Emcee of the Month: MF Doom

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

I'll have to be honest, I had very little contact with MF Doom's work for a long time. I was always aware of his talent and ability, but for some reason I just hadn't gotten around to checking out his stuff. It simply wasn't on my radar. Nevertheless, one day I consulted my homie Marcel for some Doom suggestions and he recommended I pick up Madvillainy, Doom's 2004 collaboration album with Madlib.

It was as if I had discovered a new set of colors that I didn't even know existed; like getting eardrum upgrades that allowed me to hear things I had never heard before.

MF Doom rhymes with a wonderfully bizarre and eccentric energy that is unmistakably clever and engaging. His dense and multi-colored literary style almost feels as if he builds his verses in reverse, meticulously retracing the steps through thoughts and ideas in the service of his textual discoveries. He uses really odd phrases, and words that are barely uttered in normal speech, let alone rap lyrics. And somehow, he puts it all together.

MF Doom freestyles have been difficult to find, so allow me to present an appropriate substitute.

"One Beer" from Doom's 2004 album Mm.. Food

peace.

Classic Moments

This simple video is a record of what can only be described as a classic hip hop moment.

The Roots w/ "Weird" Al Yankovic cover "Accordion" by Madvillain

Last week on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon "Weird" Al Yankovic sat in as a guest of The Roots, Jimmy's house band. However, what never airs are the many jam sessions The Roots enjoy with their various guess artists. Fortunately for us, Questlove (The Roots drummer and unofficial mouthpiece) is an extremely generous cat who doesn't mind giving us the behind-the-cameras moments that are so extraordinary.

The lovely thing about this track is that it raises so many more questions for me.

Is "Weird" Al a fan of MF Doom and Madlib?

Did Quest give him the chords to play or did he just start into it?

Was Black Thought there, writing perhaps?

And if he was, why wasn't he rhyming!?

Does this mean we're gonna get a "Weird" Al/Roots/Madvillain performance on the show?

Is Al going to be on the next Roots album?

Are The Roots going to be on the next "Weird" Al album?

Is Al going to do a MF Doom parody?

To be honest, the purpose of these jam sessions is for the musicians to have fun messing around with harmonies and melodies for the sake of practice and fellowship. So many of my questions probably won't be answered; or at least answered the way I want. Nevertheless, this track is simply marvelous and I'm thrilled they put it out here for us.

And Quest's responses are priceless!

peace