yo,
‘Take Me To Your Leader’, was released on June 17, 2003 by the British independent record label Big Dada.
This is Daniel Dumile’s (MF DOOM) first full-length album released under the Godzilla-inspired alias King Geedorah.
This pseudonym was first introduced on DOOM’s debut, ‘Operation: Doomsday’, in the track Red and Gold on his own, and track Who You Think I Am? alongside his fellows Monster Island Czars (M.I.C), a group King Geedorah was part of at the time. Geedorah is also mentioned in other tracks of this debut project, namely Operation: Greenbacks and Gas Drawls.
The following year after the release of his debut, in 2000, DOOM and his friend MF Grimm would put out the ‘MF EP’ where we’d get another appearance of King Geedorah, in the track No Snakes Alive. This track would reappear later in ‘Take Me To Your Leader’.
Fast forward to 2003, four months before the release of this project, we’d have a release by M.I.C, the album ‘Escape from Monsta Island’.
This is important to note since it is most likely the origin of the Geedorah moniker, given that all of the group’s members and overall concept centre around references to giant monsters.
‘Take Me To Your Leader’ is yet another example that what MF DOOM can do is probably better than anyone you can think of off the top of your clever, underground brain.
Daniel Dumile completely dominated the early 2000s underground scene with some well-known classics such as his collab with Madlib on ‘Madvilliany’, MF DOOM’s most popular solo released ‘MM…FOOD’ and ‘Operation: Doomsday’, DOOM’s debut and most iconic album in my opinion.
Also releasing ‘Vaudeville Villain’ under the alias Viktor Vaughn only 3 months after the release of this project is insane. 2 amazingly produced and put-together records with completely different themes, Daniel Dumile is indeed a freaking musical genius.
With all these releases is easy to understand why ‘Take Me To Your Leader’, doesn’t get much recognition, as it also falls under one of the many aliases of MF DOOM.
However, none of its quality is affected by this. In this record, King Geedorah takes centre stage on his own album. This 13-track album runs for 42 minutes with amazing production by Metal Fingers (another MF DOOM pseudonym, mainly related to his production work) and a great overall concept.
And, despite being tough for an underground abstract hip-hop album to get any mainstream awards, ‘Take Me To Your Leader’ is still critically acclaimed not just by fans but also by critics, receiving an 82 ranking in both critic and user scores on AOTY.
Among some other critical recognitions, Mark Martelli from Pitchfork stands out, mentioning that the record will excite you in a way most hip-hop projects just aren’t able to, giving it a 9/10 score.
The theme in this album revolves around King Geedorah’s desire to conquer the world, which is twisted with subtle social critiques.
These can be seen in more serious themed tracks such as Fastlane, where Biollante tells us about the situation of hip-hop, vices, religion, and life in general. Additionally, the track I Wonder, where Hassan Chop philosophizes on life choices and Krazy World, where rapper Gigan takes over to deliver an imagery-rich depiction of the daily life of a pimp — All great highlights by the way.
The concept of the album and the character DOOM created would be elaborated a little more in his Red Bull academy interview, 16 years after Geedorah’s first appearance:
Geedorah is a space monster. He’s not from the Earth. I made it different on purpose. A blend of ill lyrics and instrumentals. To me, it’s way iller than any of the wack shit out now… This whole album is Geedorah’s alien perspective on humans. This is done intentionally to show the listener a mirror image of his/herself and the way we see each other
This is emphasised on the outro track, The Fine Print.
Combined with the signature villainous elements typically associated with MF DOOM’s work, these factors make for a truly exceptional and masterful creation.
Now, with all this context in mind, I believe the project is musically amazing.
The production and experimentation are exceptional, showcasing a high level of creativity and skill. Furthermore, the flow and delivery from DOOM are outstanding, which comes as no surprise to his fans.
The production style is quintessentially MF DOOM, highlighting his remarkable talents as both a producer and overall artist.
This can be seen straight from the first track, Fazers, which is all about introducing who and what King Geedorah brings to the game (also possesses a sample from an old porno movie found by producer E Dub, I didn’t need to mention this but thought it would be funny).
The majority of the production on the record is taken by Metal Fingers, as mentioned before. Most of the samples are presented in one of DOOM’s collections of beats, ‘Special Herbs, The Box Set Vol. 0–9’.
Its versatility brings the main abstract sound, but also some Boom Bap, Experimental and, my personal favourite, Jazz Rap elements as seen on the dope track Next Levels.
The instrumental on the song Lockjaw is yet another remarkable example of great production. Often confused by a skit due to its short duration, the track features the rapper Trunks, which goes hard over one of my favourite instrumentals on the record (also presented on the next skit, One Smart N-----).
It is essential to comprehend the complexities and mysteries of this project in order to fully comprehend it. Most were covered already, however, some of the features and participations can also be confused.
In Fastline, we can see the contribution of artist Biollante, another monster that appears in the 1989 Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. Biollante. This track was also in another project by M.I.C, ‘The Next 1,000 Years’.
Moving on to the track Krazy World we see rapper Gigan taking over. This is just one of the many songs on the album where MF DOOM chooses to play producer under the alias King Geedorah rather than merely rap. The track was also from another project called ‘Gigan’
Finally, Anti-Matter, the lead single features the mystery rapper Mr. Fantastik, whose identity no one knows since he’s only been featured on two DOOM songs — This and Rapp Snitch Knishes from ‘MM.. Food’.
Although there are a few more shenanigans on the project, I believe I covered the majority and most significant ones.
There are not a lot of bad things I can mention regarding this record. One I see a lot of fans commenting on is the skits. And well, I do agree that some of them overstay their welcome, they’re also part of the whole concept of the record.
Listening to MF DOOM, or King Geedorah in this case, is always an overall experience that true fans should be aware of.
And despite the long skits that provide a great full listening experience, especially on vinyl, the album possesses great replay value still from most of the tracks.
Unfortunately, this would be the only solo project that DOOM released as King Geedorah, and we haven’t heard from it since this release apart from a few references here and there.
For all the reasons stated in this review, I believe this is a must-listen album for any MF DOOM and abstract underground hip-hop fan.
8/10
Highlights:
- Krazy World
- Next Levels
- I Wonder
Peace,