Send "MF DOOM " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 Whether a classic archetype like Superman or a self-fashioned alter ego like Bobby Digital, embodying a comic-book figure holds a large appeal in hip-hop, an art form driven by mythology and boasting of superhuman capability. But Daniel Dumile might be the only rapper who based his persona on a supervillain whose origin story sounds uncannily like his own. To recap: While a promising student at Empire State University, Fantastic Four nemesis Victor Von Doom conducted experiments attempting to communicate with the dead, and a resulting explosion completely deformed his face. After roaming the world and studying under monks in Tibet, he built a suit of armor with a matching mask to protect him as he sought the destruction of those at fault for his disfigurement.Meanwhile, Dumile, then known as Zev Love X in early-90s rap group K.M.D., suffered the loss of his brother and musical partner DJ Subroc, who was hit by a car. That same week, K.M.D. were dropped from their label when the cover art of their Black Bastards LP proved controversial. Retreating from hip-hop completely, Dumile plotted his revenge on an industry that had broken him spiritually. This meant performing in lyricist lounges with his face completely obscured; all the while, his legend grew as bootleg copies of Black Bastards make the rounds. Then, in 1999, after the release of a couple of singles on Bobbito's Fondle 'Em Records, came Operation: Doomsday, an instant cult classic that now gets a well-curated and altogether fun reissue courtesy of MF Doom's own Metal Face label. Doomsday was birthed at a pivotal point in rap's trajectory-- at the height of the record industry's boom years. Bad Boy's commercial reign was giving purists plenty to carp over, but it still had crate-digging production and New York rappers in its midst. But soon after, rawer collectives like Ruff Ryders and Ca$h Money subsequently took hip-hop to a more hedonistic, nihilistic, and violent place, with Swizz Beatz, Mannie Fresh, the Neptunes, and Timbaland commandeering a clean break from traditionalist, sample-based production. This opened a lane for underground crews who often defined themselves in opposition of these artists: Anticon and Def Jux sought to completely dismantle hip-hop with abrasive sonics and intimidatingly dense lyrics, while Rawkus and Okayplayer had the magnetic personalities and smooth musicianship to be inside operatives potentially bringing mainstream rap to a more positive place. On the title track, Doom announces his intent instead to "destroy rap." Operation: Doomsday doesn't sound like much of a manifesto, though: You may have come for the street cred, but you didn't stay for any hang-ups about authenticity or the state of the genre. That's mostly due to the sonic template established here, chunky and proudly un-quantized drums meeting samples you might hear at your dentist's office or on hold with your cable company: saxes, flutes, and smooth, vintage synths. While the autumnal, twinkling backdrops of "Doomsday" or the Coral Sitar-laced "Red and Gold" wouldn't upset tables at your local coffee shop, they provide a truly symbiotic relationship with the paradoxically gruff and calm persona Doom manifests here, where the villainy is more implied than anything...full text |
| Sputnikmusic |
| My life has had many different phases. I started out with the Power Ranger phases then moved on to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles after a few years I moved to the next logical step: Comic Books. There was Spiderman, X-Men and an early favorite the Fantastic Four. Well, I eventually moved on from Comic Books and Skateboarding into music. With Music it started out as Pop-Punk then Indie and finally I grew quite a liking for a genre I never would have thought of myself to like in my days as an Indie Fanatic: Hip-Hop. I started out with more electronic stuff like DJ Shadow and RJD2 and then moved into stuff like the Roots and Common. Well one day 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 ass in half like Obi Wan Kenobi/Greatest of all time, God straight up told me/Greatest of all time, the Devil even told me....full text |
| Hiphopdx |
| Operation Doomsday's return to retail is a welcomed history lesson, a study of isolation, as well as a reminder in just how fun and powerful Hip Hop and can be. One of the crown jewels of the underground Hip Hop glory years is MF DOOM's 1999 album, Operation Doomsday. The KMD front-man returned from hiatus with no desire to show his face, but a linguistic outlet that elevated him to one of the greatest emcees of the last decade. Confined to a crate of sample references, a few close associates and six years of pain, drinking, and a bout with homelessness after the loss of his brother Subroc, DOOM emerged as a stream of conscious enigma. His simple productions and complex rhyme schemes made him a cult classic, propelling him to the masses with a persona and mystique that both opened doors and provided closure. Remastered and packaged by Metal Face (in conjunction with Stones Throw Records) with a metal lunchbox, this relic, as it has before, returns to retail, as a testament to Indie Rap's greatness, collectibility and an offering to new fans, hoping to get "dead bent" with the drunken master. Unlike past re-pressings, Stones Throw actually remastered DOOM's solo classic. It's arguable that both DOOM and Bobbito's Fondle 'Em Records intended for the original to sound sparse, dubbed and dirty. Just as they've done with archival recordings by Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf and slews of compilations, the Stones Throw crew was careful not to make DOOM's isolated masterpiece sound like it was made in any semblance of a big studio. Instead, the muddied recordings are simply crisper for the ear and quality is enhanced as DOOM and Bob may have intended, had this project had a few extra dollars behind it, and come to CD in larger run. Moreover, this edition deeds all bootleg notions. 42 tracks in total compiled the minor nuances of the vinyl single versions of popular songs, include instrumentals, and even some alternate versions, which in the case of "?" and "Go With The Flow" are raw recordings of ciphers, impromptu sessions and the kind of spontaneity that made this album, and this time in Hip Hop so damn exciting. It could be the collector-savvy packaging (complete with trading cards), the remaster or just the 12 years of resonance, but Operation Doomsday finally gets the presentation and attention it deserves. As arguably DOOM's finest hour, the release is definitively late '90s New York, and with all of its technical mastery, still sounds like effortless music-making. Guests such as Kurious Jorge, MF Grimm and Bobbito's own Cucumber Slice alias make this work an interesting intersection of early '90s emcees adapting to the Fat Beats-era of Hip Hop, as the birth of Monsta Island Czars and DOOM's '00s-era entourage pivot towards the King Geedorah, Viktor Vaughn and Madvillain years. That link between DOOM's KMD years and his Internet-era resurgence makes this album so special, and such a pleasure to revisit....full text |
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