"Madvillainy" was produced almost entirely by Madlib, except the first track, which he produced in collaboration with Doom. On the album, Madlib incorporates his distinctive production style, based on using samples, mostly obscure, from albums recorded in different countries. Aside from sampling records by American artists, namely from jazz and soul, Madlib also used Indian (for example, "Shadows of Tomorrow" samples "Hindu Hoon Main Na Musalman Hoon" by R. D. Burman) and Brazilian records ("Curls" samples "Airport Love Theme" by Waldir Calmon) for "Madvillainy". In regards to Madlib's production on the album, he stated in an interview: