After countless months of waiting and wondering, catching impostors on stage, and getting tastes of existence through guest spots here and there, Doom has finally lost his MF and come out with the eagerly awaited Born Like This. Within this album there are two main questions. Does it live up to its expectations? And then a perhaps more relevant question…has it been so seemingly long that this album does not even have expectations?

I would say that Doom has enough weight in the rap game that yes, this album does hold some expectations still. However, with this year’s past Doom rumors and shenanigans, Born Like This has lost part of its appeal…in some respect. On the other hand, Doom has only accentuated his super-hero/villain status of hidden identity’s and abilities to weave in and out of the hip-hop world like a chameleon.

Are expectations met? Depends on where you place Doom. He has always been one to not only rock the mask, but rock the aesthetics that come with the mask…heavy rhyme schemes, old school beats, many a reference, etc. Doom does not stray from any of these things on his newest release, which is good for some fans, bad for others. Meaning, if you were looking forward to Doom rewinding his act and doing things a little differently, this is not the album for that. He rewinds his act and just presses play: lets things run as they have. But, for other fans, this is what Doom is. No surprises, on the records at least: a very specific hip-hop sound that is achieved only through and by Doom.

“Supervillain Intro” is just as it should be, a classic Doom intro with villainy samples and a mad scientist feel. This bleeds into the next track, “Gazzillion Ear,” which lights the album up, giving you a feel of what you are in for. “He wears a mask so when it dawns his face/each and every race can absorb the bass”. It is classic rhymes like on this song “Ballskin” that remind us who Doom is and what he does best. His mask is not for fun, but to show that in the world of hip-hop race, looks, bling, etc., don’t matter. It’s all about the sound, about absorbing the vibes. “Lightworks” gives us our Dilla fix, and of course Doom hits up Raekwon and Tony Starks (Ghostface) to accompany him and his secret identity on “Yessir!” and “Angelz.”

Bass, piano driven beats, orchestrated booming tracks, laser like sounds, etc….all things you should expect and do receive on Born Like This. Doom still holds some secrets, but his lyricism and feel for the funk sweat out of the this album as much as any of his previous, if not more. He clearly shows that he is here to stay, and if anyone was expecting change, they are looking in the wrong spot. For Doom was Born Like This.

RELATED POSTS:

No related posts.