Mm.. Food by MF DOOM- Nachos and Beer
Mm.. Food is an eccentric record where mischievous rhymes wreak havoc over cartoon-sampled beats. Throughout the journey, you’re bound to laugh, make the stank face, and let some of DOOM’s street wisdom marinate on your mind. This album is nothing short of entertainment, in fact, you’ll often find yourself feeling like a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons. Its pure fun to listen to DOOM spit witty rhymes about himself in the third person and cut cartoon dialogue samples to tell the story of Hip Hop’s “comedic villain.” His use of humor in the context of the street life makes for a record that is simply raw rhymes and good times.
The most impressive thing about Mm.. Food is how DOOM jam packs samples on top of each other to turn them into one cohesive piece, following the same philosophy with his rhyme schemes. For example, in the opening song, “Beef Rap," DOOM layers eight different dialogue snippets from movies and cartoons over a beat that samples an episode of the 1982 Marvel Spider-Man show, featuring the villain Dr. Doom. Likewise, his bars are filled with ridiculous rhyme schemes and colorful vocabulary, sometimes not even making sense, but always sounding perfect.
Best Bars
I’ve listened to this record so many times, and still DOOM’s lines never fail to make me laugh or feel the heat. I listed out my five favorite lines from Mm.. Food and the songs they come from, so you won’t miss them when you listen.
“Here I am known for giving heavy back aches, grown and living off of Lil’ Debbie snack cakes.”- “Kookies.”
“As I reminisce never forgot when I was very broke, shot the henny straight couldn’t afford to cop the cherry coke” – “Kon Karne.”
“He wears a mask just to cover the raw flesh, a rather ugly brotha with flows that’s gorgeous.” – “Beef Rapp.”
“Light the Doobie til’ it glows like a ruby, after which they couldn’t find the villain like scooby.”- “Beef Rapp”
“He'd rather eat a sand sandwich salad, it might need salt like your man's bland ballad.”- “Vomitspit”
Best Song
The biggest hits off this record are “One Beer” and “Rap Snitch Knishes,” but my favorite song is the opener: “Beef Rapp.” The first minute and 46 seconds is so strangely appealing, it sucks you right into the bizarre world of the “Supervillain” and includes dialogue samples about food to set up the album’s theme. Then, DOOM drops one of the dopest beats I have ever heard, which is a sample from “Spiderman: The Canon of Doom” (1982). This beat is the epidemy of DOOM’s sound and style on this record, and the rhymes he delivers are a masterful blend of humor, heat, and storytelling. “Beef Rapp” is easily one of my favorite DOOM songs of all-time.
The Nachos
In this recipe, I wanted to follow DOOM’s jam-packed strategy: A dish full of exotic flavors piled on top of each other. I wanted to keep it casual, something you could eat while kicking back with your friends. What I came up with has a whole lotta street, a whole lotta fun, and a whole lotta wild flavors: Nachos with siracha cheese sauce, harissa sour cream, wasabi guacamole, a slew of stand-out toppings.
In every part of this dish, I incorporated the lyrical dynamic of DOOM’s funny yet fire bars. The main flavor profile is: Sweet and Heat. The cheese sauce is made with a Dubliner cheese, a sweet and creamy cheese that is almost like a blend of cheddar and parmesan, and a few splashes of sriracha for a spicy kick. Harissa is a chili paste packed with acidity and sweetness, which provides a bright and spicy flavor profile. I mixed this with sour cream to make a mind-blowing condiment that fits the “Sweet and Heat” dynamic perfectly. Likewise, I put a twist on traditional guacamole by adding mango, pineapple, jalapenos, and wasabi paste for a citrusy guac that delivers a powerful kick. I marinated the ribeye steak in a marinade made with soy, honey, chili garlic sauce, and a few other ingredients for a classic Asian sweet and spicy taste. Finally, I took inspiration from Middle Eastern cuisine and made sumac onions: Red onions mixed with lemon juice, salt, and sumac. The result is bright and fruity onions that almost taste pickled, but better.
The Beer
The last part of the recipe is the drink, commonly know as “Midnight in the Garden.” This is a simple beer blend made with Guinness and Hoegarden, which tastes like a creamy, toasted banana ale. I felt like I needed to include beer in this recipe to pay tribute to two songs on the record, “Guinnesses” and “One Beer.” So, I wanted to play around with Guinness and find some mixture that would embody the sweetness included in all other parts of the dish. Not only is the taste of this drink phenomenal, but the colors are so cool. Pouring the Hoegarden first, then topping with the Guinness makes for a drink with a golden body and dark top, almost looking like a banana split. Maybe that’s a better name for it, so I’ll stick with it. You’ll have a lot of fun drinking the “Banana Split.”
Plating
Lastly, I want to discuss the beautiful colors of this nacho dish, that when plated, resemble the colors of the album cover. First, the harissa sour cream and guacamole match the red and green colors of DOOM’s hoodie on the cover. The steak brings the tone down a little bit, to match the dark background of the album art. And for one last eye-catcher, the sumac onions take on a vibrant purple color to associate with the bottle that Doom is holding, as well as the buildings outside his window. The “Banana Split” also captures the moon and night sky seen out of DOOM’s window. I always intend to create a dish to color coordinate with the album covers, but this one came together better than I expected.
