Never underestimate hip hop’s powers of transformation. Daniel Dumile began his rapping career as Zev Love X in militant New Yorkers KMD before donning a metal mask and becoming MF Doom, a comic book villain on the mic. This time out, his sci-fi fixation is stretched further still: King Geedorah is a giant alien lizard with three heads, sharing thoughtful observations of humanity. Inevitably, a few samples from Japanese monster movies fill out Take Me To Your Leader. But it’s more profound and personal than the schtick suggests, as Geedorah meditates on race, violence and sundry mortal iniquities over melancholy, RZA-style soul-jazz samples. Oddly moving.
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