Pantry Full of Rhymes

Don’t bother going to see the new Fantastic Four movie this summer. Instead, Pick up a forty of Coqui malt liquor, a blunt, and a copy of MF Doom’s MM..Food? This album is hip-hop at its finest, with more references to food, weed, women and Doom’s favorite Marvel superheroes than a donut has sprinkles.The Metal Faced Villain has an uncanny mastery of his turntables and sampler. Songs are prepared like a delicate 7-layer taco dip, with loops, samples, and melodies piling up into tasty combinations only to be topped off with a dollop of Doom’s smooth flowing rhymes. It’s an all you can eat buffet, with each track adding enough new flavors throughout to satisfy even the most ADHD-stricken of listeners.

MM..Food? is equally driven by Doom’s lyrics and his choice of samples. He rearranges snippets from old school Fantastic Four cartoons with a plethora of other clips that are blended to perfection. Only someone with a quick sampler finger and an addiction to late night television could boast the archive of raw material from which to mix these concoctions. For instance, on “Gumbo” we hear a woman promoting the merits of “edible (w)rappers.”

MF Doom doesn’t do all the work himself, however. Mad Lib makes a guest appearance on “One Beer” that’s reminiscent of their astounding Madvillain collaboration. Count Bass D delivers the goods on “Potholders” while Mr. Fantastik stretches out some verses over “Rapp Snitch Knishes.”

MF Doom’s style combines the dynamics of a 70’s action movie with wit and skillful timing that’s often absent from hip-hop today. This album is essential listening, because as one sample declares: “Food! We need food!”