MF Doom / CZARFACE - "Czarface Meets Metal Face"

CZARFACE is the Hip Hop collective made up of Inspectah Deck, 7L and Esoteric.  Now, I like my music over-the-top, and that goes just as strongly for Hip Hop.  So when I first heard their debut in 2013 called "CZARFACE", instantly I was hooked.  I absolutely LOVED just how animated this project was.  Obviously, if you're dealing with Wu-Tang royalty, you know you're going to have plenty of Hardcore Hip-hop, which you do get here.  But CZARFACE has character and lots of it.  I loved the Wrestling and Superhero references throughout, and colorful MC's like Ghostface and Action Bronson made this album a real solid debut.  Now, yes, they could have taken this all much further, and they didn't exactly add much to the Hardcore Hip Hop genre.  But still, this was a fine debut.  CZARFACE returned in 2015 with "Every Hero Needs a Villain".  This album was longer, more colorful, had even better guest features and even cleaner production.  All of the same elements returned, from the Wrestling references to Superhero sound clips.  It was all here, and it was all so much fun, and incredibly refreshing.  Now, one problem I have with current Hip Hop is just how oversaturated it is.  Which, a lot of the time can be alright.  But it also gives artists a whole lot more chances to get a little bland.  2016's "A Fistful of Peril" is easily some of the blandest material I've heard from CZARFACE.  At the time it had barely been a year since their last album.  I wasn't absolutely begging to hear more, I was practically still taking it all in.  "A Fistful of Peril" isn't terrible, and tracks like "Tarantulas" are solid and all.  But this short album had so much less character and colorful performance, even if the structures and themes remained the same. Clearly, though, CZARFACE really didn't know how to trudge forward.  In 2017 they dropped "First Weapon Drawn", a really bizarre album to say the least.  This was an almost completely instrumental album, full of very colorful beats, which I'm totally fine with.  But there was this ridiculous narrative going on underneath about wrestling.  Not even a slight undertone, like this, was an instrumental Jazz Rap album about wrestling.  Yea, it was weird.  Not entirely bad, but weird.  So CZARFACE is actually back, with some new material, and they brought a very special friend.  Yes, they brought around underground legend MF Doom, someone else who loves rapping about wrestling and Superheros.  It was a pairing we knew would happen eventually.  And, I'm not really too shocked to say it, but they actually have some really great chemistry.  Let's chat about this album!


This album starts off with the sort of goofy, comic book style "Take Your Medicine".  It's not exactly groundbreaking, but it's certainly fun and introduces you nicely to the very animated world of CZARFACE.  This album starts cookin' fast though with "Meddle With Metal" and right off the bat I feel like some of these bars are not only seriously heavy and in your face, but skillful as well. If you know me at all, I've always thought that Inspectah Deck is certainly underrated in the Wide World of Wu.  And MF Doom sounds absolutely right at home among this creeping beat and vibrant atmosphere.  To be honest, he really does sound like he's more on his game than he has the last few years.  My only real gripe is this beat, which isn't terrible I guess.  But it's certainly on the safe side compared to just how colorful some of the production has been from CZARFACE in the past.  However, all around I have nothing bad to say about "Badness of Madness".  I love just how dark this one is and how it creeps along.  It's just so campy and ridiculous, and the beat is actually mysterious and interesting.  There are some Jazzy elements thrown in to, so hell yea "Badness Of Madness" is the feel I'm looking for.  It's colorful, and it makes me feel like I'm reading some ridiculously over the top graphic novel.  Then we have Doom, who takes up the majority of this track.  Honestly, I haven't heard him sound this on point with his wordplay in years.  "Badness of Madness" overall is a fantastic sound. Now, "Close Talker" may seem just like another slightly goofy interlude.  But I can't help but die laughing every time I hear this.  It's not necessary, but it's 50 seconds of fun. But when we get to "Forever People", my real issue with this project begins to surface.  The sounds here are fine, and the chemistry is absolutely present.  But between CZARFACE and MF Doom, why didn't they take this sound further?  This literally sounds like a recycled beat with slightly different rhymes.  It's an alright track, but from both of these artists, this could be so much more iconic.  It really comes down to the production and the beat, which I'm not completely into sadly.



