Opportunities to see the super-villain rapper, MF DOOM (Daniel Dumile) are very few and far between, the dude is underground, and he likes to keep it that way. Though it has been announced he will don his mask and climb out of hiding to play a show on Flying Lotus' bill at Brixton Academy on May 1st. I have bought a ticket and look forward to the post-show "boy, that was worth starving for".
The show is headlined by experimental, electro producer Flying Lotus, who is joined by DOOM, Shabazz Palaces, Lapalux and KUTMAH. I have listened to and am aware of some of Flylo's projects and have heard good things about his live act, so will make it my goal to familiarise with more of his work before the show. I'm also a big fan of Shabazz Palaces, so it'll be nice to see them live for the first time. The other two I have never heard of and will have to size them up soon. The main pull though, is the appearance of my favourite rapper, the unrivalled DOOM.
I saw DOOM for the first time at Reading Festival in 2013, surprisingly, or unsurprisingly he played his set on the smallest stage at the festival; in the alternative tent. It was the smallest crowd I had seen the whole weekend, which made me doubt that DOOM would actually appear; being renowned for either sending an imposter in his place, or just not showing up at all. It seemed everyone had this same thought, it had long gone past the time he was expected on stage and everyone began murmuring about how they knew he wouldn't turn up. These bucket hat detectives were eventually silenced however, as the background music switched off and DOOM's hype-man appeared, urging everyone to coax DOOM out. The chant "We want DOOM!" was the best everyone could do to entice the metal fist terrorist, and it worked. Over the PA, his deep, raspy voice met with us - "DOOM wants you!". It was happening! If this was an imposter then the guy deserves an emmy.
Hearing his iconic voice on a record is one thing, but seeing him bring songs like 'Accordion' and 'Hoe Cakes' to life made for an action-packed 40 minutes or so, with DOOM rifling through his biggest hitters. I can't remember much of the show, I think I was too struck by how surreal the moment was. I had my eyes fixed on DOOM and his every move instead of paying any real attention to anything else going on.
All he had on the stage was a laptop and a hype-man; in typical DOOM style he did what he had to do and got out, seemingly without a trace. He didn't seem phased by the low attendance, and gave great energy to every one of his songs for those who had made the effort. You always have to treat a DOOM sighting as if it's the last, so I am thoroughly looking forward to May 1st, and will hopefully be less of a fan-girl this time around so I can take in every detail of the set. If he turns up that is.
I'm a little late to the party on this one but here's a review of Joey Bada$$' debut album 'B4.DA.$$'.
From the United States' (B)east coast, Brooklyn rapper Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (Joey Bada$$) drops his first full-length, commercial release from record label 'Cinematic Music Group'. On his 20th birthday (20/1/15), Joey released possibly the most eagerly awaited hip-hop record of the year, B4.DA.$$. The hype surrounding Joey has snowballed ever since his '1999' mix tape that I for one was a huge fan of, thanks to Joey's refreshingly old school flow and dogged word play. These techniques were recycled, explored and evolved by Joey on his second solo mix tape 'Summer Knights' and also within projects from his hip-hop collective 'Pro Era' (The Progressive Era). With a heap of features under his belt and excessive touring, it was clear Joey was in the rap game to stay. B4.DA.$$ to me is a creative extraction of all that Joey has experienced/ hopes to experience since his exposure from '1999' and the scope that Joey now finds himself looking through due to this exposure. Though the album lacks some of the '1999' charm and at times Joey's extensive and experimental flow sacrifices the clarity of his word play, what he does do is cement the hype that he created into a cohesive and concise project that showcases his mental and technical development. 8/10 There isn't a beat on this album that lags behind, despite the variety of style, from Statik Selektah's boom-bap to Chuck Strangers drum and bass endeavours on track 'Escape 120', each producer holds their own and supplies Joey with challenging and thick instrumentation for him to work around. I found the lack of influence from his Pro Era counterparts a surprise, as although I firmly believe Joey is leaps and bounds ahead of others in the collective in terms of rap ability, I had assumed they would appear more on the album in order for Joey to use this platform to exhibit the group as a whole. However, I am grateful for this not being the case and for Joey's overall eye for detail surrounding the features that made it onto the album, especially Raury's guest verse on 'Escape 120' which is my favourite feature on the record. Though on the whole, there are very few features from anyone on the album and Joey works alone on ten out of the fifteen tracks. After all, it is HIS album and it seems he has a lot to say. Talking mostly of how his life has changed over recent years in terms of wealth, travelling the world and how the passing of two of his close friends threw a spanner in the works during the rise of Badass. Joey's song concepts seem closer to home on this record as he now raps about his personal experiences of violence and the passing of life with first hand experience. Joey takes a refreshing stance on how money effects a young rapper as the hook "money ain't a thing if I got it" rings throughout track 'Paper Trails'. Presumably this is Joey's way of reassuring his fans he won't sell out and "sign to no major" as he understands that while this money is life changing for him and his mother who he hopes to support, it is part of a bigger picture. Joey doesn't use his new found affluence to speak for him in this way, and instead allows his talent to speak for itself on hype tracks like 'Big Dusty', 'Christ Conscious' and 'No.99' that tell us Joey will remain hungry for as long as there's progress to be made, in these, his most hard hitting tracks yet. It's Joeys ability to move from these brag-filled, pun-slinging dimensions into subtle, ballad type tracks like 'OCB' and heritage exploring 'Curry Chicken' and 'Belly of The Beast' that cause B4.DA.$$ to be a captivating listen and one that I have grown to thoroughly enjoy after several listens. I feel like a proud father having watched Joey grow and surpass his promise with success and critical acclaim, despite a personal worry of whether or not he could continue to live up to his own prestige. FAVE TRACKS: Big Dusty, Christ Conscious, Escape 120, Black Beetles, OCB. LEAST FAVE: No.99 (only for its cringeworthy video and similarly cheesy 'BADMON' hook).
