Classic Day – Tanks and Planes

MF DOOM seems to have more aliases and pseudonyms than actual records and in the way that he carries himself through the early 90s with KMD to his solo records and joint albums lately. DOOM has had an incredibly expansive career that continues to sprout wings and grow. Known best for his production style that cries out to nerds everywhere, his 2003 record under the name King Geedorah is a triple-beam burst of alien technology reigning free.

Take Me To Your Leader focuses more on the features and storytelling through sampling than solidified DOOM verses. From the opening piece “Fazers” that holds one of his strongest displays of instrumentation and rhyme skills, Take Me To Your Leader is a love letter to the Saturday morning monster movies where rubber suits and cardboard buildings were the destructive conduits. DOOM explains over these grand string ensembles and immaculate horns, “All hail the king, give him three cheers fam. Like ‘hip, hip, hooray” do his thing for the little kings like Sling Blade. To the grave put in work like a slave, on how to flip scripts on the dipstick brigade.” It is a collection of his Monster Island Czars moments where no one can ever really escape from Monsta Island’s clutches.

The way that the exposition is explained to the audience through these samples and nods to sci-fi creates one of the strongest releases under DOOM’s belt. He moves to incorporate entirely instrumental tracks like “Monster Zero” or “One Smart Nigger” that rely heavily on abrasive sections of B-movies and these progressive instrumentals to analyze this otherworldly tale. When the rhyming is reintroduced between either DOOM or some of the features that come from Jet-Jaguar or better known as MF Grimm and a feature from Mr. Fantastik, the bars here balance somewhere between modern-day New York City and a future dystopian town like Tokyo in the year 20XX.

As time marches on, there are warnings of destruction throughout Take Me To Your Leader and anyone who is able to find joy in the Toho Films are able to see a glimmering beacon of hope within the record. MF DOOM can not only capture the audience through the use of different characters to describe a movement but does it in an always adaptive way. It is difficult to find exactly what works on Take Me To Your Leader as an isolated component because the entire record plays through like this monster battle of red and gold explosions that shake the 13” television sets that can barely register any color.

King Geedorah is a vintage ride on the back of a conquering beast. Whether from the iron mask or the iron horse, DOOM is one of the most important figures to highlight through hip-hop and music history as the villain who lurks in the shadows but proves he is just as skilled in building as he is with destruction.

Listen To Take Me To Your Leader Here!!! – Spotify/Amazon/iTunes