DOOM - BORN LIKE THIS

Whether recording as MF DOOM, King Geedorah, Viktor Vaughn, Metal Fingers or collaborating with hip-hop’s finest, Daniel Dumile is never anything less than industrial.

So although this is his first solo album in five years, it’s not surprising that the verbal verbosity and high production values that brought him to the attention of so many remains as innovative and sardonic as ever.

While the MF prefix has gone, the esoteric references and obscure yet richly ominous beats are food for thought in a musical genre trying to drag itself out of a rut. With just enough of a nod to DOOM’s comic book interests without it becoming a cliché, and avoiding the pitfalls of filling a solo album with too many other rappers, skits and samples, the balance definitely adds to 40 minutes of some of the most exciting hip-hop out there today.

Full of intellectualism and lyrical dexterity, Britain’s greatest export to the rap game takes the album title from Charles Bukowski’s dystopian poem ‘Dinosauria, We’ and the poet is even sampled on the war-mongering ‘CELLZ’. Also featuring a posthumous collaboration with J Dilla on the addictive ‘LIGHTWORKS’ and guest spots for the Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, all three compliment DOOM’s grimy, downtrodden flow style, which is always socially conscious and spat out with a calm yet forceful style.

Dumile has created an enigmatic persona and solid reputation for being an astute and highly prolific rapper, producer and collaborator, and while he hasn’t had the breakthrough success many of his contemporaries have had, he is still one of the best around. ‘BORN LIKE THIS.’ proves it.

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Read our exclusive interview with DOOM HERE.