Prepare for a double dose of DOOM. Also featuring a few side orders of Ghostface Killah.
Originally I was just going to upload one song this week. The problem was that the DOOMSTARKS (The project name for DOOM+Ghost) album is just the same song, four times. I'll get to that album eventually, but for now I'll give you some backstory on DANGERDOOM.
DANGERDOOM is a collaboration from producer Danger Mouse and rapper MF DOOM. After working together on other artists albums (ex. Gorillaz "Demon Days"), they decided to make an album together. So in 2005 they released "The Mouse & The Mask". Which got some critical acclaim, most notably winning a Independent Music Award for Best Hip Hop Album of the Year.
What makes the album so interesting is the involvement of the television group [adultswim]. In between tracks there are short skits performed by characters from their programming block. Some of the funnier moments come from a recurring skit where Master Shake from "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" becomes progressivly angrier at DOOM for not including his rapping on the album. Other Shows that are included and/or mentioned on the album are: Family Guy, Futurama, Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law, Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Perfect Hair Forever. If you've never heard of any of these shows, take a quick second and enjoy some bizarre animation. [adultswim] I look at the record as an experiment in advertising and double entendres, with some hilarious results.
"El Chupa Nibre" is the opening track and is a wonderful example of some of the humour that is provided by the skits. The first line you hear on the album is from Brak (Space Ghost Coast to Coast). He opens the album by asking: "Why did you buy this album? I don't know why you did. You're stupid." Which is followed by Lois Griffin from Family Guy telling Brak to "Go Fuck Yourself". The track is fairly short and is what could probably be considered an introduction to what's going to happen on the album. Which is essentially trying to make a humorous album that includes as many references to the [adultswim] programming.
"Sofa King" follows and is one of the best uses of word play on the entire album. Which makes sense considering the skit that opens and closes the song has an immigrant trying to get the Aqua Teen Hunger Force cast to say "I am Sofa King, We Todd Ed" fast enough that it sounds like they are saying "I am So Fucking Retarded". My favourite part of the song goes:
"Keep your streets. We got the city neatly conquered.
Discreetly with the CD, till' they be completely bonkered!
The fans demanded it, handle it, swallow it,
his own brand of shit, if only he could bottle it...
Nah, things could get messy.
Feds try to torture him for the secret recipe."
I decided to upload "The Mask"because it sort of acts as an origin story for the DOOMSTARKS album that will hopefully be coming out later this year. As you'll hear, the combination of the two really does make them some of the best rappers on the planet. Or as they put it, "superheroes for life until our souls vanish."
"Perfect Hair" is almost literally a description of the show Perfect Hair Forever. So I'm going to skip over it completely. If you don't know anything about the show, it just seems like a bunch of gibberish. Upon further review, it's actually kinda funny.
"Benzie Box" is a favourite song of mine. Not for any specific lyric, but because of the contrast between Cee - Lo Green singing the chorus and DOOM rhyming through the verses. Having the soothing soulful voice in between DOOM's grittier sounding voice is a stoke of genius. Especially at the start of the second verse:
<Cee - Lo>
"His name's DOOM.
They wonder just who is he?
But don't worry, believe me he'll get busy.
When it comes to poetry he's got plenty.
La la la
La la la la la."
<DOOM>
"Eh, if I may interject?
Rap these days is like a pain up in my neck."
"Old School" features Talib Kweli and is probably the most catchy song from the album. It has both Kweli and DOOM looking back at their childhoods and the cartoons they used to watch. with Kweli claiming:
"I might be buggin, but it seem to me,
that cartoons be realer than reality TV.
They inspire my decision to be open and listen,
but fools got it all twisted, like a yoga position."
I'm only half way into the album and I feel like I could talk about it forever. So to save your time and mine, I'm just going to tell you to buy the album. Even though the album is essentially a giant ad for [adultswim], it's still one of the better rap albums of the past decade. Even though DOOM is referring to television shows, some of the lyrics can clearly be seen as a statement of rap music today. Personally, I think he should be included in the top ten on any list involving rap or hip hop. Pretty much any album I have that involves DOOM in a major way, gets a score around 90/100. You don't have to take my word for it though. Here's Mos Def.
Buy it here:
http://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/danger-doom/id271949594
This brings me to the second upload for the week. This is a single that was released in July of 2011 to promote a complete album that both DOOM and Ghostface have been working on since 2007. The release date of the full length album still hasn't been announced. Hopefully it gets the okay soon, because the single sounds amazing. I decided to upload the Madlib Remix because I like it better. I hope you enjoy it too.
Feel free to buy it here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/victory-laps-ep/id449757370
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