Rewind: DOOM 'Born Like This' (Part 2)

Welcome to part 2 of our look at MF Doom's latest album 'Born Like This' as DOOM.

Sure it's been used and abused to death since its release, but no amount of freestyles can diminish J Dilla's original 'Lightworks' from his 'Donuts' album. DOOM uses the beat on 'Born Like This' for his own take on 'Lightworks'. The beat is made up of Raymond Scott's early electronic music works 'Bendix 1: The Tomorrow People' and 'Lightworks' compiled on the album 'Manhattan Research, Inc.' in the year 2000. DOOM's track with Empress Stahrr titled 'Still Dope' reuses Doom's previous Metal Fingers beat 'Passion Flower' which samples Brazilian artist Arthur Verocai's 'Seriado' from his self titled 1972 album. Finally, the track 'That's That' also reuses a Metal Fingers instrumental: 'Hyssop' from 2003's 'Special Herbs vol. 4'. The song samples Galt MacDermot's song 'Princess Gika' from his highly sought after 1969 album 'Woman is Sweeter'. More MacDermot on this blog is inevitable!

Check back for more Doom in future posts on this blog.

The Lowdown:
DOOM 'Lightworks', 'Still Dope', and 'That's That'
from 'Born Like This' (2009) (MP3/CD)
J Dilla 'Lightworks'
from 'Donuts' (2006) (MP3 not available/CD)
Raymond Scott 'Bendix 1: The Tomorrow People' and 'Lightworks'
from 'Manhattan Research, Inc.' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Metal Fingers 'Passion Flower'
from 'Special Herbs 9+0' (2005) (MP3/CD)
Arthur Verocai 'Seriado'
from 'Arthur Verocai' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Metal Fingers 'Hyssop'
from 'Special Herbs vol. 4' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Galt MacDermot 'Princess Gika'
from 'Woman is Sweeter' (1969) (MP3/CD not available)

Related Posts:
Rewind: Metal Fingers 'Special Herbs Vol. 1 and 2' (Part 1)
Rewind: Metal Fingers 'Special Herbs Vol. 1 and 2' (Part 2)

Rewind: DOOM 'Born Like This' (Part 1)

After three years of near silence after a flurry of releases, MF Doom returned to Earth with 2009's 'Born Like This' under his new pseudonym DOOM. This two part blog post will cover the music and samples of Doom's latest album.

The album's opening track, 'Supervillain Intro, recycles a past Doom beat from 2005's 'Special Herbs 9+0': 'Coca Leaf' as Metal Fingers. DOOM's 'Gazzillion Ear' uses a posthumous J Dilla beat that utilizes samples from Giorgio Moroder's '(Theme from) Midnight Express' from the 'Midnight Express' soundtrack from 1987 and an early Brenton Wood single titled 'Trouble'. Raekwon takes center stage on 'Yessir!, floating on MF Doom's beat constructed from ESG's b-boy break 'UFO'. Madlib provides production for DOOM's 'Absolutely' uses a grip of producer go to tracks. Madlib samples Joe Tex's 'Tramp' answer track 'Papa Was Too', Ramsey Lewis' 'Sun Goddess', and Earth, Wind and Fire's essential party starter 'Brazilian Rhyme'.

Check back for part two of our look at 'Born Like This'.

The Lowdown:
DOOM 'Supervillain Intro', 'Gazzillion Ear', 'Yessir!', and 'Absolutely'
from 'Born Like This' (2009) (MP3/CD)
Metal Fingers 'Coca Leaf'
from 'Special Herbs 9+0' (2005) (MP3/CD)
Giorgio Moroder '(Theme from) Midnight Express'
from 'Midnight Express' (1987) (MP3/CD not available)
Brenton Wood 'Trouble'
from 'Baby You Got It' (1967) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
ESG 'UFO'
from 'ESG' (1981) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Joe Tex 'Papa Was Too'
from 'Papa Was Too' 7" (1966) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Ramsey Lewis 'Sun Goddess'
from 'Sun Goddess' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Earth, Wind and Fire 'Brazilian Rhyme'
from 'All 'n All' (1977) (MP3/CD)

Related Posts:
Rewind: Madvillain 'Madvillainy' (Part 1)
Rewind: Madvillain 'Madvillainy' (Part 2)

Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 7, 2006)

Although J Dilla's career was cut tragically short on February 10th of 2006, his legacy as one of hip-hop's most forward thinking producers was already concrete. For the non-believer, there were two more examples of J Dilla's skill released in 2006: his broken-beat magnum opus 'Donuts' and his final (to date) solo album 'The Shining'.

'Donuts' was released on February 7th of 2006, Dilla's final birthday. The album is comprised of 31 short instrumentals that blend into a stunning album. One of the standout tracks on 'Donuts' is the propulsive 'Lightworks' which utilizes samples from electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott's 'Bendix 1: The Tomorrow People' and, of course, 'Lightworks'. Dilla's original instrumental was used in its entirety for DOOM's 'Lightworks' from 2009's 'Born Like This' (check back for a full look at 'Born Like This' later this week). Similarly, Ghostface Killah used Dilla's 'Hi.' as the backing for his song 'Beauty Jackson' from 2006's 'Fishscale'. The basis for both tracks is the Three Degrees' 'Maybe' from their 1970 album 'Maybe'.

'Donuts' was followed by 'The Shining' four months later in August of 2006. The album was not finished by Dilla, after his death the album was completed by Karriem Riggins. One of the standout tracks from 'The Shining' is 'So Far to Go' with Common. The track samples the Isley Brothers' 'Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)' and was featured as 'Bye.' on Dilla's 'Donuts' album. The track would appear in a slightly different version as Common's 'So Far to Go' on his 2007 album 'Finding Forever'.

Dilla lives on through his music and is frequently cited by producers and given tributes by his friends and peers. Future posts on this blog will cover his material in greater depth.

The Lowdown:
J Dilla 'Lightworks', 'Hi.', and 'Bye.'
from 'Donuts' (2006) (MP3 not available/CD)
Raymond Scott 'Bendix 1: The Tomorrow People' and 'Lightworks'
from 'Manhattan Research, Inc.' (2000) (MP3/CD)
DOOM 'Lightworks'
from 'Born Like This' (2009) (MP3/CD)
Ghostface Killah 'Beauty Jackson'
from 'Fishscale' (2006) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Beauty Jackson'
The Three Degrees 'Maybe'
from 'Maybe' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
J Dilla 'So Far to Go'
from 'The Shining' (2006) (MP3/CD)
The Isley Brothers 'Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)'
from 'Go All the Way' (1980) (MP3 not available/CD)
Common 'So Far to Go'
from 'Finding Forever' (2007) (MP3/CD)

Related Posts:
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 1, 1995)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 2, 1996-1997)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 3, 1998-1999)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 4, 2000)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 5, 2001-2003)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 6, 2004-2005)