MF Doom - Operation: Doomsday - Deluxe Reissue 2 CD Lunch Box And 4 LP Metal Tin Box To Arrive This Spring

Deluxe 2 CD Lunch Box And 4 LP Metal Tin Box coming this Spring courtesy of Stones Throw.

The history of MF DOOM's debut album OPERATION: DOOMSDAY is a spotty one - it's been released in at least two different versions on different labels, out of print, bootlegged, and even released once with a cheap scan of the original cover.

This Spring DOOM's own label Metalface Records will be releasing the first complete & remastered version of OPERATION: DOOMSDAY, containing the original album, alternate versions, b-sides and instrumentals - 51 tracks total - with all new artwork and two deluxe, metal formats:

LUNCH BOX 2/CD and METAL 4/LP BOX each containing a 32-page lyric book, and set of 10 cards with images of the Operation Doomsday MCs.

Artwork for both collections by Jason Jagel and Jeff Jank, who also designed Doom's 2005 album MM FOOD.

Illecism - 'Molotov' Mixtape

Molotov! Revenge of the Refreshments! The Whole Mixtape!!

Fly High Films presents Molotov by Illecism, produced by MF DOOM and inspired by his Special Herbs instrumental series.

Download:
Illecism - 'Molotov' Mixtape

MF Doom Live At London's Roundhouse Concert Recap

via the BBC

Unsurprisingly though, his much anticipated slot at London’s Roundhouse (Friday March 5) amongst a lineup promoting Sonar festival was shrouded in as much mystery as his facial appearance.

With numerous stories of impostors and stand-ins circulating, many speculated about whether this would be the sort of showcase for which the Barcelona event has become renowned or purely a charade based on the notion of an incredibly skilled recording artist.

Almost certainly, the figure who appeared for the opening Madvillainy track Meat Grinder was not the same individual who performed the rest of the gig.

Nevertheless, taking the next Doom we were given at his word, it proved to be a stunning exposition of why the New York MC’s lyrical style blends so well with the sort of intricate beats for which producer Madlib (the other half of the Madvillain project) is renowned.

The combination pits throbbing bass and often curious time signatures against a disarmingly direct and darkly comic vocal flow, and it’s an irresistible cocktail, particularly on tracks from last year’s release Born Like This.

Doom’s litany of collaborators, such as Danger Doom with Dangermouse, Wu Tang Clan, Nas, Talib Kweli, De La Soul and his appearance on the Gorillaz track November Has Come, point to his incredible versatility, and hopefully this live outing opens the gates for combinations of that calibre to finally make it to this side of the Atlantic.

It’s hard not to wonder quite who was presented as Doom for the first track, and it’ll be interesting to see whether other crowds tolerate it. Fans at a recent gig in Chicago were disappointed to find the whole set performed by a stand-in, but the Roundhouse crowd seemed willing to forgive the mis-step.

In a sense talk of impostors and speculation about new material (there’s said to be several albums on the way) feels a little academic.

Doom’s managed to occupy such an important – if sometimes understated – place in the development of hip hop in recent times that these first gigs on European soil are merely a catch up on the past decade. Once audiences have got over that, they’ll demand more.

Photos:
Flickr (MF DOOM photos) by Def Danny
Flickr (MF DOOM photos) by encosion (Tim Ferguson)

Also, Def Danny's account of the MF Doom concert on his blog site:
A Tribe Called Next - Who is the masked man? Doom?…

And Lucid Mover account of the show on his blog:
Lucid Mover - DOOM @ Roundhouse

more fan shot video below.









(video courtesy of jordang187, Stevenhoward09 & Pundrick12345)

(MF) Doom Live in Paris

Looks real. MF DOOM at l'Elysée Montmartre in Paris, France Wednesday, March 3. It was DOOM's first show in Paris.

(video courtesy of ThePatHibulaire & gratmaf)

Will The Real (MF) Doom Please Stand Up?

