Rap supergroup
Czarface recorded a second album with the elusive
MF DOOM in April of 2020, and originally wanted to put it out right away, but decided to hold off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After making some adjustments and finalizing the album,
DOOM passed away on October 31; his unexpected death was announced to the world two months later. The album eventually appeared the following May, making it
DOOM's first posthumous release (not counting a single with
BadBadNotGood recorded for Grand Theft Auto, which surfaced in December).
DOOM seems more engaged on this release than on 2018's
Czarface Meets Metal Face, and his verses are brief, filled with the type of dense, cunning wordplay he's always been known for. His appearances on "DOOM Unto Others," "Mando Calrissian" (with the chilling line "So imminent you can hear death"), and "Break in the Action" are particularly worth the repeated rewinds. Aside from the bittersweet presence of the late super-villain, the album is as fun and enjoyable as
Czarface's other releases, especially if you geek out on comics and Saturday morning cartoons as much as they do.
Esoteric and
Inspectah Deck trade sharp rhymes which reference everything from
Radiohead to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and
7L's booming beats are filled with rapid-fire samples and occasionally stuttering,
DOOM-like drums. Opening track "The King and Eye" features a cameo from
D.M.C. (yes, of
Run-D.M.C.), a life-long comic fiend who bigs up
Stan Lee and compares himself to Black Panther.
Del the Funky Homosapien slides neatly into the
Czarface universe on "Jason & the Czargonauts," during which
Esoteric reminds us that the album's creators wore masks years before the pandemic started.
Super What? is another worthwhile issue of the
Czarface saga, and a fond farewell to
DOOM. ~ Paul Simpson