MF DOOM's catalog, whether he receives praise for it or not, is the main reason I don't stress over hip hop's culture politics, or having low visibility as an indie artist with no affiliations.
The foundation of art is to create in spite of fanfare or critical acclaim. Those things are merely trinkets who's value is negligible in the face of the freedom that's granted by ones artistic exploits.
I mean...they are pretty neat when you can get 'em. From the outside looking in, I'd say the spoils are enticing in many ways... I ain't tripping off the absence of them, though.
If DOOM wanted to do whatever everybody else was doing, he wouldn't be in the creative mindset to write a song like Rapp Snitch Knishes.
I feel like that would be a travesty, because I don't think anyone else with such an enthusiastic fanbase would make such a comically poignant song in the realm of modern day Hip Hop.
Instead of a dry, and ultra preachy take, MF DOOM went and tackled the issue of self incrimination by way of parody. That always seems to be an effective route for pointing out how insane ones actions are to the rest of the world.
I'm of the opinion that Weird Al would have done a song with the same subject matter in the late 90s, had Coolio not threatened him over Amish Paradise. Attacking this particular issue is something that only an established talent within the genre could tackle, without being scared off by the implied retaliation...That would surely be mapped out in great detail by whomever decided to carry it out for their forthcoming album release later that year. 😆
The culture of glorifying murder and general bad behavior for the sake of building a buzz is something that most popular black artists within the genre refuse to lambaste on a grand scale. Really the only part that gets any criticism on record is, in fact, the self snitching that has happened which winds up being used in court later on.
It's usually one bar. So...No real water-cooler moments or discussions being sparked from any of those instances.
What makes this song so amazing is the fact that it's fully about the self own, and it's not at all subliminal. This track doesn't dance around the issue at all. The hook for Rapp Snitch Knishes(performed by Mr. Fantastik) is intentionally campy, and sets the tone for a very fun and hilariously topical song.
Rap snitches, tellin' all their business
Sit in the court and be their own star witness
"Do you see the perpetrator?" Yeah, I'm right here
Fuck around, get the whole label sent up for years
The song has a lot of what I call playground energy. Songs with that vibe aren't meant to sound hard, have sacred knowledge, or be the most highly structured tracks of their era.
This song is making fun of a very stupid occurrence, and taking the piss out of those who put themselves in that situation, because why the fuck wouldn't you point and laugh at such a catastrophic unforced error?
It's not hard to find a article or video that praises DOOM's production. It's well deserved, but I think people should take heed of what that man did with his approach to writing songs as well. He was able to separate himself from the pack by executing on his own ideas instead of relying on the culture to lead his pen game.