Operation Doomsday vinyl The Xavierite
When thinking about legendary albums, there is no doubt that MF DOOM makes the cut. Throughout his career, DOOM has been notorious for his influences from cartoons and comics, intricate wordplay, and having a “supervillain” stage persona.
Though MF DOOM has made countless albums, “Operation Doomsday” has to be a top pick for me personally. As someone who has grown to love old school hip-hop, this album is what started it all.
I remember first chatting with my friend, Michael, about music tastes and he offered me tracks from MF DOOM as a way to start. The album he sent my way was “Operation Doomsday” and sure enough, it changed my music world forever.
What I appreciate most about this album is how timeless it is, it truly sounds like it could be made in 2025, despite its release in 1999. MF DOOM captured a sound that never seeks expiration and forever stays in your mind.
My friend, Jadon Gorman, shares what he loves about this album by saying “his rap was unique compared to what was coming out at that time as it wasn’t as popular compared to 2Pac or Biggie, his music had such chill vibes to it, I could relax and have a good time with it.”
SXU student, Jason Jimenez- Garrido, also reflected on “Operation Doomsday” and he writes “to me this album up there as one of DOOM’s best. It was not only the perfect introduction to the MF DOOM persona, but also his unique style we grew to know and love.”
Even professors like Vincent Alexander Davis shared his opinions on the album.
Davis shared his story from when the album first appeared by stating,“When the Doomsday album dropped, initially at that time we didn’t know that MF DOOM was the former Zev Love X from the group KMD. We all knew that Daniel Dumile (his real name) dealt with a lot after his brother’s untimely death and the label deciding not to release the group’s second album, but when this came out, I admit it initially went over our heads.”
“Let me tell you at least among my group of hip-hop heads we realized we had someone who lyrically became ambidextrous; in other words, his lyrics told a story, and we were here for the rhymes.”
“All in all, though there was a noticeable shift towards hip-hop becoming more commercialized, the underground independent scene showed that the best the genre had to offer was not on the radio. That said, ’99 was a great year in hip-hop and this should have at least been in contention for album of the year.”
The second track “Doomsday” is what hypnotized me into a DOOM fan as I was in love with the relaxation of the samples while having some of the best lyrical rap I’ve ever heard. DOOM’s delivery of his lyrics shows how poetic and authentic he was a rap artist.
To me, he perfected his craft and it never gets old hearing him on the mic. What is special about this song is that his fans went back and made cartoon montages to commemorate the late rap star. “Doomsday” animation is a montage of scenes from Dr. Doom complementing the song samples found in the song.
His eighth track “Red and Gold” used to be my feel good song as it always got me out of any funk I caught myself in. It was an upbeat sound complimented by outstanding song samples he created himself and once more, adding that comic book hue to his music.
My all time favorite track is #17 playing “Gas Drawls” and it never fails to get me bopping my head wishing I could see MF DOOM in concert. Though I can’t, I can put my headphones on and press play and it feels like I’m at one.
While reflecting on the album and its entirety, it is one of the most influential albums in music history. Any DOOM fan can tell you that “Operation Doomsday” changed the pathway for what it takes to rap.
DOOM fans like Davis say “through each song, his thought process is otherworldly and shows you that his time away from the spotlight only increased his lyrical acumen.”
As we top off on the album, “always remember all caps when you spell the man name”.