10/17/18

MF Doom Side Dishes


MM.. Food was MF DOOM's sixth full-length project as a solo MC. However, technically, it was only the second he released as MF DOOM (the others, in order, being by King Ghidra, Viktor Vaughn, Madvillain, and Vaughn again). Regardless, MM.. Food arrived toward the tail end of what has since been recognized as one of most impressive and consistent two-year runs by any MC in hip-hop history. In fact, Take Me To Your Leader and MM.. Food are separated by only one year and five months, the former being released June 17, 2003, the latter November 16, 2004.

Not only were these and most all of the releases in between well received by critics and fans alike; they also sold extremely well — and this, despite being released by a number of different labels — thereby establishing MF DOOM as one of the hottest commodities in the "underground" hip-hop marketplace, which was then commercially facilitated at least in part if not primarily by such online retailers as Hiphopsite, UGHH and Sandbox Automatic.

Which brings us to today's "Side Dishes," 2004's MM.. Leftovers and MM.. More Food, two promo CDs released alongside MM.. Food. 

Some context here: several of the aforementioned websites, in efforts to boost sales and top competing retailers, often packaged their releases with promo CDs, given away "free" with certain (or in some cases, all) orders. Typically, these promo CDs came very flimsily packaged, with little to no casing and often no cover art or tracklist to speak of either. Many were throwaways that have been largely forgotten, but some such as the promo CDs that accompanied the online release of MM.. Food, have actually since been reissued as bootleg vinyls and cassettes. Indeed, original CD copies of MM.. More Food and Hiphopsite's MM.. Leftovers now fetch $30-$40, far more than MM.. Food itself.

While it might be tough to come across a phsyical copy of either promo release, both have survived digitally via YouTube, blogs, forums and the like, which is important because the tracklists of these mini-projects actually include a few MF DOOM remixes you won't hear anywhere else. Thus, for the DOOM completist, they are indispensable. Additionally, for any Monsta Island Czars fans out there, MM.. More Food contains three Rodan solo tracks, one of which DOOM co-produced, along with the insrumentals for all of them. (These all also appeared on the Witchcraft II 12" releasesd by Quaczar Records that same year, though this too looks to be pretty rare as it's selling for $10-$30.)

To my ears, however, the true standouts both come from MM.. Leftovers. They are: the Madlib remix of "One Beer," not to be confused with the original mix featured on Madlib's Mind Fusion Vol. 1 mix nor the drunk remix (download here) included as a one-sided 45 in Madvillainy 2: The Box; and the "Beatboxappella" of "Hoe Cakes," which features DOOM's acappella vocal track over the beatbox that appears on his original version of the song from MM Food.

The first I've chosen to highlight here for the obvious reason that it's an otherwise-unreleased Madlib remix, a concept now so remarkable it calls into question the track's authenticity. (This is conjecture, but it wouldn't have been beyond the pale for Hiphopsite to have Frankensteined the track out of a loose Madlib instrumental and the DOOM acappella.) Additionally, the track seems to foreshadow some of the darker and more electronic sounds DOOM would explore years later on Born Like This and Key to the Kuffs. On the other hand, I call readers' attention to the "Hot Cakes (Beatboxappella)" because, stripped down like this, I think it documents how, despite all the credit DOOM is given as a forerunner to today's crop of alernative rappers, at least part of him remains a golden-era schooled, b-boy oriented MC. A true original, his style can stand up to the best of any era and he has the cadences to prove it.

I encourage everyone who's not familiar with these releases to stream the tracks below, then head over to DatPiff to download MM.. Leftovers and while you're at it, download More Food courtesy of DirtDog over at the Philaflava forum.


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