20th Anniversary Salute: Operation Doomsday

What's happening everybody??  It's been a while since there's been a posting due to personal issues (always be sure to have your mental strength be as strong or stronger than your physical if possible), but we're back and here to give props to another influential album celebrating its twentieth birthday.  This album in particular stands as one of the most left-brained releases the underground has ever delivered.  From the mind of a former member of KMD-turned-reborn supervillain, this album was quirky, odd, and unorthodox, but was also quite lyrical and definitely had a feel of an emcee that was scientific with his approach to hip-hop.  With animated samples aplenty throughout the album, this album laid the foundation to one of the most acclaimed repackaging moments in hip-hop history, and started a following that is still revered to this day.  Ladies and gentlemen, this is MF DOOM (now just DOOM) and his debut, Operation: Doomsday.

Much like Daniel Dumille's alter ego, he based his life and career after the arch rival of the Fantastic Four, Victor Von Doom, Much like him, he was angry at an accident that disfigured him and he in turn donned a metal mask and plotted revenge against the world for his pain, DOOM lost his brother and fellow KMD member DJ Subroc, and he clearly was still in mourning, while growing disgusted with how commercialized and materialized hip-hop had become.  As a result, Operation Doomsday was created.  This was an album for those that needed something...different.  In '99, the Bad Boy era was slowly declining, but more from No Limit and Cash Money, plus the hardcore stylings of the likes of DMX were starting to flood the airwaves.  The underground, in the meantime, was starting to deliver some groundbreaking work.  Acts such as Company Flow, El-P, Cannibal Ox, and Lone Catalysts were starting to pop up and delivered some truly breathtaking material.  This was where DOOM could show his talent as the supervillain, and did he ever.

From the opening cut, the Sade-sampled "Doomsday", we hear a pretty subdued yet intriguing emcee with rhymes for days and a distinct delivery.  From there, cuts like "Rhymes Like Dimes", "Red and Gold" (this was done by another alter ego, King Geedorah), "Gas Draws", and the melancholy "?" show his dexterity, yet all highlight how gifted of an emcee he is, even if some of his rhymes may go over some casual listeners heads at first.  The same holds true for other cuts like the posse cut "Who You Think I Am", "Tick Tick" and "Go With The Flow" all fit in hand and glove with the flow of Operation Doomsday.  There's a strange beauty within this album that takes a bit of unpacking in order to obtain the gift that is this album.  That's actually part of the fun.

While most newer fans of his have heard a more razor sharp emcee with albums such as Born Like This, Mm...Food, and especially the landmark underground epic Madvillainy, DOOM has become a folk hero, yet much like comic book heroes such as Wolverine or Batman, there's an enigmatic appeal to him that keeps fans coming back to him.  Lyrically, he's shown his entire worth over these span of albums.  It's encouraged for these newer heads to peep his alter ego works of King Geedorah's Take Me To Your Leader and the two Viktor Vaughn albums, Vaudeville Villain and VV2, to get the meat of where Madvillainy was coming from.  His vivid rhyme structure and ability to have you delve into the mad of a pissed off, yet highly intelligent, supervillain is enough to make you clamor for more, With Operation Doomsday, the door was opened for distinctive personalities with unique yet very highly decent, lyricism and a cult following that has increased due to the allure of hip-hop's most mysterious emcee.  Happy twentieth to Operation Doomsday

20th Anniversary Salute: 2001

What's going on people? In a year that saw phenomenal releases from the likes of Black Moon, Eightball & MJG, the Violator compilation, Pharoahe Monch, and Mobb Deep, perhaps the album that was the most talked about was from a true icon in hip-hop.  Having already setting the standard for west coast hip-hop with his landmark debut, The Chronic.  This album established Deathrow as a force within hip-hop, as it introduced the likes of Snoop (Doggy) Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, Lady Of Rage, and RBX (where's he been?) With all-time classic singles like "Nuthin' But A G Thang", "Fuckin' With Dre Day", and "Let Me Ride", plus monster album cuts like "Stranded On Death Row" and "Little Ghetto Boy" , it's no wonder this album has sold over five million units domestically.  How in the world would this artist follow up such a monumental game shifter like The Chronic? The answer would come seven years later, and good Lord was it a follow-up.  This is a twentieth anniversary salute to Dr. Dre and his sophomore album, 2001.

What was easily among the most anticipated sophomore albums of the nineties was the sequel to Dre's Chronic album.  As was aforementioned, careers were spawned from this release such as Snoop, Dogg Pound, and Dre's half brother Warren G.  Plus, between '95 to '99, the relationship between Dre and Snoop had soured somewhat and Snoop didn't have Dre's assistance again until the incredible cut "Bitch Please" from Snoop's No Limit Top Dogg album of '99 (salute coming perhaps).  To fully whet the appetite of hip-hop lovers worldwide, the first single was released, and indeed it was Dre and Snoop again on the triumphant, G-funk laced "Still D-R-E".  From there the super dope follow up single with newly signed Aftermath artist Eminem dropped "Forgot About Dre" , as well as "The Next Episode" and "The Watcher".  Every track on 2001 (why it wasn't just called Chronic 2001 is beyond me) was tailor made for Dre and anyone else associated with him.  Much like The Chronic, this album hosts guests a-plenty such as already established stars like Xzibit, Defari, west coast vet King T, and former N.W.A. cohort MC Ren, as well as up-and-comers such as Hittman, Six-Two, Knocc-turnal, and Ms. Roq.  All the guests on this album delivered with precision and quality, with Em easily being the highlight emcee of the album.

The production here was next level Dre, as it sounded like an updated G-funk sound, and this especially prevalent on cuts like "XXXPlosive" (which Erykah Badu ended up also using for "Bag Lady"), "Housewife", and the slick-sounding "Bitch Niggaz". Other cuts like "The Watcher", "What's The Difference", "Fuck U", and "Bang Bang" really hit you in the face with their knocking, thumping production and non-fuck-giving rhymes that exemplify a Dre album.  While the production here is as top notched of a Dre one could imagine considering how brilliantly epic The Chronic was, all the guests here show tremendous talent.  Yes folks, Em outshined each and every person here, but don't undermine the contributions of folks like Xzibit, Snoop, and the once promising Hittman.  Thus making this album a very well-rounded package.

With the exception of the highly reflective and somber "Message" (written by Royce 5'9"), this was one hundred percent gangsta shit.  Did you expect anything less from a Dre album? Dre's 2001 was the perfect follow-up to The Chronic and ended up establishing its own legacy, not to mention selling over seven million units.  While he followed this up nearly twenty years later with Compton, which was pretty damn dope in itself, it still didn't quite live up the gargantuan expectations from The Chronic and 2001.  Regardless, 2001 served as one of the greatest sophomore albums of all-time and showed the world that Andre Young was in fact hip-hop's Quincy Jones for a reason.  Until next time homies!