1.
2. 15. "That's That"
Album: Born Like This
"Weird words count. You wanna have things that will tickle the ear. Words that people might not hear as often. Things that sound funny to make you think a little more. Words that might be decades old or from hundreds of years ago or things that were made up that week. It’s all about how many rhymes you can fit together in a short period of time that can make sense to the listener. Really, no matter what you say, it’s going to make sense to somebody, as long as the words rhyme." - DOOM
(Source)
3. 14. "Hey!"
Album: Operation Doomsday
"We used to listen to these late-night radio shows, same thing as Bobbito and all those cats used to have late-night radio shows. This was before that, this was like ’81, WHBI was a station out of New Jersey, I believe. It was the Zulu Beats Show and they used to just spin breaks but they’d have voiceovers on pieces on top of it. But then you’d have "Funky Drummer" or "Apache" rocking, and then you’d have like an old comedy joint on there, a Monty Python piece would be playing. I always found that really bugged out, because I didn’t know where it was coming from, it was like another layer of digging. Not only did you have to find out where the break was from, you got to figure out what was that voice, you know? It was all interesting to me, I always like to put a bit of that in tribute to that style." - DOOM
(Source)
4. 13. "Anti-Matter"
Album: Take Me To Your Leader (as King Geedorah)
"Most of the time, I don't use the sequencer part at all. It gives a more hands-on feel to it when you listen back. You know, when you're doing a beat, and you first loop it–you hit the sample, and then you ain't looping it. You just hitting it. But you hit it a little different every tie you hit it. When you capture that, that's like the snapshot of the most rawest, your livest session right there. Once you have the computer loop [a sample], then you record it; now you're going coproducer with the computer. It's like, did you really do the beat then? It's all right looping some shit, but at least put the swing to it. That's how I feel–I just feel a little guilty sometimes using too much of the computer." - DOOM
(Source: Wax Poetics Issue 31)
5. 12. "Mic Line"
Album: Escape From Monsta Island (as member of Monsta Island Czars)
"Everything is open. It’s not pigeonholed where I’m this guy and I gotta be the tough guy everyday, you know? Like some of these cats are pigeonholed into characters, like they have to be that dude everyday. No matter if they’re happy that morning or they sad, or they might lose or gain weight, but they have to be that character. You might change your mind, change your view about things but you can’t do that and it so limits it. Unless they come out with a new character that allows them to express something different, or just totally change their mind and decide to rename themselves and be like ‘I’m coming like this now’, which is the same thing as changing characters, so you might as well have a variety of avenues.” - DOOM
(Source)
6. 11. "Kon Karne"
Album: MM..Food
"I consider myself a drummer, if anything, out of all the instruments. Drums are the centerpiece of the whole song." - DOOM
(Source: Wax Poetics Issue 31)
7. 10. "Deep Fried Frienz"
Album: MM..Food
"I actually get out less and less these days. I used to hunt for records a lot. But now I’m lucky to have a network of people who get out and bring back stuff for me [laughs]. Like a lot of those Stones Throw cats; Egon’s a crate-dude and he’s one of my sources. Egon actually hip me to that Galt sample. J Rocc and Madlib work with me too. As I got older, I’ve fallen off a bit [laughs] in terms of my collecting, but I’m lucky to have these dudes give me stuff to supplement my own stuff." - DOOM
(Source)
8. 9. "Rapp Snitch Knishes"
Album: MM..Food
"I grew up in a multicultural town in Long Island where it was part of our experience of dealing with different cultures and different foods and different influences they brought to the country. It’s a funny sounding word too. Knish. Words that rhyme with knish…any aspect of that, how it sounds, how it can match with something in society. So “rap snitch” and “knishes” kinda go together. So it was easy to find a title. The challenge was coming up with good enough references to make a song." - DOOM
(Source)
9. 8. "Hoe Cakes"
Album: MM..Food
"What you use to record with I don’t think is that important, but just for reference, I used the MPC-2000 XL I believe at that time [ed. note: during the recording of MM..Food], for the sampling part. The recording was pre-Pro Tools, it was VS 1680 or 1880, I believe. The medium I record onto is really not that much of a big deal with me. It depends on the quality, there’s a way to keep the quality where you wouldn’t even be able to tell if it’s two-inch or Pro Tools." - DOOM
