch on the latter was surprisingly subtle. This album might tip the scales for me.
Some rap production aims to stay out of the way of the MC, just providing some scaffolding to rhyme over. The production here is elaborate and assertive; it distinctly does not stay out of the way. It wields the rapping as a part of the mix, not necessarily putting it on a pedestal. This isn't to say the vocals are marginalized, but they're integreated in a way that makes the rapper just one of the tracks. This is maybe an affront to hip hop purists, but just as music? It works, its exciting, well-paced (thought still super long) and complex. As for the actual rapping, its deft, complex, and confident without being obnoxious - all the stuff I like.
It doesn't quite move me as a rap album though, what with all the overproduction it just doesn't have enough personality. And its too busy and noisy to work as anything background music-y. Its good head bobbing, and generally I like it, but for whatever reason it only feels like it should be a 4/5
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