MF DOOM x Czarface: SuperWhat? Review
By Luke Modugno
The hip-hop world came to a standstill on New Year’s Eve of 2020 with the bombshell news of the passing of legendary New York rapper MF DOOM. During DOOM’s illustrious career in hip-hop, he crafted a legacy of mystery and boundary-pushing musical innovation, leaving behind a catalog littered with classic records. Known as a chronic collaborator, one of DOOM’s final projects before his passing came in the form of a joint project with the rap super-collective CZARFACE (consisting of producer 7L, Esoteric and Inspectah Deck), on their 2018 effort “Czarface Meets Metal Face.” Although DOOM has since passed, the combination of the two hip-hop giants has returned, with the release of the first official posthumous DOOM project coming in the form of Super What? the follow-up to their 2018 collab project.
Originally slated to drop before the pandemic and the passing of DOOM, Super What? is a sharp 10 track project spanning 28 minutes and doesn’t overstay its welcome. The project does exactly what it sets out to do: build on the chemistry formed between DOOM and CZARFACE with comic-book inspired production and raps.
The project opens with quite the attention-grabber in “The King and Eye,” featuring Darryl McDaniels, best known as the founding member of collective Run-D.M.C. The track is a peek into the rest of what's to come from the rest of Super What?; a masterclass from Esoteric that simply carries the song and project.
The track that made me fall in love with this project had to be “Mando Calrissian.” Over a main menu-esque beat, Inspectah Deck opens the track with a triumphant, braggadocious verse followed by a stunning yet brief DOOM verse, perhaps his best in years. The track concludes with Esoteric spiting arguably the best verse on the project, with countless Mandalorian and Star Wars references.
On prior CZARFACE projects, Inspectah Deck and Esoteric usually go hand-in-hand, trading bars and verses that formed a chemistry between the two emcees that made the supergroup so intriguing. However, with Super What? Esoteric carries the weight of the project, along with DOOM. Inspectah Deck’s verses are shorter and less attention-grabbing, almost as if he put less effort into the project than the rest of the collective.
Similar to CZARFACE Meets Metal Face, DOOM’s involvement on the project is a bit passive at times. One of DOOM’s strong suits as an artist is his inventive production. However, DOOM has zero production credits on the album, leaving 7L to shoulder the entire load. While the production certainly isn’t stale, the unutilized presence of a monolithic producer in hip-hop history is disappointing. Additionally, DOOM has short verses on this record, none exceeding a minute or so. At times, DOOM’s presence on the record is thin and calling this project a comprehensive collaboration could be seen as a stretch.
Overall, Super What? is a fun and light-hearted project. Although it’s a noticeable step down in quality from their former collaboration, when artists as talented as MF DOOM and CZARFACE get together, there are sure to be fireworks, ill beats and rhymes, and plenty of comic book references. Rest in peace MF DOOM.
Favorite Tracks:
Mando Calrissian
Break in the Action
Czarwyn’s Theory of People Getting Loose
Rating: 6
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