On the other hand, "Captain Crunch" is Alternative Rap bliss.  This beat is just so much more impactful, and I haven't heard Doom this unhinged and skillful in years.  While this is obviously a much simpler of a tune, I feel like, in a lot of ways, this works for both Doom and CZAR.  Also, this is probably the most Hardcore Hip Hop sounding track here.  It's a fantastic tune and a real showing of what these two can do together.  From the wrestling lines to the Star Wars references, to the vocal snippets overseeing it all, this is all brilliant.  However, with "Don't Spoil It" it's becoming seriously evident that Doom and CZAR just didn't put nearly as much effort into this album as they could have.  This may not be an interlude, but it's seriously underwritten.  Why is this track only a minute and change?  This could have been so interesting if it was stretched out and given more verses.  Thankfully, there are plenty of tracks like "Phantoms" to go around.  This track is the sort of campy fun that I want to hear from MF Doom and CZARFACE.  The beat is nice and heavy, it's dark, and it doesn't take itself too seriously at all.  But I continue to be impressed with just how solid Doom sounds, since the last few years he has certainly put out a few questionable projects.  Then we have Open Mike Eagle on here, who sounds completely at home within the very animated world of these two "Supervillains".  Everything about this track works, and I love the much more immediate feel to it all, even that vocal sample just gives this such a great feel. "Bomb Thrown" keeps this album rolling with a ton of very animated flows, blatant wrestling references and breakneck skill.  It's times like this that I feel like I'm among rap royalty.  I love the very Jazzy beat here as well, which this album could have used a ton more of.  This track is easily the least flashy tunes here, but it's also one of the most instantaneous.  But all of these short interludes tracks like "You Masked For It"continues to be incredibly underwhelming.  I can't shake the feeling that so much of this album is good, but there's also a lot of tracks here or interludes that sound like they should have been expanded on.  "You Masked For It" is easily the worst track here, and for the first time, I feel like CZARFACE and Doom are wasting my time.

"Astral Traveling" on the other hand, is actually the exact opposite of the material we've gotten here.  This track is rough and animalistic, and seriously dark. But Doom, CZARFACE, and Vinnie Paz really make it enjoyable and easy to take in by still not taking themselves too seriously.  But what the hell is this track trying to accomplish?  This track is shifting beats and ideas almost constantly.  I mean, it doesn't really even come off as experimental, it just comes off as a bunch of small ideas that could have been so much better.   I do still think it's fun and has some great elements.  But this album, this entire project should have been so much more. "Nautical Depth" at the very least sounds focused.  The verses here come off so much more along the lines of what I expect.  These guys are all legends, and on "Nautical Depth" they have the intensity and the swagger to prove it.  There are funny lines, entertaining Pop Culture references, I really have no issue with this at all.  As far as an all-around track goes, "Nautical Depth" is one of the most concrete here.  There continues to be just so much of this album that is certainly decent.  I love the throwback feel of "Stun Gun" that brings Doom and CZAR back to the Golden Days or rap.  For the shorter tunes here, this track is actually one of the more complete.  It's also incredibly current which is a nice touch.  But then we get tunes like "MF CZAR", which is so much more sluggish and heavy sounding.  Sadly though, this is just a little too gimmicky for my liking.  Other tracks here have seen these two artists just sort of do their thing, be themselves and have natural chemistry.  But in a way, "MF CZAR" is just too much.  It just seems like they're trying way too hard to be edgy.  "Captain Brunch" however, is yet another Hardcore Hip-Hop influenced tune that gets me right back into what these guys are doing.  Not to mention, I love how dreary and truly dangerous MF Doom sounds here.  "Captain Brunch" is smooth, and I love just how classy the production here is.  A lot of the structure of this album is actually fantastic, and if they get a few kinks ironed out CZAR and MF Doom can easily come back with something legendary.  Sadly, they really don't finish this album off well.  Here's a question, why are there SO MANY interludes here that do nothing?  "Sleeping Dogs" as the finale doesn't expand any plot or anything.  It's a decent instrumental ending, but like the rest of this album could have been so much more.

Rating: 7.4/10

Give A Listen To: " Nautical Depth", "Captain Crunch", "Phantoms", "Bomb Thrown"

Genre: Hardcore Hip-Hop / Alternative Rap / Hip Hop

Overall Thoughts:  This is a decent project overall, and easily the most concrete project MF Doom has touched in ages.  CZARFACE and Doom have some obvious chemistry overall, and between the Pop Culture onslaught and not taking themselves too seriously, end up coming through with a series of classy and entertaining bars.   But, why the hell isn't this album flawless?  We're talking about MF Doom on a Alternative Hip Hop record, with jazzy production, rapping about Wrestling and Superheros.  This could, no, SHOULD be a 9/10 project.  But the production here is iffy, the interludes often go nowhere, and this could have easily been trimmed down a bit.  Still though, this is an entertaining clash of Alternative Hip Hop titans.