Review Summary: A mixed bag, King Geedorah’s latest is as lyrically brilliant as ever.
With a hype train powered by nuclear locomotives, many fans look for
Born Like This to answer some big questions: (1)Has DOOM actually done anything creative since 2005’s
Dangerdoom?... and (2) Is this actually DOOM or the now infamous DOOM-poster? Consistently excellent as a lyricist, Dumile’s latest effort delivers some of his most technical content (seriously, he rhymes afro-trim with acronym, a-la “Ballskin”); he kills it with tongue-twister verbiage, convincing bravado, and an inspired “murdalizing” of sucka mcs. One of the truly unique storytellers in the game, DOOM maintains the same structure proven on
Doomsday and
Mm… Food: weave through a hypnotic sonic backdrop to emphasize the lyricist, while using production as a tool to permeate hooks and choruses. However unconventional, this strategy works near-medically in promoting focus on the verse and DOOM’s signature lazy flow.
Always abstract but never completely outside of his villainous atmosphere, “That’s That” is a perfect example – complex multi-alliterative passages coupled with the illest beat this side of
Madvillainy. Speaking of Madlib (and by association, J Dilla), while some of the production here is recycled or old, the Jaylib brothers still bring a fresh perspective to their respective contributions; “Gazillion Ear” is probably one of the better tracks of the decade (the main beats from an unreleased Dilla track) and metal-fingers finds compositional harmony in “Lightworks”. Jake One lends a hand to four other tracks, which especially makes sense after a couple well-done DOOM features on 2008’s
White Van Music. When
Born Like This is accounted for, it’s easy to imagine a masked villain jumping from his mother’s womb 30-something years ago; and while some of it might sound sloppy at times, the man deserves recognition for being a 21st century version of what GZA accomplished. This is a mixed bag, but from the right perspective, it’s a mixed bag of treats from no impostor.
