MF DOOM 'Born Like This'

DOOM’s most recent solo album is his first without a central driving concept, but not that that's a bad thing; while Operation: Doomsday was the introduction of the supervillain and *MM.. Food* is based on… well, food, *Born Like This* saw underground rap royalty doing some throne housekeeping. This album is as much of a thrill as anything in his catalog, showing an emcee whose wit is still sharp heading into his 40s. DOOM might be far from being the first rapper to repurpose J Dilla beats following his death in 2006, but you tend to let to forget that when he drops brilliant couplets like “Once sold an inbred skinhead a nigga joke / Plus a brand new chrome smoker with the triggers broke” in “Gazillion Ear.” We have this on Aztec gold vinyl.