Big Dada (2016, Reissue)
Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.
I thought that this album would be an appropriate follow up to last weeks KMD record. King Geedorah came out originally in 2003 and was after the former Zev Love X had reemerged as MF Doom. King Geedorah was another alter ego, this time building an album focused on imagery and sounds from 1960's Toho monster movies. I'm not above admitting that the only reason I really went out of my way to listen to this in 2003 was because of the Godzilla references.
Luckily, my allegiance to kaiju was rewarded as Take Me To Your Leader ranks up amongst my very favorite 'newer' hop hop releases. Yes, I realize calling a seventeen year old record 'new' is a bit of a stretch, but as I've mentioned, pretty much any hip hop record that catches my interest after 1994 feels like a newer record to me. The beats are very innovated and mix in kitschy sound effects with lush strings and beats. In some ways it reminds me of another favorite, Beauty and the Beat by Edan in the way the beats are constructed. But Take Me To Your Leader has the advantage of dialog from Xilien Controller.
I don't like everything the MF Doom churns out. I've heard plenty that doesn't catch my ear for one reason or another. For me, King Geedorah ranks just under KMD if I'm ranking these related projects. It's a totally different animal than KMD, but succeeds due to its excellent premise and flawless execution. I'd sure like a follow up release at some point.
King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader (Youtube full album playlist):
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nUjTozCumC1dqxQcj64pziIlVTlEYJvVk
No comments:
Post a Comment