What a wonderful summer I’m having so far. I’ve been attempting to juggle some of the finest hip-hop recordings in the last month. First, Gold Chains got my feet moving and heart pumping with his futuristic hip-hop on Young Miss America. Then it was followed by Dizzee Rascal’s mind-blowing, garage-fuelled 2-step raucous on Boy In Da Corner. Finally, Madlib brings it back to basics with his jazz reconstruction, Shades of Blue. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, MF Doom reappears from the shadows of underground hip-hop to tell a tale of extra-terrestrial proportions. MF Doom serves the ‘gas face’ to the inventor of hip-hop aliases Kool Keith and reinvents himself as the fierce and truthful King Geedorah, an earth-travelling space monster.
King Geedorah’s Take Me To Your Leader is the story of reality. As a listener, you are exposed to several issues of today’s society and our lack of character as a whole is exposed in front of our very own eyes. Racial issues and abandoned children are only a few subjects unravelled as the album progresses. MF Doom’s delivery is tight and on point, serving up strong and knowledgeable lyrics. And his beats are progressively improving, mixing intricate samples and loops with jazz-tinged drums and intertwines various instruments, including saxophone and piano. Adding constructive vocal samples to create the aura of King Geedorah, MF Doom has mastered his very hip-hopera. Credited for the mixing, arranging, producing and writing of the entire album, MF Doom has proven that he is one of today’s elite hip-hop artists.
Take Me To Your Leader is a hip-hop classic. It is the perfect musical achievement between Nas’ Illmatic and Dr. Octagon’s Dr. Octagonacologyst. King Geedorah is this summer’s hottest hip-hop release. MF Doom continues to pour his soul into his work, improving his sound and delivery album after album. And no matter what alias he goes by next, he has certainly come a long way since his days as KMD’s Zev Love X. "The Gas Face" to anyone who passed on Take Me To Your Leader.
1. Fazers
2. Fastlane
3. Krazy world
4. The final hour
5. Monster zero
6. Next Levels
7. No snakes
8. Anti-Matter
9. Take me to your leader
10. Lockjaw
11. I wonder
12. One smart nigger
13. The fine print