The question of ambiguity has surfaced yet again with (MF) Doom's recent show's asking the question, is this the real thing or not?

via New York Magazine

After a shaky, lip-synch heavy show in Chicago a few weeks back, the underground rapper DOOM is once again being accused of having sent an impostor to perform in his place. This is something DOOM can easily do because he’s never seen without his trademark silver mask, and has more or less been caught doing before. But the Chicago performance isn’t a clear-cut example. The promoters are convinced it was him, releasing a statement that says they “DO NOT have any proof that the person who performed was not Daniel Dumile, a.k.a. Doom. The show was legally contracted and paid for in full. The show was officially listed on Doom's website.” So, what's going on here?

One of the promoters, Harry Knuckles, explains further:

At no point did we have time to fingerprint him or draw blood for inspection. And IMO, seriously, the dood looked like him, like Zev Love X. yes it was pretty obvious that the guy was lip-syncing, but we can't say that it wasn't Dumile. If Dumile lip-syncs because he is too fat, alcoholic and out of breath to spit his own verse, I guess that's what it has come to now.

Comparing the YouTube videos available to what we saw from DOOM at the Pitchfork Festival, we agree with Knuckles that it was the real deal, just giving a lackluster performance. More interesting is the question of why people are so upset: More than any other rapper’s alter ego, DOOM — whose backstory borrows from the Marvel comics super-villain Doctor Doom — is explicitly a separate entity from Daniel Dumile. What’s the point of creating a character that wears a mask all the time if you can’t send out other people to play that character?

As Dumile has explained:

I'm doing the shows; the stage is my canvas; I'll put whatever up there for the visible eye … Look, was niggas rockin' or was niggas rockin'? See, I'm snapping niggas out of it.

And yet … this would be a good point, if everyone were indeed “rockin.’” If DOOM were able to cultivate a cadre of fakes to entertain the masses, that would be unprecedentedly dope — someone pushing hip-hop’s concept of the alter ego to its extreme point. At this point, however, neither the real nor fake DOOMs seem to be entertaining anybody. Meanwhile, DOOM gets to charge $39.50 a ticket thanks in part to people willing to pay in the hopes they’ll be the lucky ones to get the real DOOM. With that said, there’s no way we’re missing his show this Friday at the Nokia Theater. (another source to story - Brooklyn Vegan)

Mos Def & DOOM Team Up For Upcoming Concert Dates

via Exclaim Canada

While live appearances from underground hip-hop icon DOOM are definitely a touchy subject for some fans, the rapper is set to play two shows with Mos Def in early 2010. So far, we know a Toronto show is happening at the Koolhaus on January 27 and a New York show is happening the Nokia Theatre at Times Square on January 30.

We hate to be so conspiratorial, but the amount of controversy surrounding DOOM's concerts will likely raise some concerns. The shows are billed as “DOOM with Mos Def,” which is strange, because if Mos Def were to play with DOOM, there's no question he would headline.

Neither rappers have announced the shows on their official websites, so it’s unclear if more shows will be scheduled.

Tickets for the Toronto show go on sale this Saturday (December 5), and you may want to get buying early, because if both Mos Def and the real DOOM actually show up, it will surely be one great evening of hip-hop.

Radiohead's Thom Yorke & J. Dilla Contribute To (MF) DOOM EP

via Crave Online

According to a press release:

"Masked maverick DOOM (previously known as MF Doom) is set to release his new GAZZILLION EAR EP this December. The record includes production by Radiohead frontman and longtime DOOM fan Thom Yorke, the much-missed J Dilla, psychedelic hip-hop artist Jneiro Jarel and TV On The Radio lynchpin Dave Sitek. The EP follows DOOM’s earlier BORN LIKE THIS album opus - one of the hip-hop highlights of 2009."

There's been a longstanding rumor that TVOTR's Sitek was collaborating with DOOM, and it's encouraging to see that it's actually happening. The same goes for Yorke, after he remixed one of DOOM's tracks earlier in the year.

Sitek, meanwhile, collaborated with Jarel to co-produce a version of the title track.

Gazzillion Ear is released digitally on December 6 and on 12-inch on December 7 on Lex Records.

