Adult Swim has announced it will be releasing 15 – yes, 15 – never-before-heard DOOM tracks over the next 15 weeks.
The tracks were allegedly received as a folder called “The Missing Notebook Rhymes”, and they consist of original tracks and upcoming songs that contain guest verses from metalface himself.
While no tracklist has been shared, we’re told to expect one track from Jay Electronica, and the first track to be released has been taken from the great Sean Price‘s forthcoming posthumous album iMPERIUS REX.
You heard that right. Listen to Sean Price’s Negus ft. DOOM right now. In short, it’s really, really, really good:
Adult Swim went on to say that “these missing notebooks were last seen at the METALFACE L.A. office when DOOM was denied entry into the US 7 years ago.” It also links to a website (which looks like a DOOM-specific music blog and merch store) to contact “if you have any information on the whereabouts of these notebooks”.
Whether this is just a bit of playful lore to accompany the release, or whether it’s actually true, is anyone’s guess, but it does put into question the ‘newness’ of the tracks. Given that we’d do just about anything for 15 new slices of DOOM, we don’t really care either way.
MF DOOM has returned to his 2003 persona King Geedorah to release a new mix for Ninja Tune’s radio program Solid Steel. King Geedorah first appeared on 2003’s Take Me To Your Leader.
Earlier this year, the elusive artist also appeared on the Avalanches standout single Frankie Sinatra, alongside Danny Brown. We’re also still waiting for new DOOMSTARKS, but you know how that goes.
The mix features a rich variety of tracks by artists including Badbadnotgood, Ghostface Killah, Earl Sweatshirt and Gorillaz, as well as several solo tracks and many others featuring DOOM, like the aforementioned Frankie Sinatra. DOOM included several great new remixes too, notably including a remix of his Jneira Jarel collab, JJ Doom’s Banished, adding in a sample of DJ Khaled’s I Got The Keys. He also uses the mix to debut new tunes from Paul Barman and Kurious Jorge.
Listen here, and the full tracklisting can be found below.
1 “RE: (No Subject)” – Paul Barman
2 “Banished” [King Geedorah remix] – JJ DOOM
3 “Red & Gold” – MF DOOM
4 “The Glock” – Lil Vicious
5 “9 Milli Bros” [ft. Wu Tang Clan] – Ghostface Killah
6. “Fresh Cutz” [ft. Hassan Chop]
7. “Ray Gun” [ft. MF DOOM] – BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah
8. “New York, New York” – Starship Orchestra
9. “Snake Charmer Freestyle” [ft. Kurious Jorge]
10. “Between Villains” – Captain Murphy ft. Viktor Vaughn & Earl Sweatshirt
11. MIC Line – Monster Island Czars
12. “Deep Fried Frenz” – MF DOOM
13. “Frankie Sinatra” – The Avalanches
14. “Impending DOOM” – MF DOOM & Daedelus
15. “November Has Come” – Gorillaz
16. “In The Streets” [ft. MF DOOM & BJ the Chicago Kid] – Busta Rhymes
17. “Change The Beat” – MF DOOM
18. “Highs & Lows” [ft. MF DOOM & Phonte] – PRhyme
19. “Hook is Extra” – MF DOOM
OG member of New York collective the Ultramagnetic MCs, Kool Keith, has just dropped a galactic self-aggrandising single from his upcoming Feature Magnetic LP, titled Super Hero and featuring none other than MF DOOM. It’s pretty out-there stuff, resplendent with wacky lyrics that reference everything from Marvel superheroes to John Travolta to Hello Kitty to Cold Stone Ice Creamery, which I’m assuming is the US version of Cold Rock.
