The Mouse and the Mask

The Mouse and the Mask (stylized as THE MOUSE & THE MASK) is the only studio album by Danger Doom, a collaboration between the hip hop artists Danger Mouse and MF Doom. It was released in Europe on October 10, 2005, and on October 11, 2005 by the independent punk label Epitaph Records in the United States. It was also released by Lex Records in the UK on October 17, 2005, with different cover art.

The Mouse and the Mask
Studio album by Danger Doom
Released	October 10, 2005
Recorded	2003–2005
Genre	Underground hip hop
Length	39:51
Label	Lex Epitaph Metalface Records
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" Released: July 10, 2006 (UK Only)

Concept

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.

Master Shake, Frylock, Meatwad, Carl Brutananadilewski, Ignignokt, and Err from the Adult Swim show Aqua Teen Hunger Force all make appearances on The Mouse and the Mask. References to other Adult Swim shows are found in the song "El Chupa Nibre", in which the voices of Brak (from Space Ghost Coast to Coast and The Brak Show) and Lois Griffin (from Family Guy) are heard. Both the song's title and its lines "Chew an MC like El Chupa Nibre/Digest a group and sell the poop on eBay" reference the show Futurama.

Two songs, "Perfect Hair" and "A.T.H.F.", are direct references on the shows from which they derive their names, Perfect Hair Forever and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The song "Basket Case" also has Harvey Birdman, Mentok the Mind taker, and other characters in the show Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law, another show on Adult Swim. The song "Sofa King" is also an Aqua Teen Hunger Force reference. It features the Aqua Teen Hunger Force cast and BillyWitchDoctor.com from the episode "Video Ouija."

"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.

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, titled "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.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Austin Chronicle	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[4]
The Guardian	[5]
Los Angeles Times	[6]
Pitchfork	7.8/10[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Spin	B[9]
Uncut	[10]
The Village Voice	A−[11]

The Mouse and the Mask was met with overwhelming favorable reviews from critics, scoring 81 out of 100 on the review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim".^[1] 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.".^[12] Entertainment Weekly gave it an A−, calling it a "hip-hop tour-de-farce".^[4] 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..."^[13]

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 act 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".

Danger Doom was awarded Hip-Hop Album of the Year by PLUG Independent Music Awards for their album The Mouse and the Mask. As of November 6, 2008 the album has sold 170,081 copies.^[14]

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
  • "Benzi Box" by Daniel Dumile, Brian Burton and Thomas DeCarlo Callaway
  • "Old School" by Daniel Dumile, Brian Burton and Talib Kweli Greene

No.	Title	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"El Chupa Nibre"	MF Doom Master Shake	2:40
2.	"Sofa King"	MF Doom Aqua Teen Hunger Force	2:57
3.	"The Mask"	MF Doom Ghostface Killah Brak and Zorak	3:12
4.	"Perfect Hair"	MF Doom Master Shake	2:03
5.	"Benzi Box"	MF Doom Cee Lo Green	3:00
6.	"Old School"	MF Doom Talib Kweli Aqua Teen Hunger Force	2:40
7.	"A.T.H.F."	MF Doom Aqua Teen Hunger Force	3:03
8.	"Basket Case"	MF Doom the cast of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law	2:35
9.	"No Names"	MF Doom the cast of Sealab 2021	3:07
10.	"Crosshairs"	MF Doom Brak Thundercleese	2:27
11.	"Mince Meat"	MF Doom	2:33
12.	"Vats of Urine"	MF Doom Mooninites	1:48
13.	"Space Ho's"	MF Doom Space Ghost	3:29
14.	"Bada Bing"	MF Doom Aqua Teen Hunger Force	4:35

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

In May 2017, MF DOOM's label, Metalface Records, released The Mouse and the Mask: Metalface Edition. This deluxe vinyl reissue included the full original album, the Occult Hymn EP, and previously unreleased tracks "Spokesman" and "Mad Nice" featuring Black Thought.^[15]

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

Personnel

• Mark Linkous – bass guitar (track 3)
• Money Mark – keyboards (track 9)
• Jason DeMarco – executive producer
• Michael Schmelling – photography
• Virginia Consea – photography
• George Ella Rose – artwork
• Jacob Escobedo – artwork
• Gene Grimaldi – mastering