(source)

Related:
(MF) Doom: New Album Collection And Working With TV On The Radio Guitarist

Common and Friends Hollywood Benefit Concert Recap With Photos, Videos and Show Review

Common and Friends 'Common Ground' Benefit Concert took place at the Hollywood Palladium Saturday September 26th in Hollywood, CA.

Fan shot footage below, most good quality.













This is what Scott T. Sterling from the L.A. Times said about the Common and Friends 'Common Ground' Hollywood Benefit Show:

“I’ve been to a lot of charity events, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Old-school rapper Heavy D surveyed the sold-out Hollywood Palladium crowd gathered for the second annual “Common & Friends,” a star-studded affair that featured appearances from a seemingly endless cavalcade of A-list hip-hop stars to benefit Common's Common Ground charity.
The audience had already seen a series of highlights. De La Soul opened the show with a quick, high-energy set, punctuated by a surprise appearance from masked rapper MF Doom, who ferociously ripped through his verse from “Rock Co.Kane Flow.”

Black Thought and Amir “Questlove” Thompson represented for the Roots, and Ludacris ignited concertgoers with a crowd-pleasing set that culminated with “I Do It for Hip-Hop.” The latter allowed him to introduce Nas, who appears on the recorded version (video here).

Read more of the show review here:
L.A. Times - Pop & Hiss

Photos from the Red Carpet and Backstage:
Getty Images
Wire Image 1
Wire Image 2
Wire Image 3

(video courtesy of Donjuan3foo, stepz7 and moviebruin)

(show review courtesy of Scott T. Sterling of the L.A. Times)

(MF) Doom: New Album Collection And Working With TV On The Radio Guitarist

via press release

DOOM is one of the most original and uncompromising voices in hip-hop. From his work in the 90's with the seminal KMD to his legendary releases under a variety of aliases including MF Doom, Madvillain, King Geedorah, Viktor Vaughn, Dangerdoom & more, his prolific body of work has always valued artistic integrity and creativity over anything else. As numerous and varied as his albums are, DOOM also has a thick catalog of guest appearances, remixes, non-album tracks, & vinyl only singles. For the first time, Unexpected Guest presents many of these hard to find tracks as a mix CD, executed and overseen by the Super Villain himself.

With a list of co-conspirators which includes marquee level names such as Talib Kweli, Ghostface & GZA as well as underground heroes Vast Aire, CountBass D & Kurius, the music on this disc highlights DOOM's ever-present trademark wit and taste for raw and ominous beats. On "Trap Door," he spits couplets like "No curse words / DOOM the worst church nerd verse heard" over a plucked bass and guitar line from producer Jake One that sounds like the funkiest spy movie soundtrack imaginable. "Sniper Elite" sees the emcee united with the late J Dilla, and is one of the many tracks featured that has yet to see an official CD release. The album will also feature a never before heard live version of DOOM's classic "I Hear Voices" from the Operation Doomsday album.

Peppered with his signature comic book dialogue and vintage sound clips, Unexpected Guests presents a treasure trove of DOOM obscurities which should shed light on material that even some hardcore fans may have missed. It's a frenetic, virtuosic look at a true hip-hop original.

Tracklist (Final tracks and running order TBA)
01. Get 'Er Done ft. DOOM - Jake One
02. Fly That Knot ft. DOOM - Talib Kweli
03. Sniper Elite ft. DOOM - Dilla Ghostface DOOM
04. Trap Door ft. DOOM - Jake One
05. Sorcerers ft. DOOM & Invizible Handz - John Robinson
06. Da Supafriendz - Vast Aire
07. Quite Buttery - Count Bass D ft. DOOM
08. ? - DOOM ft. Kurious
09. All Outta Ale - DOOM
10. E.N.Y. House - Masta Killa
11. Bells of DOOM - DOOM
12. My Favorite Ladies - DOOM
13. Street Corners (Remix) - Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck & GZA

Also read here:
MF Doom and TVOTR’s Dave Sitek to release album