The production is relatively skimpy, relying heavily on two recurring motifs – a synth that sounds like an outer space laser gun and a cymbal like a church bell – letting all those free flowing crazy name-checks sit right at the forefront. In an interview with Billboard, who premiered Super Hero, Kool reiterated the importance of staying unpredictable in music and fostering connections to art and culture. He also spoke about respecting KISS‘ aesthetic. And bananas:
“I see people buying a banana with a credit card. This guy’s filling out all this paperwork, holding up the line. And you’re like, “What is he getting? Oh, a banana.” He’s so advanced, he bought a banana with a credit card *laughs*. Does it really take swiping the credit card for a banana? Would you fill out all that paperwork? Can’t you just throw 75 cents up there and keep on going? I mean, I’ll pay for it! I’m way in the back, but I’ll throw some change on the counter. Some people are too far back, some people are too far ahead. Smart in one way, but dumb in another.”
Sure, okay.
In any case, the off-the-wall nature of the track makes it a genuinely fun listen, and we are always damn delighted to see the elusive MF Doom round the traps. He and Kool also worked together recently on When The Lights Go Out, a cut from Atmosphere‘s LP Fishing Blues, which was released last week. Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship?
Feature Magnetic is slated for release on September 16. You can download Super Hero and stream other album tracks World Wide Lamper and Tired from Kool Keith’s Bandcamp.
Read more: Kendrick Lamar, Raekwon and Kool Keith Get Marvel Comic Book Covers
Image: Hip Hop Golden Age
Well shit, this is a blast from the past. British-born American-claimed rapper MF Doom is a pretty iconic figure in hip-hop, and his debut record Operation Doomsday has been such a staple in the world of rap that it has been re-issued and updated a lot. Doom famously reissued the album twice, meaning it’s been released a total of three times since 1999, and now it seems as though the count will be added to. The the good folks over at Rappcats have announced an extremely attractive red and black vinyl 2LP.
Credit: Rappcats
I mean, look at that would you? It’s so brilliant! There are actually two different covers available, so if you really love the album (and have the dough to spare) you can collect them both. They also come with an 18″ x 24″ poster, shown below:
Credit: Rappcats
If that’s not enough for you, MF Doom has also seen fit to give the stamp of approval to a fan-made video for his track Gas Drawls. It’s a nice little animated clip, and you can really tell it’s a labour of love. The video takes pretty much all of its cues from Doom’s album artwork and expands it out into a full two-and-a-half-minute clip. It’s a really awesome thing for a fan to do, and for Doom to give the “stamp of approval” on it is a really cool gesture.
Image: Twitter
It’s been quite a wait for fans of the masked man MF Doom and after word got of out of a new project involving him set to drop, people got pretty excited. Turns out the rumours were sort of true, there is indeed a new MF Doom collaboration with a young emcee called deM atlaS, but it isn’t necessarily what you may think.
While Doom’s last release, the 2014 NehruvianDoom with Bishop Nehru, boasted brand new beats and even new verses from the British born rapper, sadly deM atlaS’ project is simply 13 previously released beats with raps by deM himself.
Not to say that this negates the project completely, but it definitely would have been nice for all the hype to have lived up to itself just once! Despite this, deM comes through with some seriously nice tracks, all demonstrating a sharp tone alongside a smooth, catchy and extremely promising flow.
The project is free to download, but if you feel like forking out some dosh in support there are some nice incentives for you like limited picture disc vinyl LPs or CDs, all of which you can check out here!
In the meantime, check out deM atlaS over MF DOOM’s Datura Stramonium, and take a listen to the full project below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l29CnPip8wI&utm_source=Rhymesayers&utm_campaign=33d02cec68-mF_deM_Release7_15_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_38ac3a0049-33d02cec68-309840473&mc_cid=33d02cec68&mc_eid=2e799b4f38
Image: Bandcamp
When you speak about true underground hip-hop, you can’t go very far without bumping into MF DOOM. With the mean combination of sharp lyricism, wordplay and cutting edge beats, it’s no wonder guys like Mos Def, Earl Sweatshirt and Ghostface Killah hold him as one the greats. He’s basically your favourite rapper’s favourite rapper.
