MF DOOM – Mm…Food? Review

In a year when even the most esteemed artists make disappointing records you start to get the feeling that the future of genuine hip-hop will become bleaker before it becomes brighter. The popularity of mainstream urban music is changing the definition of what it means to make hip-hop music. Many who only receive information through pop culture outlets (like mainstream radio, or music videos) are having their ideas of hip-hop shaped by artists who value money and fame over integrity and creativity. For an artform barely twenty years old, this movement towards commercialism has and will continue to stifle its growth. Whereas most genres of music are simply diluted by commercialism, hip hop is being devalued by it.

This is why those who oppose commercial rap do so in such a vehement manner. It is very painful for those who have seen the glory of hip-hop’s past and those who see the potential of what it will one day be to see it lumbering through this stage of economically influenced mediocrity”¦.but then, on the other hand. This same concern about the fate of hip-hop lights a fire in some who see what needs to be done. And fortunately, all that needs to happen is that someone come along and make hip-hop music that is genuine despite the gangsta posturing and irresponsibility that saturates most of the hip-hop that is consumed today. Its clear that every genre of music needs a John Coltrane, a Marvin Gaye, a Bob Dylan, a Frank Zappa, or a Kurt Cobain. Someone who can bring enough humanity (or in Zappa’s case anti-humanity) to the table that it infuses a sense of substance into a genre that has almost been completely degraded by those who aren’t concerned with its survival. It’s difficult to predict who that will be for hip-hop, but I know that whoever it is will be an MF Doom fan.
If you’re not familiar with him, there’s entirely too much back story to explain here, but there’s nothing inaccessible about him. So if you find yourself thirsty for more Doom upon hearing his latest offering, trust that his catalogue of recordings is growing more rapidly than ever. I think he put out three albums this year alone.

The most important thing to know is that Doom is the most consistently impressive MC in the last five years. His latest release Mm”¦Food? Is fortunately more of the same. If you need MC’s that tell and re-tell tired stories of crack sales, jail time and club life then you’ve probably already figured out that he’s not for you. But if you’re like me and you need a bit more you’ll definitely be pleased.
Its refreshing to hear an offering from an MC that cares so much about the creation of the song and the overall integrity of the music. Maybe the reason that I dig him so much is that I think he just might care as much as I do.

Not to say that his recordings are perfect in the least bit. For one thing his songs seem to sound very unpolished, they have a certain unfiltered quality that makes it sound as if he recorded all of his joints in the bathroom. Also, his flow had developed to the point where its structure has become formulaic, even if the content it anything but.

But I dare any of you”¦.even better I challenge any reader out there to listen to the song “Kookies” enough to actually understand what he’s rhyming about. Then tell me that he isn’t one of the most creative emcees ever for having constructed that tight of a metaphor. Then go back to listening to the Yin Yang twins or whatever drivel satisfied you before.