Behind the mask (continued)

One of his numerous managers made only one request: "No personal questions or comments." When reminiscing about the 1991 tour with De La Soul, Doom was reminded of a gig on the Rocky Point midway — "Oh shit, I remember that place!" I was also feeling comfortable enough to mention a chance encounter with his brother Subroc that summer outside a rap show at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan. He had the same mild-mannered personality as Doom, courteous and friendly when I approached him wearing a tattered 3rd Bass shirt.

"Yeah, that was my brother," Doom recalled in hushed tones. At that moment the call disconnected. A minute later the phone rang and Doom apologized for a faulty cell phone battery.

Doom and Subroc’s legacy is represented on the recently released Best of KMD, which plucks tracks from the group’s two albums. A forthcoming disc, which reportedly will pick up where Black Bastards left off, is an autobiographical prequel of sorts which should be an emotionally-charged rhyme diary with Zev addressing the loss of his brother and the meaning of the mask.

Local rap mastermind and ol-skool connoisseur Sage Francis shared his thoughts on KMD while on tour last month in support of his Sickly Business series, one of which features a track produced by Doom.

"KMD was one of my favorite groups when I was younger. Mr. Hood is one of the few albums from that era that stands the test of time. Zev Luv X was one of my favorite emcees mainly because of the lyrical content and sound of his voice. Doom has an addiction for rhyming unique words together, and his multi-syllabic rhyme scheme is one of the best in the industry. His raw approach to laying down vocals and letting it sound flawed and incidental is a breath of fresh air in today’s gloss fest. It truly is an honor and a pleasure to work with someone I have listened to for so long."

But any aspiring wordsmith knows it takes more than the requisite blunt session to pen his proverbial "next level" rhymes. Doom revealed a somewhat domesticated approach: "Alright, first of all I gotta make sure there is a positive energy flow in the crib, no extra thoughts or outside distractions. And keep a pen in every room, because once it hits the paper, it don’t take long for that, you know, raw pureness to come out."

When I told Doom that his manager had sent me a copy of the upcoming MM Food (Rhymesayers), the conversation stopped. "You weren’t supposed to get that," Doom calmly noted. "I’m the only one with a copy, so please keep it under your hat," he said, having just dealt with an Internet leak and subsequent lengthy delay of Madvillainy.

MM Food is the mind-bending pinnacle of Doom’s extensive résumé. He drops couplets with an entertaining humility not heard since Biggie graced the mic, with punchlines such as, "He wear a mask just to cover the raw flesh/A rather ugly brother with flows that’s gorgeous" on the opening track.

"It’s just another play on words — I wouldn’t call it a concept album," Doom explained. Most of the tracks vaguely correspond to some sort of food, including the re-recorded "Con Queso," originally released last summer under the name "Yee Haw," showcasing a mature (and even more intense) flow as he coolly lobs subtle one-liners like, "If I had a dime for every rhymer who bust guns/I’d have a cool mil for my sons in trust funds."

Two recent releases, however, show a much darker side. "Hold On" appears on the latest release from Science Fiction and finds an introspective Doom with death on his mind: "Wasn’t worth the pain — ask Milli or Kurt Cobain," he declaims, and "Sounds slick, he wrote it with a Bic Round Stic/Tie a brick around his neck so he drown quick." And "Nausea" pairs Doom with Nature Sounds in-house producer the Professor, where woozy horns and a hard snare are the sole accoutrement to Doom assaulting the track with the gun-toting boast, "Gift with the grime, criminal mind shifty cat/Swift with the nine through a 59Fifty hat." Clutching weapons is nothing new to Doom; hell, in 1993 he opened KMD’s controversial sophomore effort Black Bastards with, "I got a brand new .380 in the box, a shoebox of bullets, two clips — no safety lock" on "Get U Now."

Doom was caught off-guard when asked about plans for an upcoming tour in support of at least five albums.

"That’s a really good question," Doom pondered for a bit. "I’d love to just fill up a small club and tear it up, you know, just get on and give the people a little bit of everything for an hour straight."

Such was the case when Doom headlined a handful of sold-out Madvillain record release parties, including a recent memorable hometown show at B.B. King’s nightclub in Times Square. He delivered a captivating and crystal-clear 45-minute set covering the Doomography. And aside from a few blunt handlers and Madlib humbly observing behind a drum kit, the metal-masked Doom stood alone onstage, sans the microphone-wielding entourage or hype man. The 1200-capacity room reached a feverish pitch when Doom pulled out the Doomsday classics "Rhymes Like Dimes" and the Scooby Doo-infused "Hey!," plus the Madvillainy cuts "Meat Grinder," "Accordion," and "America’s Most Blunted." A full tour coinciding with the MM Food and the KMD reissue is slated for late summer.

MF Doom is confident that he can extend his demographic beyond the fervent core fan base that posts on mfdoomsite.com.

"I know there’s a million Herbs out there who like that other stuff, but I know there are also plenty of people who want to hear what I have to say — I’m just not reaching them yet. Once cats open up their minds I think they’ll understand that this is a little deeper than, you know, just the standard rap shit.

"It ain’t all about me. The music first, then everything else. I don’t ever want to cheat the people with corny product, you know what I mean? You won’t see me on the cover of an album with tattoos or a big gold chain — none of that."

MF Doom — "The best emcee with no chain you ever heard."