HipHopDX has an incredibly interesting interview with elusive rapper DOOM up at their site that finds the rapper deconstructing his character and addressing the "impostor" question, discussing his long-rumored album with Ghostface (it's 42% done), and his "feud" with Batman. Here's a sampling:
On how he hires "actors" to play him at his shows:
"Impostor would imply that
the character. I liken it to this: I'm a director as well as a writer.
I choose different characters, I choose their direction and where I
want to put them. So who I choose to put as the character is up to me.
The character that I hired, he got paid for it. There's no impostor."
On how people should feel about the actors playing him at shows and imagery in hip-hop:
That's what
they're coming to see? Me? As the character? When I go to a show, I'm
going to hear the music. I'm not going to see no particular person. I'm
going to hear the music, if I can't see the motherfucker... I might be
blind. Any cats that are coming to see me as a physical person, I can
switch the [actor] any time. I'm not gonna play the part of that
character every time. Like how [actors] changed through the Batman series, where it was George Clooney [and] it switched like five [other actors].
People need to think outside of the box, Hip Hop is not just what you
expect it to be. This is a growing genre, it's a creative field. So
when you come to a DOOM
show, I'm letting all the cats know now, come to hear the show and come
to hear the music. To see me? Y'all don't even know who I am! There are
certain times I did shows and shit, I took a year off, and I went back
to doing the character. I couldn't find nobody to do the character so
last minute I said, "Fuck it, I'll do it." [I] came back, did
the show, lost a little weight. You know, I'm trimming down, watching
my diet. I come back, do the show, sound was excellent. But as soon as
I get off the stage, they're saying it wasn't me. Alright, it's never
me. I'm the writer. It's a show. That's where it's getting twisted in
Hip Hop. It's all visual. People want to go see the guy with the big
chain who's bragging about all these cars that he has. That's where it
gets twisted. This is music. Technology makes it possible for me to
still do music and not have to be any particular place. I'm using all
that. I'm using every aspect at my disposal to project my creative
thoughts. Either people gonna get it or they not. But I'll tell you one
thing, if you're coming to a DOOM show, don't expect
to see me, expect to hear me or hear the music that I present. And it's
gonna be a unique experience every time. So that's all I have to say
about that.
Dude just severely reduced my desire to check his show out.. "don't expect to see me, expect to hear me or hear the music that I present," what does that even mean?
If I wanted to just hear the music, I'd sit at home and listen to the CD. People go to concerts to see the songs performed live by the performer, not to just listen to the music they most likely already own. I sure as hell won't ever shell out money for DOOM tickets.
Lil Wayne: Tha Carter 4 "None of you know a damn thing about hip hop. ..." - Lil Wayne is a hoe
Imaad Wasif, SXSW: Interview (SXSW) "Speaking of cookies (and fruit):
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/174545/june-19-2008/cookie-monster
" - eliseinfurs
Imaad Wasif, SXSW: Interview (SXSW) "Ha. Look what turned up on the interweb:
http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/sxsw/psychedelic-guitar-master-imaa/
" - eliseinfurs
MF Doom »
That answer doesn't really make me wanna shell out money for a DOOM show.