Born Like This

Born Like This is the sixth and final studio album by British-American rapper/producer MF DOOM. It was released under the pseudonym "DOOM" on March 24, 2009 through Lex Records. It debuted at number 52 on the Billboard 200 chart, having sold 10,895 copies as of March 29, 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. A reading of the poem by Bukowski himself is in the beginning part of the track "Cellz".[2]

Born Like This
Studio album by DOOM
Released	March 24, 2009
Genre	Hip hop
Length	40:34
Label	Lex
Producer	DOOM Mr. Chop J Dilla Jake One Madlib
MF DOOM chronology
Madvillainy 2: The Madlib Remix (2008) Born Like This (2009) Unexpected Guests (2009)

Critical reception

Professional ratings

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"	Daniel Dumile Kelvin Mercer Coz Littler	MF DOOM Mr. Chop	0:54
2.	"Gazzillion Ear" (featuring J Dilla)	Dumile James Yancey	J Dilla	4:12
3.	"Ballskin"	Dumile	Jake One	1:30
4.	"Yessir!" (featuring Raekwon)	Dumile	MF DOOM	2:34
5.	"Absolutely" (featuring Madlib)	Dumile Otis Jackson Jr.	Madlib	2:43
6.	"Rap Ambush"	Dumile	Jake One	1:28
7.	"Lightworks" (featuring J Dilla)	Dumile Yancey Raymond Scott	J Dilla	1:52
8.	"Batty Boyz"	Dumile	MF DOOM	3:16
9.	"Angelz" (featuring Tony Starks)	Dumile	MF DOOM	3:07
10.	"Cellz" (featuring Charles Bukowski)	Dumile Littler	MF DOOM Mr. Chop	4:21
11.	"Still Dope" (featuring Empress Starhh 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"	Dumile Galt MacDermot	MF DOOM	2:15
15.	"Supervillainz" (featuring Kurious, Mobonix, Posdnous, Prince Paul & Slug)	Dumile Littler Mercer Maurice White Jorge Alvarez Paul Huston Sean Daley	MF DOOM Mr. Chop	2:49
16.	"Bumpy's Message" (featuring Bumpy Knuckles)	Dumile Littler Daley	MF DOOM Mr. Chop	1:36
17.	"Thank Ya"	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.
• 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]
• "Absolutely" 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.
• "That's That" samples "Princess Gika" by Galt MacDermot.
• "That's That" 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 played by (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 performance for Born Like This

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

References

1. Paine, Jake (April 1, 2009). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 3/29/2009". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on April 23, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
2. “Dinosauria, We” by Charles Bukowski Archived June 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
3. "Critic Reviews for Born Like This". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
4. Forget, Tom. "DOOM / MF Doom – Born like This". AllMusic. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
5. Rabin, Nathan (March 31, 2009). "DOOM: Born Like This". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
6. Kivel, Adam (April 3, 2009). "MF DOOM – Born Like This". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
7. Slater, Luke (April 2, 2009). "DOOM – BORN LIKE THIS". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
8. J-23 (March 26, 2009). "DOOM – BORN LIKE THIS". HipHopDX. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
9. Yates, Steve (March 14, 2009). "DOOM, Born Like This". The Observer. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
10. Emerson, Austin (March 24, 2012). "DOOM: Born Like This". Paste. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
11. Patrin, Nate (April 6, 2009). "DOOM: Born Like This". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
12. McBee, Wilson (March 23, 2009). "DOOM – Born Like This". Slant Magazine. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
13. Meredith, Ben. "Doom :: Born Like This". URB. Archived from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
14. "2009: A Year in Records (#2–10)". The Skinny. December 7, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
15. "The Top 50 Albums of 2009 (1/5)". Pitchfork. December 17, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
16. Kenner, Rob. "J Dilla...The Afterlife". Complex. February 7, 2016. http://www.complex.com/music/2016/02/j-dilla-essentials-guide-the-afterlife/posthumous-tracks
17. AbduSalaam, Ismael. "MF Doom: Born Like This...". All HipHop. March 31, 2009. https://allhiphop.com/2009/03/31/mf-doom-born-like-this-album-review/
18. "MF Doom – Chart history – Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
19. "MF Doom – Chart history – Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
20. "MF Doom – Chart history – Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
21. "MF Doom – Chart history – Rap Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2017.

External links

• Born Like This at Discogs (list of releases)