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That’s OhWord, I’m not the herb · by Sach O
Understand what I’m SAYIN! Sayin! saying…
If there’s one thing that tends to get to people riled up when it comes to MF Doom, it’s his flagrant and unrepentant beat-recycling. He’ll flip his shit at least thrice before he takes a beat off the market. Whether it’s his buyers not-caring or Doom himself out for a buck, it tends to piss off internet geeks (read: his fan base) to no end. While it didn’t particularly bother me on Ghost’s albums, I couldn’t help but think that Doom has HELLA unused beats just sitting around, some of which would be perfect for emcees looking to recapture that classic boom-bap sound. Allow me to get my fantasy A&R on…
Saffron – Jay-Z
The streets are talking and they’re saying Jay has lost touch with his Marcy projects roots. Let’s face it, Kingdom Come was Straight outta the Boardroom and the Jiggaman’s San Tropez fantasies didn’t exactly connect with the struggling masses. On the other hand, Jay can’t very well hop on the latest Toomp beat without coming off as slightly desperate and behind on the trends. Solution: Doom’s Saffron gets 100 bars of death, Jay abandons the whisper flow, BK gets its first real anthem in years and all is right in the world.
Zatar – Cam’ron
Jim Jones is probably too hood to rock over anything but 808’s and Lil Jon synths by now, but Cam has always had a weird streak in him and if anyone could give his album some heat-for-cheap (the Dipset MO) it’s Doom. Better yet, let the masked man spit a verse himself and we can see who’s rap’s weirdest lyricist. The non-sequiturs in the collabo alone would be worth the price of admission.
Valerian Root – Mobb Deep
Syrax gum – Buckshot/Blackmoon
Mobb Deep never should have gotten rid of Q-Tip’s jazzy beats and Blackmoon’s comeback has been lacking in the smooth alternate mixes that defined their debut. While these probably wouldn’t be singles in the 07 era, I don’t think anyone who’s actually still buying their albums would complain if they heard their mid 90’s favorites rocking over these loops.
Coltsfoot leaf – Snoop Dogg
For the life of me, I can’t believe that someone hasn’t made a monster hit out of this yet. Sounding like Doom’s take on “Nuthin but a G-Thang”, Snoop could rap the phonebook over this thing and it’d still probably smash the charts. Plus the changeup for the chorus is monstrous. Hell if it’s too Lo-fi, just get Dr Dre to “produce it”. Or better yet, rap on it: hearing Mr. NWA over a KMD beat would blow more than one boom-bap dino’s mind.
Galangal Root – Saigon
Just Blaze has got the bangers on lock, but what about slow-burners for storytelling? If Saigon is aspiring to be the next Nas/Jigga/Biggie he’s going to need something that stands up to Large Pro/Ski/Easy Mo Bee’s beats. Doom is as close as you’re getting nowadays and this beat sounds like the soundtrack to a robbery.
Hell, there was a whole “Part 2” to this post that got cut. The man’s got beats if someone was smart enough to buy em. Assuming they could clear them anyways.
Comments for "That’s OhWord, I’m not the herb"
I’ve always felt Doom was underrated as a producer. Maybe Swift & Changeable will, uh, change that. I also think Jay-Z would sound pretty good over the beat from “I Hear Voices.”
— jon Dec 6, 04:36 PM
“Special Blends Volume 1” featured Cam’Ron and Mobb Deep verses over Doom beats. They sound as dope as you you might hope for.
— Robbie Dec 6, 07:29 PM
What be your thoughts on mixing the entirety of Hell Hath No Fury over Doom beats.
— Big Walt Dec 6, 08:21 PM
Hate the idea (no offense). I think the production on Hell Hath no Fury is excellent and fits their rhymes perfectly.
Wouldn’t mind hearing them spit original shit over Doom, but they’re not the first people I’d send his way. Pharell’s cold digital steez works quite well for them. Meanwhile an industry’s worth of emcees can’t find a cohesive or interseting sound.
— Sach Dec 6, 08:31 PM
great post sach.
i always felt some of doom’s beats needed a star. then he could charge alchemist prices.
on another note, i always felt j dilla’s the red (from jaylib) would’ve been a SMASH if jay was rappin over it.
— Vik Dec 7, 11:33 PM
^ Vik – I can hear that in my head right now.
Another fine post, Sach.
— floodwatch Dec 8, 02:43 PM
If Just Blaze had Saffron on a Dat, it woulda made its’ way onto Kingdom Come, that’s my word
Fuck hova though. Give that joint to Ghost. Or go another direction and kick it out to Lif. A third option is to sell it to Lupe, all three of them would rock the motherfucker.
— Skylar Dec 10, 07:23 PM
See, I couldn’t really fuck with the beats on HHNF, but I thought the rappin’ was pimpslicitous.
Ergo, I would make the album listenable to me by putting it over beats I think would suit it haha.
Either way.
— Big Walt Dec 11, 07:38 PM
I’m into dancehall riddims, dubs, and when rappers go jacking for beats, so I generally feel that once an instrumental is made, anyone can make use of it.
But surprise me.
That’s to say, “Underwater” is my favourite track on Fishscale by far.
— jimminy Dec 13, 12:38 AM
Earlier today me and my man Emeyesi were discussing ‘Kingdom Come’ and how big a turd it is, especially from a production standpoint. The thought popped into my mind that at this point in the game where Jay has nothing to lose he shouldn’t be dropping millions of dollars on big name producers who are basically giving him trash, but instead should be reaching out to some “outside the box” beatmakers and making the sort of record he theoretically should have been making during the late nineties if he’d have progressed on logically from shit like “Can I Get Open.” The two names that came to mind were MF Doom and El-P. MF Doom makes especially good sense since I’m relatively certain they had some sort of contact when they were both down with the Ansaars back in the day. Although neither of them seem to want to shed any light on that part of their pasts. That said, I think Jay doing a song on some Dr. York spaceship shit over an El-P beat would be far more interesting than listening to him rap about how mature “respecting the shooter” is or dissing Jim Jones over lackluster Dre and Swizz beats.
— El Keter ben Tzadik Dec 15, 06:28 AM