Operation: Doomsday

Operation: Doomsday is the debut studio album by rapper MF DOOM, marking his return to the hip hop scene after the demise of his group KMD. The album was released through Fondle 'Em Records on April 20, 1999, and reissued by Sub Verse Records in 2001 with a slightly altered track listing.[1] Operation: Doomsday has been ranked as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. A remastered edition of the original version was released in 2015.[2]

Operation: Doomsday
Studio album by
MF Doom
ReleasedApril 20, 1999
GenreHip hop, jazz rap, psychedelic hip hop
Length57:58
LabelFondle 'Em
ProducerMetal Fingers
MF Doom chronology
Mr. Hood (with KMD)
(1991)		 Operation: Doomsday
(1999)		 MF EP
(2000)
Singles from Operation: Doomsday
  1. "Dead Bent" / "Gas Drawls" / "Hey!"
    Released: 1997
  2. "Greenbacks" / "Go with the Flow"
    Released: 1997
  3. "The M.I.C." / "Red & Gold"
    Released: 1998
  4. "I Hear Voices Pt. 1" / "I Hear Voices Pt. 2"
    Released: 2001
    (2001 re-release)
Alternative covers
2011 re-release edition
Alternative cover
2015 remastered edition

The album heavily samples the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series Fantastic Four, based on the Marvel Comics superheroes, which ran from 1967 to 1968.

Release

It was announced on December 16, 2010 that Operation: Doomsday was being reissued in 2011. The reissue cover was designed by Jason Jagel, who did the art for Mm..Food.[3] It was reported that there were licensing issues with the original artwork, which was designed by[4] the famed graffiti writer Keo X-Men,[5] that caused problems with reissuing. Stones Throw Records stated that DOOM was working on a track-listing for the reissue.[6]

Critical reception and legacy

In its review of the 2011 reissue, The A.V. Club argued that since its initial release Operation: Doomsday has "attained mythic status; its legend has grown in proportion to its relative unavailability, and to Doom’s ascent to cult godhood."[7]

Pitchfork described the album as DOOM's "warmest and most benevolent work, almost entirely bled of the angrier material that would mark future releases." Their review of the 2011 reissue also called the album "a must-hear in just about any format."[8]

On the album's 20th anniversary, Stereogum described it as "an immediately engaging display of [DOOM's] raw talent as both a rapper and producer, as well as an engrossing origin story for the most popular of his many alter-egos."[9]

Writing for streaming service Tidal, Dylan Green and Donna-Claire Chesman called the album "a blueprint for all of independent rap," citing its "dusty cartoon samples," lo-fi production and DOOM's "stream-of-consciousness flows" in particular.[10]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
The A.V. ClubA[12]
Muzik5/5[13]
NME6/10[14]
Pitchfork8.9/10[15]
Record Collector[16]
Spin8/10[17]
The Village VoiceB+[18]

Accolades
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Complex US 25 Best Long Island Rap Albums[19] 2012 5
Consequence of Sound US Top 20 Hip-Hop Solo Albums[20] 2013 9
Fact UK The 100 Best Albums of the 1990s[21] 2012 37
100 Best Indie Hip-Hop Records of All Time[22] 2015 6
About.com US 100 Best Hip-Hop Albums[23] 2015 97
Hip-Hop Connection US The 100 Greatest Rap Albums 1995-2005[24] 2006 3

Track listing

All tracks produced by MF DOOM.

Side Zero[25]
No.TitleLength
1."The Time We Faced Doom (Skit)"2:04
2."Doomsday"4:58
3."Rhymes Like Dimes" (featuring Cucumber Slice)4:18
4."The Finest" (featuring Tommy Gunn)4:01
5."Back in the Days (Skit)"0:45
Side One
No.TitleLength
1."Go with the Flow"3:36
2."Tick, Tick…" (featuring MF Grimm)4:04
3."Red and Gold" (featuring King Ghidra)4:42
4."The Hands of Doom (Skit)"1:50
5."Who You Think I Am?" (featuring X-Ray, Rodan, Megalon, K.D., King Ghidra, and Kong)3:24
Side Two
No.TitleLength
1."Doom, Are You Awake? (Skit)"1:12
2."Hey!"3:46
3."Operation: Greenbacks" (featuring Megalon)3:46
4."The Mic"3:02
5."The Mystery of Doom (Skit)"0:21
Side Three
No.TitleLength
1."Dead Bent"2:22
2."Gas Drawls"3:43
3."?" (featuring Kurious)3:08
4."Hero vs. Villain (Epilogue)" (featuring E. Mason)2:58
Total length:58:00

"Hero vs. Villain (Epilogue)" was replaced by "I Hear Voices Pt. 1" in the 2001 edition of the album.

MF DOOM is credited as a feature on multiple tracks on this album, using the alias "King Ghidra".

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[25]

Personnel

Additional personnel

Artwork

  • Doom – illustration
  • Scotch 79 – art direction

References
  1. MF DOOM - Complete Discography Archived 15 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Operation Doomsday: Original Version Remastered". 18 December 2015. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  3. "Jason Jagel for MF DOOM operation:doomsday Reissue". Archived from the original on 20 January 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  4. https://www.discogs.com/MF-Doom-Operation-Doomsday/master/8470. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. https://www.discogs.com/artist/979437. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "A peek at MF DOOM's Operation Doomsday reissue in 2010". Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  7. "MF Doom: Operation Doomsday: Lunchbox". Music. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  8. "MF DOOM: Operation: Doomsday". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  9. "'Operation: Doomsday' Turns 20". Stereogum. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  10. "MF DOOM's 'Operation: Doomsday' is the Blueprint for Independent Hip-Hop". TIDAL Magazine. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  11. Cordor, Cyril. "Operation: Doomsday – MF DOOM". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  12. Rabin, Nathan (26 April 2011). "MF Doom: Operation Doomsday: Lunchbox". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  13. Ashon, Will (July 2001). "MF DOOM: Operation Doomsday (Subverse, USA)". Muzik (74): 145.
  14. "MF DOOM: Operation Doomsday". NME: 41. 30 June 2001.
  15. Cohen, Ian (25 April 2011). "MF DOOM: Operation Doomsday". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  16. Draper, Jason (May 2011). "MF DOOM – Operation Doomsday". Record Collector (388). Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  17. Caramanica, Jon (August 2000). "KMD: Black Bastards / M.F. Doom: Operation Doomsday". Spin. 16 (8): 152–54. Archived from the original on 1 January 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  18. Christgau, Robert (7 August 2001). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  19. "The 25 Best Long Island Rap Albums – 5. MF DOOM, Operation: Doomsday (1998)". Complex. 8 July 2012. Archived from the original on 25 June 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  20. "Top 20 Hip-Hop Solo Albums". Consequence of Sound. 23 October 2013. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  21. "The 100 Best Albums of the 1990s". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  22. "The 100 best indie hip-hop records of all time – 06. MF DOOM – Operation: Doomsday(Fondle 'Em, 1999)". Fact. 25 February 2015. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  23. "100 Best Hip-Hop Albums (1/10)". About.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  24. "HIP-HOP CONNECTION's 100 BEST ALBUMS 1995-2005". RateYourMusic. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  25. Operation: Doomsday (liner notes). MF DOOM. New York, New York: Fondle 'Em Records. 1999. FE-86.CS1 maint: others (link)
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