Born Like This
2009 studio album by DOOM
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Born Like This (stylized in all caps) is the sixth and final solo studio album by Daniel Dumile, the last solo album under the MF Doom moniker. It was released under the pseudonym "Doom" on 24 March 2009, through Lex Records. It debuted at number 52 on the Billboard 200 chart, having sold 10,895 copies as of 29 March 2009.[1] In addition to tracks produced by MF Doom, the album includes production by frequent collaborator Madlib, as well as J Dilla. The album title is borrowed from Charles Bukowski's poem "Dinosauria, We", which employs it as a cadence. The track "Cellz" opens with a sampled recording of Bukowski reading the poem.[2]
| Born Like This | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 24 March 2009 | |||
| Genre | Hip-hop | |||
| Length | 40:34 | |||
| Label | Lex | |||
| Producer | ||||
| MF Doom chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Born Like This | ||||
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Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 77/100[3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| The A.V. Club | A−[5] |
| Consequence of Sound | A−[6] |
| Drowned in Sound | 7/10[7] |
| HipHopDX | 3.5/5[8] |
| The Observer | [9] |
| Paste | 76/100[10] |
| Pitchfork | 8.0/10[11] |
| Slant Magazine |  [12] |
| URB | [13] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Born Like This received an average score of 77% based on 21 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3]
Born Like This ranked at number 4 on The Skinny's "2009: A Year in Records" list.[14] Pitchfork included it in their best albums of 2009, placing it at number 48.[15]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Supervillain Intro" |
|
| 0:54 |
| 2. | "Gazzillion Ear" |
| J Dilla | 4:12 |
| 3. | "Ballskin" | Dumile | Jake One | 1:30 |
| 4. | "Yessir!" (featuring Raekwon) | Dumile | MF Doom | 2:34 |
| 5. | "Absolutely" |
| Madlib | 2:43 |
| 6. | "Rap Ambush" | Dumile | Jake One | 1:28 |
| 7. | "Lightworks" |
| J Dilla | 1:52 |
| 8. | "Batty Boyz" | Dumile | MF Doom | 3:16 |
| 9. | "Angelz" (featuring Tony Starks) | Dumile | MF Doom | 3:07 |
| 10. | "Cellz" |
|
| 4:21 |
| 11. | "Still Dope" (featuring Empress Stahhr tha Femcee) | Dumile | MF Doom | 2:40 |
| 12. | "Microwave Mayo" | Dumile | Jake One | 2:26 |
| 13. | "More Rhymin'" | Dumile | Jake One | 1:39 |
| 14. | "That's That" |
| MF Doom | 2:15 |
| 15. | "Supervillainz" (featuring Kurious, Mobonix, Posdnous, Prince Paul & Slug) |
|
| 2:49 |
| 16. | "Bumpy's Message" (featuring Bumpy Knuckles) |
|
| 1:36 |
| 17. | "Thank Yah" | Dumile | MF Doom | 1:14 |
| Total length: | 40:34 | |||
Sample credits and additional notes
- "Gazzillion Ear" samples "Trouble" (performed) by Brenton Wood and "Theme from Midnight Express" by Giorgio Moroder. The instrumental track for "Gazzillion Ear" is also based on "Dig It" and "Phantom of the Synths", both by J Dilla.[16]
- "Yessir!" samples "UFO" by ESG.
- "Absolutely" samples a Horn section from "Creep" by TLC.[17] It also uses a vocal sample from "Sun Goddess" by Ramsey Lewis.[17]
- "Lightworks" samples "Lightworks" by Raymond Scott.
- Instrumental track for "Lightworks" is also based on J Dilla's version of "Lightworks", from the album Donuts.[16]
- "Angelz" was recorded in 2006.[11][12]
- "Cellz" samples "Dinosora, We" by Charles Bukowski.
- "Cellz" is split into two tracks: "Cellz, Pt.1" and "Cellz, Pt.2" on the redux version.
- "That's That" samples "Princess Gika" by Galt MacDermot; it also contains dialog excerpts from the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, performed by Christopher Lloyd.[10]
Personnel
- Mr. Chop – additional instruments (1, 10, 15–16)
- Paloma Faith (aka “Cat-Girl”) – additional vocals (1–2, 9)
- G Koop – keyboards, guitar, bass (3, 6, 12–13)
- Posdnuos (aka P-Pain) – additional vocals (1, 15)
- Prince Paul (aka Filthy Pablo) – additional vocals (15)
- Raekwon – additional vocals (9)
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[18] | 52 |
| US Billboard Independent Albums[19] | 5 |
| US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[20] | 29 |
| US Billboard Rap Albums[21] | 9 |