MF Doom can't outshine Robinson's lack of originality

It takes more than one talented artist to make an album successful.

By Jon Ingram

Published March 30, 2009

MF Doom, the rap producer best known for constantly covering his face behind a thick, metal mask, has never rapped on any of his tracks before. Instead, he chooses to roam behind turntables and drum machines, perfecting his musical craft while letting the rappers live up to their half of the bargain on the microphone.

Usually, as with his coveted The Mouse and The Mask collaboration with producer-extraordinaire Danger Mouse, the results are impressive and almost revolutionary. But MF Doom has taken a giant step backward by teaming up with extremely generic rapper John Robinson with their new project, Who is This Man?

Don't get too bent out of shape if you have never heard of John Robinson. There is little flare in his voice and he sounds increasingly generic with every line. Each song seems like the last, and even though Who is This Man? is only a 12-track album, it is a struggle to get through.

Initially intrigued by MF Doom's prestigious name gracing the cover of this album, I soon found that it takes more than one person to succeed on a given music project, no matter how phenomenal one member may be. To be honest, it is hard to believe Doom would even agree to work with Robinson, as MF Doom is adamant on staying original and innovative, but Robinson seems opposed to breaking away from the norm whatsoever.

What makes matters worse is John Robinson seems to think he is unique. With lyrics, such as "Too many different genres of music and put them together/And started a new sound that will be here forever," it seems as if he truly believes he is changing the face of music. As a matter of fact, it's disgusting to hear such a ridiculous claim because any toddler who knows how to rhyme would be able to sound more unique than Robinson. He does not change emotion in his voice and his words do nothing more than make him sound unintelligent, which in turn makes it seems as if he enters the booth and simply goes through the motions of making a rap album.

Luckily, MF Doom's touch is present on this album. Otherwise the CD would be good for nothing more than a circular mirror. His beats are captivating and original, and he fulfills his duty of being a contributing factor in the ever-changing rap scene. One thing he does incredibly well on this album is change up the tone with every beat. Although each track is clearly a Doom masterpiece, he changes up the mood and tempo on each song and achieves in evoking the desired feeling from the listener seemingly at will.

This album is definitely not something I would recommend to anyone. There were no memorable songs, and besides some of the beats from MF Doom there was qualitatively nothing exciting about this work. The collaboration between MF Doom and John Robinson is without a doubt forgettable. John Robinson clearly was not ready to make an album with MF Doom, and after listening to the album, I was left with the question of Who is this man? The answer: not worth any type of listen.