DOOM is his own breed of MC. Fans of his lyrical dexterity and creative sampling have latched onto the myth that surrounds his work; an experience that taps into hip hop’s fascination with comics and hilarious absurdity. A few days before the release of his fourth project as the metal-faced villain, Born Like This (Lex), VIBE caught up with Doom to find out what happened to the “MF,” the thinking behind his new album, and just for kicks, just what happened to that Doom/Ghostface Killah collaboration.
VIBE: It seems like you’re constantly working on tons of projects at once. Did that workload have any effect on your ability to focus on this project and are you working on anything else right now?
Doom: There’s the new Madvillainy project that is almost done, and a new Adult Swim record. I don’t know its name yet. It’s not hard to split focus. Actually, for me, the more the better. I work until I get fed up and then keep jumping from project to project, so everything is fresh when I come to it. It’s good to have those alternatives so nothing sounds stale.
How long have you been working on Born Like This?
It’s hard to put a number to it, but I’d say about off and on for three years. If I had to put a linear number to it, I’d say it would be about one year of straight man-hours.
What caused your jump to Lex Records the release of this project? You’ve never put out a record with them before, right?
Yeah, that’s a good question. When it comes down to it, those niggas came with the right number so they got the record. That’s more or less what dictates the move; who’s got that paper.
You’ve said you are inspired by the writer, Charles Bukowski. What elements of his writing are particularly influential?
His work ethic is so inspiring and shows how writers, real writers, are all the same. Like cats who aren’t doing it just because it’s fashionable now. And he shows the difference between those who write and those who were born to write, or like people who would be rhyming even if hip hop wasn’t where it is now. I recognize him as part of the family. I saw this documentary on him… umm the name is Born Like This, or something? I hope I ain’t bite it like that (laughs) [Ed Note: Actual title is Bukowski: Born Into This]. At his time, he ain’t give a fuck, and there are a lot of similarities between him and me.
I know everyone is looking forward to Born Like This, but I also want to talk about Swift & Changeable. How did you come to meet Ghostface and how did the idea of the record come about?
I just met up with [Tony] Starks through a mutual friend, and he was kinda the catalyst for a lot of people knowing what’s up with me. Then, with the record, it just happened however those things come up. People were like it’d be hot if we worked on a joint together, and fans were requesting it, and saw the similarities between our styles. So it just came from that.
Have you started working on it at all? It always been proposed but it seems like its been hard to get the record to actually drop.
We’ve been working on it. These things just kinda happen. There’s no definite end point. It’s like 40 percent done so if everything falls into place then you’ll get it soon enough. It’s like people start talking and hyping shit before the business is taken care of, so then things get slowed up.
As DOOM, you’ve always been known for connecting comic book nostalgia and just really dastardly word play. Do you see that character changing on this album?
Well I mean, that’s what he’s known for, but you’ll see a softer side, right? Like a record of ballads maybe that show he’s a suave sophisticate. But like, the other characters have other sides too, so you’ll get a chance to check them out as well, so you got all these elements to check out, and it’s gonna keep this thing going for a while.
Why did you drop the "MF" from your name for this album?
Man, everyone keeps asking that, like all the magazines wanna know where the MF is going. The “MF” stands for Metal Face, so I ain’t dropped it, it can never be dropped, but this record is the more personal side of the villain. It’s from behind the mask. You see what the character’s really thinking; just another chapter where you see into his mind.
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