Album Review: DOOM – Born Like This (2009)

Album Review: DOOM – Born Like This (2009)
Rating: 4 out of 5 Potholes

The masked villain, who now goes by just DOOM, has more or less been in hiding since 2006. Sure, he produced and rapped for like-minded artists, including two fantastic tracks on Jake One’s White Van Music. But many of DOOM’s beats weren’t exactly original or exclusive. The majority of them appeared on his instrumental Special Herbs volumes. That minor issue was easily overlooked and disregarded, though, as the beats were mostly stellar.

Then came the numerous album delays and promised collaborations that never materialized; GhostDOOM anyone? But the shit didn’t hit the fan until the England-born rapper-producer began standing up crowds at several venues across the country. And, understandably, the reaction by most was not warm. Many listeners said they would swear off buying or purchasing his music. Others, including Kno of CunninLynguists, also called out DOOM(poster) for screwing over so many people. So now, after all the drama and controversy, we finally have Born Like This, a satisfying and well-rounded follow-up to 2004’s MM..FOOD.

And after a quick intro, the album busts through the gates with the heart-stopping “Gazzillion Ear”. DOOM spits quotables over a collage of J Dilla beats that fits the villain’s flow like a glove. And that continues with the Jake One-produced “Ballskin”, which has DOOM sounding as gruff and hungry as ever. In his typical off-the-cuff style, he switches from addressing his absence to talking shit to everything under the sun without a problem. Nothing on here can match this one-two punch, and in all reality, nothing released this year probably will. But other pairs do come close, such as when Empress Sharhh kills it on the banger “Still Dope” after the dark and dreary “Cellz”. Also, it’s hard to deny the swift “That’s That” followed by “Supervillainz”, which features a hilarious autotune hook and guest spots from Kurious, Mobonix, and Slug, of Atmosphere. Neither of those pairs brings consistent heat, though, as all of them are marred by some minor problems. For example, Empress Sharhh rips apart “Still Dope”, but the track would have reached epic levels with some bars from DOOM.

Even with those phenomenal tracks, Born Like This gets weighed down by throwaways and a few missteps. The sentiments from Freddie Foxxx on “Bumpy’s Message” works to solidify DOOM’s villainous status. And the beat reprise on “Thank Yah” from “Supervillain Intro” does add cohesion. But both are easily skippable and forgettable. It’s not as easy to just toss aside what happened to the previously released and reworked “Angelz”. The track has DOOM and Ghostface delivering solid verses over what is the worst and most distracting snare drum heard in years. Other tracks are just as disappointing, like the painfully homophobic though poignant “Batty Boyz” and sloppy “Lightworkz”, even though they have their moments.

Because of those problems, Born Like This obviously can’t exactly stack up to some of DOOM’s best works, such as his masked debut Operation Doomsday. But this album easily tackles its competition so far this year. And as long as you don’t go into it with unreal expectations, you will leave the 40-minute listen satisfied and ready for seconds.