Tracks

RZA and MF Doom: "Biochemical Equation"

(2005)

By Clayton Purdom | 10 January 2008

It just doesn’t feel right. These two titans of off-kilter flow — Doom with the lazy geek punchlining, RZA with the ornate symbolism and hoarse lisping — should sound good together. They don’t, though. It sounds exactly like one of those posthumous Tupac collaborations, pasted together, lacking any sort of cohesive mood, neither rap hitting the beat the way it should.

Speaking of the beat, who designed this thing? The string line is reaching for that Pretty Toney gold and falling about a mile short of the mark, the drums rolling inaudibly beneath fuddling chipmunk soul and an aimless, flailing bass.

Okay, the beat gets better as it goes. But the opening impression is devastating: over this uninspired shitfest the RZA hollers his faux-nonsense schtick, shit like, “Confronted by the devil himself, and stayed strong / You think you can take the king? Now meet Kong,” so slow you can hear the insincerity in his voice.

But then a muffled blast introduces a processed bit of boom bap, and Doom saunters in to steal the show. Fresh off his lyrical success of The Mouse & the Mask (we should make mincemeat out of that Mouse, though), Doom’s flow is as lean and inspired as ever, syllables tumbling over one another, growling, “He sold odds and bodkins to old gods and goblins / I’m just a pest and your worst best friend / Who mend and rip space-time fabric like polyester blend / Not a hobby for no knobbykneed lest your men / They probly need estrogen.”

Yowzers, kid! Once Doom ups the hype with this celestial flash of inspiration, RZA could do almost anything and keep the heads nodding. He doesn’t, of course — the man is just not an MC these days — but he does spit a little harder, and the newly-amplified drums on his verse help keep things moving. By the time it’s all done, the hunger in your belly’s satiated, but it feels like you just gorged on White Castle. It’s a weak track that hides its shortcomings behind a gradually growing drums and killer Dumille verse. So it sucks. But hey, at least we found someone that Doom shouldn’t collaborate with.