MF DOOM

MM.. Food?
Rhymesayers Entertainment

Somewhere between the murky metropolis of New York and the vast suburban sprawl surrounding Atlanta, hip hop supervillain MF Doom has honed his diabolical skills while lurking stealthily in the shadows. MM.. Food?, the follow-up to his lumbering 1999 debut Operation Doomsday, proves that although his true identity remains a closely guarded secret, the metal-faced menace is a real Southern mutineer. The slothful grits and sweat tea production coupled with his Brooklyn-stoopid drawl find the rogue emcee displaced in the South with an insatiable appetite for world domination. MM.. Food? is a veritable cornucopia of mental munchies that blows the whistle for a lunch break from his busy schedule of tyranny and oppression.

Splicing together a labyrinth of cartoon samples and sluggish beats and rhymes, opening cuts "Beef Rapp" and "Hoe Cakes" let the pieces fall where they may, proving that the less he tries the better he gets. Food picks up where Operation Doomsday left off, pulling no surprise punches. The only difference is that Doom has learned to embrace his less-is-more methods, making his slapdash style sound good.

It ain't easy being cheesy and "Kon Queso" and "Kon Karne" make it plain that the meat of his ghetto fabulous sound lies in a simple and undemanding plod. Guest appearances by Mr. Fantastik in "Rapp Snitch Kanishes" and Angelika & 4ize in "Guinnessses" unveil some new faces in the faceless one's crew. In his own words, "everybody wanna rule the world like Tears for Fears," but he can't do it alone. Even Doom has a posse - where better to introduce them than over a nice meal?

--Chad Radford
Published by Flagpole Magazine (January 12, 2005).