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.