Czarface & MF Doom
Super What?
photo: turntablelab
It’s a funny thing when it hits you that an album you’ve been enjoying is your favorite album of the year. The only way I can describe it is that the world stops for you when you put it on. That’s when you know you’re onto something special – that an album means a lot to you. Unexpectedly, that was the Czarface & MF Doom collaboration Super What?
The world is a sadder place without MF Doom. I’m no rap connoisseur, but the man was the real deal. The genuine article. He understood that bravado is detrimental to art and that real music should focus on just that – the music. This is why he donned a mask and why he say albums as collaborations. We might never get another solo Doom project again (and what a to go with Born Like This), so it’s a sad treat to see how, even in his new music, the man was at the top of his game.
The latest Czarface/MF Doom collab is actually their second and was completed right as the pandemic started in March of 2020. The artists pulled the album as they focused on family and tweaked it for a few more months and completed that summer only to release it a year later. Doom would sadly pass away before the album was released so his presence here is incredibly loaded.
Super What? is a collaboration by, probably, my favorite two rap artists right now. I was a latecomer to the Czarface game, and it’s a shame since they’re nice guys right in my neighborhood. DJ 7L just gave me a record when I was stopping by his record store in Somerville called Index Vinyl. I listened to it once and the band became a revelation.
The Czarface style is edgy and compact. There are tons of superhero and toy collecting references, and the whole thing is filled with nerd culture. The production is big but within your grasp. This is a perfect fit for Doom’s style as the man has played in the superhero realm since the very beginning. Super What? is an unfortunately short but incredibly potent album that doesn’t mess around and goes right for the jugular. The album is split between a Doom and Czar side and contains maybe some of my favorite tracks I’ve heard from either side in a while. I’m talking of course about Break in the Action and Mando Calrissian, which is such a highlight in an album full of highlights that the mind simply boggles. Super What? contains some of MF Doom’s greatest wordplay while Inspectah Deck’s rhymes are borderline genius. This album also contains a plethora of contributors like DMC and Del the Funky Homosapien.
Super What? is released in a way that collector fans can appreciate. Of course, there are the rare color editions (first and following), and alternate covers. Here we are presenting the OG release: original cover and black vinyl. The cover by Lamour Supreme is a take on Daredevil comics in the 60s, and is a thing of splendor that can only truly be appreciated on vinyl. Also included is a comic book written by Esoteric and illustrated by Benjamin Marra. The whole article is genuine here. Why have this on any other format?
Super What? was the best album we heard in 2021 and we’re proud to give it the proper highlight it deserves. It goes to show that rap music is alive and well when it’s in the right hands. This album is an instant classic and an important release to anyone who appreciates music. The whole thing is a work of expert craftmanship. It’s bound to turn more than a couple heads.
Get it from Get on Down records.
