Viktor Vaughn VV:2 Venomous Villain

2004 has been quite a year for indie hip hop godfather MF DOOM; from the instant cult classic Madvillainy to his series of successful Special Herbs instrumentals to his usual guest shots on a plethora of 7" platters, and of course the year-long buzz of MM FOOD, DOOM has had plenty on his plate so to speak. We'd hate to think that our favourite metal-faced villain would allow anyone to cash in on his most successful alias to date, trash-talking time traveller Viktor Vaughn, whose MO on the 2002 release Vaudeville Villain consisted of shooting up open mic nights and scouring the galaxy for 24/7 bodegas.

The Viktor Vaughn persona doesn't sport the metal mask - check out Vaughn popping up on Madvillainy as he chastises an unfaithful girlfriend with, "Go ahead, that's you if you want a dude who wear a mask all day" and "when you see Tinhead tell him be duckin' down." While DOOM never has a problem staying in character, Venomous Villain doesn't seem like much of a sequel and at times seems to be cashing in on brand-name recognition.

Four of the twelve tracks listed on VV:2 are only brief interludes and the final track Pop Quiz is a throwaway remix. The fanatics posting on http://www.mfdoomsite.com broke down DOOM/Vaughn's actual contribution to the EP, something like 9 minutes out of 35. News of Vik's return seemed hurried and lacked the typical half-year of gossip, anticipation and inevitable delays. But, IZ-REAL (who DOOM, er, Zev Love X recruited for a new KMD album set for next spring) is listed as executive producer and A&R man, so it's hard to believe DOOM would chew and screw, particularly after studying his thick catalogue, from the 1991 KMD major-label debut Mr. Hood to the cracked genius of Madvillainy alongside west coast producer and fellow weedhead Madlib. And the DOOM message boards deemed the opening line as blatant evidence on the dizzying Back End, "Dub it off your man don't spend that ten bucks, I did it for the advance the back end sucks."

Either way, the tracks highlighting Vik are showstoppers as usual, and his dominate wordplay only reiterates why others should drop the mic when any of DOOM's personas enter the booth. Dope Skill booms with squealing horns and the always braggadocious Vaughn speedily proclaiming, "It's Vik, known to kick a no-joke vocal and given the chance yoke your slow-poke local yokel." But of course the big talk is the inevitable match up with fellow back-to-the future rap veteran/cracked schizophrenic genius Kool Keith on Doper Skiller, who chimes in with a ridiculous, literally shit-talking verse chased by some solid scratches (chopping up BDP's My Philosophy) by DJ Sure Shot. It's a tease, and by album's end will have backpackers scratching their heads asking why the twin bill couldn't provide a full EP of material. The bare-bones bass on Ode to Road Rage provides tasty car speaker fodder, with Viktor literally woofing at his imaginary antagonists, and Bloody Chain tears into a dice game gone wrong, the most streetwise tale yet from the DOOM catalogue, "I'm like my shorty got stabbed for a piece of shit chain I had nabbed off a crab/ Wouldn't give it up so I put one in his ab/ Grabbed the bloody chain and took a cab to the lab/ I knew I shoulda sold it to the A-rab/ My shorty got stabbed off the same bloody chain." Chop-socky sirens careen out of control while Stronghold alumnus Poison Pen (unintentionally coming off like a Ghostface impersonator) lends his vengeful point of view.

The enthralling vibe on Back End and Bloody Chain alone is worth spending that ten bucks on VV:2. Just call it an unofficial appetizer as DOOM continues to focus on expediting the much-anticipated MM FOOD album dropping next month.