Hidden away in the vaults, only to be released on CD with the purchase of his instrumental series Special Herbs, Vol. 5 & 6, was his first live album, initially titled Live From The DNA Lounge . Originally recorded live on August 15, 2004 in San Francisco, now, after over a decade we are finally seeing the vinyl release of MF DOOM’s Live From Planet X.
The 38 minute long project includes songs from some of Doom’s best projects, including, Take Me To Your Leader, Vaudeville Villain, Operation: Doomsday and the Madlib/Doom duo on Madvillainy.
Live From Planet X will be reissued on May 20 through Nature Sounds, but in the meantime you can listen to the project, read the tracklist and checkout the new album artwork below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWHwFdcm8hY
Tracklist:
“Intro”
“Change the Beat”
“Name Dropping” (aka “People, Places, and Things”)
“Dead Bent” (called “Greenbacks” on the track listing on the back of the album)
“Go with the Drawls” (aka “Go with the Flow”)
“Gas Flows” (aka “Gas Drawls”)
“Hey!”
“Accordion”
“Curls”
“Great Day”
“Rhymes like Dimes”
“I Hear Voices”
“My Favorite Ladies”
“One Beer”
“Fine Print”
Image: Pitchfork
Images: Acclaim Magazine
You more than likely haven’t heard of eighteen year-old producer SeanH (also known as SeanH2k11 on Datpiff) from Portsmouth, England. Which is fine, neither had I. But now, I consider the man a total genius.
SeanH2K11 has definitely made a name for himself now, giving the world the amazing gift of SADEVILLIAN: an 8-track EP blending the best of beloved underground rapper MF Doom and one of R&B’s most legendary singers, Sade, in an epic mash-up. Sean picked up on the sonic chemistry between MF DOOM and Sade from DOOM’s tracks Doomsday, from Operation: DOOMSDAY, and Kon Karne from MM…Food? which sampled Sade.
https://youtu.be/zfNAtGbh_Sw?list=PLbJ3VMmxqdGWcpZQ4IDEqKcdcSkC-Vdqp
DOOM fans have been patiently waiting for the rumoured February release of DOOMSTARKS, a long teased collab with Ghostface, but a few days into March it is unsurprisingly yet to turn up. DOOMSTARKS is to be a hard and gruff mixtape combining both rappers’ raw voices. But I tell you what, this beautiful mash-up mixing the talented and soulful sounds of Sade with the hard raps of DOOM is an amazing consolation prize. It makes for perfect date music; it can make you want to love somebody – especially track 7 Hot Pants. It’s the perfect combo of styles with something to love for lovers of any genre.
Before this weekend, SeanH had released two mixtapes, blending music from artists like Eminem and Tupac, but this week he has outdone himself and should receive a fair bit of attention for this gem.
Image via Redbull
Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got some good news. Ghostface Killah has just provided an update about DOOMSTARKS, his long-awaited, long-rumoured, so-highly-anticipated-it’s-almost-Chinese-Democracy-level-ridiculous impending joint album with MF DOOM, may be coming out in February 2016.
In a new interview with Let’s Link Radio, Ghostface hinted at a number of releases he’s currently working on, that will hopefully see the light of day in 2016. These include a “monster” follow-up to his epic 2000 solo album Supreme Clientele, as well as “Wu-Goo“, a line of flavoured THC “Vape Cartridges”. But the most exciting news was his update on DOOMSTARKS, which has been more than a decade in the making.
“We gonna be releasing every month,” said Ghost of his 2016 output. “I talked to Doom’s people,” he continues. “Doom is ready now… He said he wants to drop that in February.”
Considering the pair have actually collaborated a bit recently, it’s not as unlikely as it seems. Most recently, they appeared as DOOMSTARKS on new track Lively Hood, as part of the Adult Swim Singles Series, alongside new music from Run The Jewels, Flying Lotus and more.
https://soundcloud.com/adultswimsingles/doomstarks/
Earlier in 2015, DOOM also featured on Ray Gun, a track from Sour Soul, Ghostface’s collaborative album with Badbadnotgood.