(Source)
10. 7. "Rhymes Like Dimes"
Album: Operation Doomsday
"As I’m writing it I’m also thinking of it from a listener’s point of view. It’s almost to the point where I catch myself off-guard. I try to keep it interesting. The essence of rhyming is to keep everybody off-guard a little. I’ll take it and stretch it a little, leave one word blank, knowing that the listener is following along and will fill in that blank, just like I’ll fill in a blank, but always put that word in that you least expect, or that you might think would be there but that almost makes sense in another way. It keeps the story interesting where you can match wits. It’s like you keep a conversation with the listener where you can match wits with them makes it more fun to me." - DOOM
(Source)
11. 6. "?" ft. Kurious
Album: Operation Doomsday
"My fuel is more things that are reminiscent of my youth, like '70s stuff, funk stuff. I look at what the year was, and then the shit might be right near my birthday or right near the time when my brother was born. It's a time when you can remember what it felt like. If you listen to a record from back then, it still takes you right back. If I want to go to '83, I'll put on some Bambaataa shit. If I want to go to '71, Gil Scott-Heron and those dudes back then. Really, for me, there's no more after 1993. It seems like it all turns into pop or bubblegum shit." - DOOM
(Source: Wax Poetics Issue 31)
12. 5. "I Hear Voices Pt. 1"
Album: Operation Doomsday
"I’m doing more writing than I ever thought I’d be doing. And it’s put together loosely, like you’ve got novels that are put together loosely. Like tabloids as opposed to credible newspapers, in the same way you’ve got hip hop in the sense of rhyming that is fun, here there, just thrown together, not as crafty, I would say. Then you’ve got the real crafty, good stuff. I try to make that good stuff where you say: 'Wow, that’s a classy book and well written.'" - DOOM
(Source)
13. 4. "The Fine Print"
Album: Take Me To Your Leader (as King Geedorah)
"The idea is having different characters just to really get the storyline across. The idea of having one different character all the time, to me, makes the story boring. I get that mainly from novels, that style of writing, or movies, where there’s multiple characters who carry the storyline. It might be written by one director or writer, but there’s multiple characters. You need it. So the more, the better with me. This way I could come from one point of view, another point of view; they might even disagree on certain things. I think a lot of times, especially in hip hop, artists get pigeonholed into being “you’re the guy”. It’s kind of limiting in a way. I look it like I’m the writer, same way with the skits. Have the record tell the story, have little intervals and cut scenes." - DOOM
(Source)
14. 3. "Cellz"
Album: Born Like This
"If I’m the producer of a project, I can lose myself in it unless I’m paying attention. [Born Like This] took a longer time because I had a lot more to do with the mixing and all that stuff. But I still work to the same method – hear the beat, as soon as the idea’s there I write it down, and then do it and don’t try to do it again. A couple of times I’ve tried to do songs better, where I’ve missed a line, but the first time is almost always the best time – everything after that is an imitation of the first time, and it’s only ever going to be a different version of that first one." - DOOM
(Source)
15. 2. "Gas Drawls"
Album: Operation Doomsday
"We might be using the same sources, the same references, but I’m keeping it to where it’s vinyl, that shit might have dust on it, crackle. I can’t get the CDs but I’m still going to make the beat so I’m going to use the one I first made. The first set of vocals, I had a plug-in mic that wasn’t maybe the best mic, but that’s how it was made, I’m keeping it rugged. We still use the same methods to this day – however you do it, that’s how you do it, it’s done, pow! It’s an attitude to it that became part of the formula, the methodical way we did joints. It still exists." - DOOM
(Source)
16. 1. "Dead Bent" (Original 12" Version)
Album: 12" Single/Operation Doomsday (Complete Edition)
"The character DOOM particular, he’s more like the OG old-school old-time villain. He’s the typical villain you’d have in any story. A lot of people misunderstand him, but he’s always looked at as the bad guy, but really he’s got a heart of gold. He’s for the children. He’s a Robin Hood kind of character." - DOOM
(Source)
