KMD-Black Bastards (1993/2001)

"My friend Josh and I can’t agree on anything. Oh, we can agree on generalities. We both like The Beatles. We both like to read. We both like girls. But it’s the specifics that get in the way, he with his Abbey Road, stacks of books and classy dames and me with my Rubber Soul, three paragraph short stories and women of questionable character. Because of this historical precedent, it absolutely confounds me that we are able to reach a consensus on K.M.D.’s much-slept on Black Bastards. He and I not only think that it’s a great album, we each consider it one of our favorite albums of any genre. The shock probably won’t resonate unless you’ve been on the receiving end of an hours-long Mac-beats-PC lecture.

“Like the maniacal villain that I am.” Though Black Bastards never saw the light of day in the 1990s, it is a quintessential 90s release, building on the jazz and soul-laced production styles mastered by Pete Rock and Q-Tip. The late DJ Subroc is in top form here, layering dusty kicks with the inimitable flow of Zev Love X. Who is Zev? You may not recognize his voice here, but it is the “maniacal villain” Daniel Dumile before the years of alcohol and drug abuse that would ravage his voice. It’s Zev, in particular, Josh and I are able to find common ground on. His tangled rhymes can be playful (“Like Ebeneezer Scrooge I'm rude / My batting average is huge”) and his often dizzying pace invites repeated listens. Unlike the straight-forward deliveries of many of his then contemporaries, Zev Love X speaks more cryptically. Buried under deep bass tones, half the fun of Black Bastards is deciphering lines from the seemingly endless supply of now-famous Dumile wit. There’s something about hearing “Plumskinzz (Loose Hoe, God & Cupid)” months after your first listen and finally hearing “Don't drool with all the juice you dribble / Scribble the beeper code, so the X can gets a nibble” without question.

“I never overdose on my diet of codeine and OE.” Though the subject matter does veer into black nationalism, a river of booze and drugs runs through this land. Counting the number of times O.E. and St. Ides are name checked would require more than fingers and toes. Songs drift by in a buzzed stupor, like the warbling hook of title track and the free jazz drum segues in “Suspended Animation” and into Subroc’s foray into emceeing on “It Sounded Like A Rock!” With “Sweet Premium Wine”, Subroc slips in a Bomb Squad-like siren of a squeal over the floor-rumbling bass groove. There’s enough dust on these cuts to dirty a dining table.

The roughness of the production only adds to the mystique on the Black Bastards saga. The album was shelved indefinitely and its mishandling, coupled with the untimely demise of his brother, sends Zev Love X into the underground, only to emerge years later as a masked supervillain. This is a story you tell grandkids. If current rumors are any indication, Black Bastards may not, in fact, be the last we see of K.M.D, with Dumile rejoining early K.M.D. member Onyx and Black Bastards guest-rapper MF Grimm. But for all intents and purposes, this feels like a swan song. The sped-up sample of Gil Scott-Heron’s “Pieces of a Man” on “What A Nigga Know? (Remix)” sounds like a begrudging epilogue to a career sacrificed at the altar of practical business decisions. If released by Elektra without pause, there is little doubt in my mind (and Josh’s) that Black Bastards holds its own against undisputed classics of its time. Obscurity is the only thing now keeping it from joining the upper echelon of hip-hop."

Dude, I mean come on. MF Doom, pre-mask? How could you not want this lost Hip-Hop classic? Amazing 2nd generation beats, production values and rhyme style. People who like A Tribe Called Quest will especially dig this. But if you're sick of hearing that utter shit rap at almost any party you go, see if you can sneak this on the sound system and watch it wreak havoc. Kause Much Damage indeed.

Smokin' that shit

MF Doom-Operation Doomsday (1999)

HIP HOP CLASSIC ALERT-I don't listen to tons of hip hop or anything but if you don't either or think you hate rap, this guy is the man regardless. What!?

"I was browsing for some new emcees to check out and I came across a man named MF Doom. Rhapsody claimed his sound included elements of Ghostface and RJD2, two of my favorites in the Hip Hop genre, but that wasn’t what appealed to me most. It was MF Doom’s face or rather lack of a face. You see, he wears a Doctor Doom mask, fellow comic book subscribers (or people who went to the movie to see Jessica Alba in a skintight super hero outfit) will know that Doctor Doom is the main villain in the Fantastic Four series. Well, I listened to a couple tracks and was instantly in love with Doom’s mellow, fast raps and relaxing beats and samples. Needless to say I went out and picked up his debut, Operation Doomsday and you are now reading what I think of it.

