NR Essentials #12: King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader
 

King Geedorah
Take Me To Your Leader
2003, Big Dada Records

This is perhaps the least immediately accessible MF Doom album, but ultimately it is the most rewarding. And in my opinion, the one that most captures every facet of what he has tried to accomplish.

This is (so far) the sole record released by King Geedorah, Doom's alias while he was in Monsta Island Czars (an incredible collective, who have mutated lineups completely several times now), so it veers towards the sci-fi Godzilla imagery of its MIC-brethren.

What tends to turn people off on initial listens to LEADER is the fact that Doom himself lends vocals to less than half of the record. But the point is that Geedorah is 3-headed, and he's got many sides to his three personalities. All of them featured here. Once you stop expecting Doom's drawl, and just soak up his amazing production on this one (lo-fi sci-fi?), the other MC's all fit their parts perfectly.

"Fastlane" revives the career of Biolante (aka Kurious of original Constipated Monkey Crew fame). The only single released from the album, "Anti-Matter" spawned countless msgbrd threads of "WHO THE FUCK IS MISTER FANTASTIK????" and was then later re-appropriated by Mos Def on his TRU3 MAGIC flop. And then there's "No Snakes Alive" -- one of the few MIC posse cuts to actually include Doom on the mic. It features Jet Jaguar (MF Grimm before the beef) and Rodan alongside Doom spitting over a fucked up grimey synth and slowed layered drums that constantly shifts tempos. It's both jarring and mind-blowing.

And then there's the sci-fi-ish skits over Metal Finger herbs meants to act as socio-comentary (since they're the equivalent to the scene in the 80's flick when an alien lands on earth and there's a montage of "weird" Americans doing weird shit).

All in all, this is a hip hop album like none other. It's thought provoking. It's perfectly produced. It has a specific feel. And it can satiate the hunger of hip hop purists. Fucking get it.

I'm literally just getting seriously into hip-hop these past few weeks, having for a long time owned a few classics and admired the genre, but never really "clicked" with it, so I'm desperately making up for lost time by buying as many of the essentials as I can afford. Thus far, Madvilliany is absolutely one of THE records for me (tied with Illmatic for favourite hip-hop record yet acquired), and I love everything I've heard by Doom, but have never heard this one. So sounds like I've got to check it out as soon possible. Also Viktor Vaughn.

And Operation Doomsday if you don't have that yet.

Oh yeah. Listened to that in one of the local record shops. Sounded fantastic, but was broke. WIll go get it soon enough. First I have to buy that vinyl copy of 36 Chambers that I asked them to hold back for me though...

No arguments here.

its a krazy world

render unto Geedorah what is Geedorah's

i haven't listened to this album yet, but what are your favorite MF DOOM releases (preferably in order)?
so far i've only heard the adventures of lord quas, mm food and madvillainy and i like them all.

well Lord Quas is a Madlib alias.

BUT, This album, OPERATION DOOMSDAY, Viktor Vaughn's VAUDEVILLE VILLAIN, Madvillain's MADVILLAINY, and KMD's BL_CK B_ST_RDS and Metal Finger's SPECIAL HERBS VOL 9+0 are all must, must, must-haves.

Danger Doom's THE MOUSE AND THE MASK and MM FOOD are really good also. Once you have (and have digested) ALL of those. Let me know, and I'll send you further.

..."follow the light. The light is yr guide."

lest we forget the song "I Wonder" from the Geedorah album. the rapping by Hassan Chop has decent story telling, but the beat is one of the greatest (and simplest) beats in hip-hop history. IMO of course.

^ I'm still trying to find Hassan Chop's mixtape from 07/08.

SUPPOSEDLY Doom, Hassan and one other Doom affiliate (I think it could've been Rodan... but I can't remember now) were starting a new group called Metal Face Academy. That news hit in 2007, and Doom was gonna put out an album by the group on his own label. I know they did a few shows in ATL as a trio, but I never heard much else later.

yeah i had read and heard alot about that too. it was hassan chop, rodan and a bunch of other people i'd never heard of. that was also around the time that the DOOM poster stuff was going on. that particular ATL show being one of the more famous ones. turned out it was DJ Wesu that was the DOOMposter and he was also part of the Metal Face Academy.

yeah that was at the same time. I'd like a Metal Face Academy record to actually happen. I mean think of all the Doom associates (Mr. Fantastik, Trunks, Hassan, etc). And although there's the whole MF Grimm/MIC beef now, most of the original MIC members are out of MIC, so maybe Doom is still cool with Rodan, Megalon, Kamackeris, Gigan, etc? I THINK Meccha said that he's cool with Doom, though I cant' remember. I haven't talked to him in about a year.

king geedorah and MIC are two of the most slept on albums

You mean ESCAPE FROM MONSTA ISLAND? No kidding! That album is fucking amazing. If yr looking for more MIC material, check out the two albums released under X-Ray's name MONSTA MIXES vols 1 & 2. They're mix CD's he put together when he was still MIC's main producer. Great shit. Even a demo mix of "Fastlanes"from the Geedorah album and a Doom remix that samples fucking Les Baxter! Hot shit all around.

i do mean escape from monsta island. thanks, will check those x-ray mixes.

who else has done a solo record from MIC apart from Rodan, Megalon & Kong?
I like Megalon's record, haven't heard Kong's and found Rodan's a bit of a disappointment.

oh man, there's a lot of obscure ones. let me try...

Rodan has an THEOPHANY and an EP and the MM...MORE FOOD (not leftovers) EP with MF Doom. Megalon has PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS and a new one as Tommy Gunn & Ray Long. Kong has SHACKLES OFF and an EP. X-Ray has those 2 mix CD's, plus THE BOOT and another mix I believe. Kamackeris has an album as Kwite Def. I think he's also part of Darc Mind (2 albums) and Dirt Nation (a 12" single in the 90's). Ravage has a Jay-z remix mixtape, and a full album and then a production album as Meccagodzilla Vs 007. Gigan has an EP called IN SERCH OF. Biolante had an album in the 90's as Kurious called A CONSTIPATED MONKEY. Majesty/Gamma Ra has a mixtape from 2007. Bashton (Invizible Man) has an album. Obvioulsy MF Grimm has a ton of output, but AMERICAN HUNGER (which is a triple album) features a lot of MIC appearances. Most of the original MIC lineup had a sideproject called The Reavers that put out an album and mixtape. And then there's the MIC 12" for "Run The Sphere" which is absolutely essential (remixes can be found on the MONSTA MIXES albums). phew. That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but it's a lot. MIC's discography is huge and confusing since they each have several names. But they're awesome. I'm a bit of a MIC junky.

Thanks, I have Theophany which i wasn't that crazy about, I like Penny for Your Thoughtsquite a lot. Didn't know Kamackeris was part of Darc mind, I really like their first album. And I've got a few Grimm things.

THEOPHANY grew on me a lot. But yeah, Megalon's album is fantastic.

I might be wrong about KD being in Darc Mind. But one or two of them are. Like I said, gets confusing keeping all the sideprojects and aliases straight.

thanks, matt.

Easily one of Doom's greatest efforts. Accessible, perfectly balanced and hits you in a way like no other

i've got the run the sphere 12 inch. it's good, but i've got a digital copy of it too. anybody wanna buy the 12 inch?