“That’s the thing about him, he really can perform at a high level. So when he did that stuff that he did – and he did do it, I was there, too, when he was on stage and his mic wasn’t connected and there’s lyrics coming out […] it’s not that he’s lazy and it’s not that he can’t perform, it’s really that he wants it to be about the music to where anybody could be DOOM, as long as the music is DOOM.” This comment from an old Nardwuar interview with Brother Ali is something I think of regularly when listening to MF DOOM (which is, itself, something I do regularly), though out of context it might not make much sense. In the interview, Ali talks about his interactions with the MC, granting him a generous amount artistic grace regarding his long-held tradition of pulling stunts like using a stand-in on stage. I could only ever gawk at that sort of thing at one point in time, but the older I get, the harder it is for me to draw any conclusive boundaries around what it means to be an “authentic” artist. Even if as little artifice as possible ends up in the final product of an artistic work, how much of any creation is only ever a performance of an idea? And can any performance then be authentic? And who am I to judge any of this anyway?
This week Rhymesayers dropped an updated version of MF DOOM’s album MM..FOOD, commemorating the 20th anniversary of its release. Listening to it has me thinking about and reflecting on a lot of things, including that Ali interview, what it means to be a “performer,” and how perceived “authenticity” influences my appreciation for a work. The other day I was listening to something that mentioned Dwight Yoakam’s new album, which apparently features a Post Malone collaboration. I know next to nothing about Post Malone, but I still don’t like him. I’m willing to be swayed from that position, but the point of bringing him up here is to share how much I’ve been turned off of him by my own interpretation of his transition from rapper to country star. To me, an ill-informed outsider, he seems to have capitalized on cultural trends both coming and going. But, to challenge myself, even if he is cosplaying every step along the way, what distinguishes the product of his creativity as any less “authentic” than anyone else doing nearly the same damn thing?
Adult Swim was my gateway to DOOM’s music and DANGER DOOM was the starting point for me becoming a fan of the MC. As much as that album still stands on its own legs musically, it was absolutely benefited by DOOM’s persona when it was released. And for as much as I’d like to say I’m a fan of the broader work of Daniel Dumile, the man behind the mask, I’m really not. I’m fine with KMD, but their music was never really for me. Instead, I have to be real that I’m probably more a fan of the persona than I ever was the person. I’m a fan of the concept. I’m a fan of the execution. Dumile wasn’t dull to this and was vocal that DOOM’s fanbase didn’t care about him so much as they cared about the mask he wore. That said, when he passed a few years ago I was really shook. It felt like something more than a man had died.
“Rap snitches, tellin’ all their business / Sit in the court and be their own star witness / ‘Do you see the perpetrator?’ Yeah, I’m right here / Fuck around, get the whole label sent up for years”
-MF DOOM “Rapp Snitch Knishes”
While FOOD isn’t my favorite DOOM release, its Mr. Fantastik collab titled “Rapp Snitch Knishes” remains one of my most played DOOM tracks. The song lyrically roasts cred-thirsty rappers for flaunting crimes in their songs (to their own detriment, no less), but musically it picks up on an unshakable earworm of a sample that speaks to how sharp DOOM was as a producer. It wasn’t until this past week that I looked into where its guitar sample came from, which turns out to be lifted from a musician named David Matthews. More specifically it came from Matthews’ disco-infused cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” released on an intergalactic concept album called Dune, which also featured an equally bizarre interpretation of the Star Wars theme. Weird as all that might seem, the context surrounding such an obscure track feels right at home with why I’ve come to love DOOM.
While my only experience working at a record store to this point is brief, it still afforded me ample opportunity to make mistakes. I have this one memory of talking with this cute girl about hip-hop and recommending an album to her. I’m not sure what we were talking about specifically, but it must’ve been boom bap or some backpack rapper stuff, because I suggested she pick up a Homeboy Sandman album. Surely there was a part of me that wanted to impress her, but it didn’t quite go the way I’d planned. I don’t recall which album it was, but she paid for it and took it home with her. Now, I liked a few Homeboy Sandman tracks, but I didn’t love his stuff. Nor did I really even know much of it. I guess I just thought the somewhat-obscure recommendation would garner me bonus points even if it didn’t hit just right. The next time I saw her in the store though, she was like, “Nah, that wasn’t for me,” and went about her business flipping through the racks by herself. That soured my stomach. My failed performance had backfired.
It’s strange, the memories that stick with us. That’s an interaction I can’t seem to shake. There’s no way to go back in time and be more honest with myself and that girl, but what I can do is be more honest now. This week’s update features music from the upcoming solo release from TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe, a song from the Cinematic Orchestra’s score to a century-old paradigm changing silent film, and homegrown selections from Iowa’s Husoul and Why Bother? It also includes a Beastie Boys remix from a disc I had up for sale in my online store. (In a stroke of coincidence the CD I had sold several days ago, so technically I’m not here to sell anyone that album. but regardless…) One of the roles I’m inching my way closer toward is that of a salesperson, whether I like it or not. And as that becomes a thing for me, I anticipate it will come with its fair share of performance. Unlike how I played that one interaction with that girl however, I want how I proceed to come from a place of honesty. And honestly, I like all this stuff.
I shared a little about my goals with this playlist series in last week’s update, and am realizing just how much more work I have to do to get comfortable with where it is I’m heading. About a week ago I listened to the Root Down EP, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this particular remix of the song, despite how tired I’ve become of the Beastie Boys over the past several years. I don’t mean that I’ve soured on ’em or anything, just that their music isn’t really where I’m at right now. Well, most of it, but not all of it. Wound throughout their catalog are these odd, funky, jammy instrumentals that have become what I enjoy most of theirs at this stage in my life. This remix sounds largely attuned to that particular vibe, and I thought that if I was going to play the part of salesman this week and share something that I liked from the shop, I’d better be authentic with it. This is a lesson best learned later than never, I suppose.
Listen to R▲ZZ D▲ZZ WEEKLY on Spotify or YouTube
- Tunde Adebimpe “Magnetic”
- Why Bother? “Chasing the Skull”
- Beastie Boys “Root Down (Free Zone Mix)”
- Tyler, the Creator feat. Doechii “Balloon”
- Husoul “be there for you.”
- MF DOOM feat. Mr. Fantastik “Rapp Snitch Knishes”
- Ab-Soul feat. Blxst “The Sky is Limitless”
- The Cinematic Orchestra “The Awakening of a Woman (Burnout)”
- Conductor Williams feat. Benny the Butcher & Wiz Khalifa “Hold You”
- Brother Ali & unJUST “Nom De Plume”
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