It’s a small hint, but a promising one. Kind of, anyway. At this point we will gladly take any and all DOOMSTARKS rumours on board, in the (possibly vain) hope that one day, one of them will be true.
Long time collaborators Madlib and MF Doom of Madvillain fame have hooked up again to bring us Knock Knock. Surprising everyone with only a few hours notice, the track dropped earlier today and is a preview track for the soon-to-be released Bad Neighbor. Not quite a Madvillain track though, MF Doom is only featuring on a larger collab between M.E.D, Blu and Madlib. With a distinctly Los Angeles flavour the track opens with Doom’s verse, and if that is anything to go by, the record is going to be scorching.
With a star studded cast of features, Bad Neighbor is set to include contributions from Hodgy Beats, DâM-FunK, Oh No, Aloe Blacc, Mayer Hawthorne, and Phonte, amongst others. In an interview with Rolling Stone M.E.D and Blu discuss the upcoming record, the origins of the collaboration, and how they managed to get some of the featured artists. Most interestingly though is M.E.D’s explanation of the wait between records for he, Blu and Madlib. It gives a little bit of insight into the improvisational nature of these collaborations and the work that is put in over time to craft such dynamite singles.
From Rolling Stone:
You know when you’re dealing with Madlib, he’s such a creative cat. He has so many projects going on at once. Me and Blu actually recorded about 30 songs. We’re going to possibly manage to do something with some of the other leftover joints. Madlib always figures out things to do with songs and stuff.
Med also enlightens us on the crafty nature of Blu in managing to entice AMG:
Blu got collab-happy, man. I ain’t gonna lie. He told me, “I got AMG.” And I was, like, “Bitch Betta Have My Money AMG?” And he was, like, “Yo, he’s trying to charge a crazy number.” And I was like, “We don’t got that in the budget.” Somehow Blu pulled it through
The album Bad Neighbor is out October 30th via BangYaHead! and is available for pre-order here.
You can stream Knock Knock here, or check out the video below for MF Doom’s verse and a clever animation.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgWY8ful7DQ]
Ghostface Killah and DOOM have teamed up to form DOOMSTARKS (named in keeping with the Stones Throw Record label’s naming combinations for joint collaborations) for Lively Hood, a new track produced by DOOM and released as part of the Adult Swim Singles program.
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Listen to it above and grab a free download of it here. Soon, it’ll also be available on 7″ via DOOM’s new Gas Drawls site (in conjunction with Metalface/Nature Sounds).
Almost ten years ago the two teamed up and were supposed to release a collaborative album which never happened, but apparently it is finally set to drop this year, and now we’ve got a song released under their pseudonym DOOMSTARKS. Doom had also been previously featured on Ray Gun from Ghostface’s album with BADBADNOTGOOD, Sour Soul.
Lively Hood is full of Ghostface’s gritty raps and DOOM’s signature production and unique flow, and is complete with laser sounds, horns, and explosions as you would expect from a DOOM track. The track comes off as a hard, one verse each, straight to the point rap, with just enough time in the barely two minute track for a quick hook. It is definitely one of the hardest NY tracks recently put on wax and makes Jay-Z’s New York tributes sound like he grew up in a safeguarded gated community.
The duo are set to perform together at III Points Festival, which takes place October 9th to 11th in Miami. But this won’t be a typical performance: DOOM will appear on a live screen “from the other side of time.” He’ll be “transported Star Trek-style directly onto the III Points Festival stage,” according to a festival press release. The press release also says they will be debuting music from the upcoming DOOMSTARKS album.
Released as part of Adult Swim’s series of 19 tracks over the past few weeks, Lively Hood is certainly standing out as one of the best. Other released songs have spanned multiple genres and artists, including Skrillex, Sia and Danny Brown. With only four more singles remaining to be released, the forthcoming tracks will have to be harder than steel and iron to be any better than the DOOMSTARKS offering. Unlikely.