Operation introduced a fraction of the world to MF Doom’s clever lyricism and classic sounding beats. Unfortunately a large of fraction of the world has not been properly introduced to Doom. That is one of the main goals of this review.

Doom’s voice is one of the best parts about his sound. His voice soothes the soul while it blasts rhymes at about 100 words a minute. Second track Rhymes Like Dimes is a perfect example of this. A soft psychedelic organ sample is looped throughout the song over a fairly standard drum beat. Rhymes like Dimes features some great lyrics.[i] Joker rhymes, like the "Is you just happy to see me?" trick/Classical slap-stick rappers need Chap stick/A lot of 'em sound like they in a talent show/So I give 'em something to remember, like the Alamo.[i] The vocal production sounds like Doom is a DJ on a radio, this seems cool at first but soon begins to get quite annoying. If you can overlook that (or like it) then this is a great song.

One of my biggest problems with Operation Doomsday is the similarities between some tracks. A good portion of the album the beats in these songs always consists of bass, a Fender Rhoades style organ riff and a fairly standard drum beat. The first few songs that fit this mold, Doomsday, Go With the Flow, etc are refreshing and awesome but the formula gets a little annoying when you are listening to the entire record. One good part about similarities between some tracks is the other tracks sound so refreshing Tick, Tick is a great example of this. Tick, Tick’s beat features a fairly sinister wouldn’t be out of place in an late 20’s movie string sample and a drum part that changes tempo every once in a while. Doom’s rapping is great. He isn’t exactly rapping 100 words a minute like Twista but his slower raps get the job done. My only problem with the song is the slowing down/speeding up of the beat can get annoying, but Doom’s clever lyrics save the track. My mind is Heaven's gate so enter me (enter me)/ My mind is the gate ta Hell so try ta flee (try ta flee)/Both gates look da same, which will it be.
Noise, reduced, MF thinks in Dolby/Chop that *** in half like Obi Wan Kenobi/Greatest of all time, God straight up told me/Greatest of all time, the Devil even told me.

Don’t get me wrong even the tracks with slightly samey beats can be amazing. Doomsday features samples of a 60’s electric piano, a girl singing light melodies and of course the obligatory bass and drums. None of these samples are the main focus of this song though. Doom’s rapping is stellar, as close to perfect as I have come upon in my short career as a Hip-Hop fan. Fiddy, Luda and The Game should be ashamed to call what they do rapping after hearing this. Something about Doom’s voice is so appealing, like he’s whispering the rhymes in your ears. An incredible song even if the beat sounds like about a third of this CD.

Every metal album back in the 80’s had to have the ballad. This album features it’s own ballad as well. Red & Gold holds up the ballad spot in this LP. Possibly the most complex beat on the album, R&G’s beat features multiple string samples, bass, electric piano, huge sounding drums, female vocals and even some Indian musical instruments. Doom’s vocals are amazing on this track. He uses his perfect rap voice to bring you lines like No science-fiction to no theater near you, coming soon to/**** with you frequently like how phases of the moon would do/You could gather 'round like it was an eclipse/Just don't look directly to the bitch, you may be blinded by the crips. Quite possibly the best song on the CD.

Operation is full of odd little “Skits”. These skits feature a man talking about a person named Doom in a voice not out of place in an early 40’s movie. The beats that accompany these skits are great. Unlike Eminem’s skits Doom actually creates fairly cool electronica breaks in between his raps. Unfortunately the album features 4 or 5 of these bits which can get quite annoying.

Possibly the most amazing thing about this album is that Doom writes, raps and produces his own stuff. So when you listen to this you don’t hear Doom’s voice over 5 producer’s beats rapping 8 other writer’s songs. All you hear is MF Doom. He’s great at everything too, unlike other rappers who attempt to do everything late in their career cougheminemcough and fail. Doom is great at everything.

Not only is MF Doom a great producer/rapper/lyricist plain and simple, he also is one of the best collaborators in the rap biz. He has collaborated with everyone from Gorillaz (His rap on November Has Come [Demon Days] turned me onto Doom in the first place) to his most recent collaboration, with DJ Danger Mouse (Producer of Demon Days and The Grey Album) under the name DangerDoom. Doom also collaborates on this album, on tracks Who You Think I Am? A barrage of guest MCs throw down over a Doom created beat featuring a flute.

The album ends as it begins on a high note. During the last streak of 5 or so real tracks there isn’t a bad song. Of course there is hardly a bad song on the album."

DOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM