The underground rap phenomenon known as MF Doom has at least six heads. He's an emcee, a producer, a superhero, a philanthropist, an alien lizard, and a family man. After gaining experience with old-school hip-hop crews KMD (as Zev Love X with his brother Subroc) and 3rd Bass, MF Doom earned his solo fan base with Operation: Doomsday. Now, under the guise of the three-headed alien King Geedorah, Doom has released a new album, entitled Take Me To Your Leader.

King Geedorah has a gravelly rhyme flow akin to Nas' and a sci-fi imagination often compared to Kool Keith's. The superhero theme has been explored before (Ghostface Killah adopted the aliases of Ironman and his secret identity Tony Starks), and the Godzilla influences of Geedorah are not that new either. But Doom's bizarre assortment of interests has taken on a life of its own. Take Me To Your Leader is fractured and colorful, and ultimately falls through your hands right before you can piece it together. The album is not unlike Doom's style of conversation: every once in awhile, a nugget of wisdom emerges from his collage of sideways theories and cracked-out explanations.

Prefix Magazine: You've said that Take Me To Your Leader is King Geedorah's alien perspective on humans. What exactly is that perspective?
MF Doom: It's really a perspective that's like, other than human. It would be a perspective that's [as if] you never came to this planet, like if this planet was totally new. And, for an alien, he sees all the different types of animals and all the different types of humans. But then, it goes a little further than that. As he looks closer, it's like, OK, humans are supposed to be ruling the planet or whatever, the most intelligent beings here. But then we're destroying it at the same time. It's like we're shooting ourselves in the foot by thinking we too good for everything, you know what I'm saying?

PM: Is Earth considered wack in other galaxies?
M:Not necessarily wack, it's just at a stage of development that ... You know, it's like a baby; it's just beginning to crawl. You nahmean? So (aliens) look at it like, OK, we were at that stage of development at one time ... Other galaxies is not really allowed to interfere, and other beings are not really allowed to interfere with what we're doin' in our development at this stage. But Geedorah's like -- yo, he's goin' against all that. He's like, 'Aight, lemme give them a little bit of guidance, lemme just tap 'em in the right direction.'

PM: So we have hope; we have a future?
M: Yeah, you know what I'm sayin'? It's up to us, though, really.

PM: I'm wondering about the three heads of King Geedorah. Do they all have the same voice?
M:Each head has its own personality. They're all represented on the Geedorah record. Each point of view, you know? Each head has its own personality. One might be a little more snotty, one a little more caring, you know what I'm saying? And the other one's just a little more in between, let's-just-get-the-job-done type shit.

PM: Are there any mammals that can breathe in outer space?
M:No, not breathe in the sense that we know breathin,' like air and shit. It's more like, certain beings that travel through space utilize the radioactivity that's in space. So they do somethin' similar to breathing. It would be like osmosis through the outer shell. They can transmute the radioactivity in space and change that into energy that they use in their body.

PM: What's the most painful way to die?
M: Most painful way to die?

PM: Yeah.
M: And this question's directed to Geedorah?

PM: Definitely.
M:Well, what Geedorah says about that, it's more like, once you die, ain't no pain, 'cause you already crossed the line. You know what I mean? Any way of dying is really not too painful. I guess on the way out, you're still attached to the living side. So a painful way would be…I don't know. Shit. (Laughs.) There's so many different ways! Six million. So what? The top million, or what?

PM: I always hear people argue whether they'd rather drown to death or burn to death. That's a tough call.
M: Kinda like a morbid question for a music magazine! (Laughs.)

PM: Definitely. I think for this type of interview, for this type of album that you've made, it deserves a different type of interview.
M: Yeah, I appreciate it, too. I'm tired of the same old corny stuff.

PM: I bet you are, man. I'm tired of reading the same old corny stuff, you know?
M: Yeah, the same old answers. Believe me, I know it can get repetitive. So um, aight, the most painful way to die. Hmm. (long pause) I'ma say buried alive.

PM: Good call.
M: Everybody knows you're there. You're just there. I mean, runnin' outta air slowly. Just the anticipation of you know you about to run out of air.

PM: The claustrophobia...
M: Yeah. That shit all get to you, psychologically, as well as physically, you know?

PM: On to a more normal question. I like the album design for Take Me To Your Leader because it's simple; it's symbolic. It's not some spaced-out digital mess like a lot of rap crews put out. What concept did you have when you came to what the album was gonna look like?
M: I really wanted to capture the fact that this whole war climate ... I wanted to capture that, and at the same time, have Geedorah there. Like, what would they do if Geedorah really stood on Earth? These conventional weapons would be nothin.' He'd eat a nuclear bomb like it was a snack, you know what I mean? It's symbolic in the way that it's like, Geedorah's here, really. It's the thoughts, and it's really the ideas that he's bringin' to us. That's just the most powerful presence. With the information that he's bringin,' this is a way that we could stop all that (war), but it's up to us what we do with the information. You know what I'm sayin'?

PM: I heard even your old lady and your seeds call you Doom. Is that true?
M: Yeah, yeah. No question.

PM: So that's your name from back in the day.
M: Yeah. Yup.

PM: And it was just a coincidence that it led into your interest in the character Dr.Doom?
M:It was weird, yo. It was one of them weird things. It's like, you know, we were into comics just like any other kid of that generation. I guess Atari 2600 must've just came out, but it wasn't no big video game thing like how it is now. And we ain't have cable so comic books was our shit, that's like our form of entertainment. So you know, all the different characters, from X-Men, to Spider Man and all these different cats, right? And of course, Fantastic Four with Dr.Doom. It just so happens that…you know, Dr.Doom! I come to that character. I guess from him having the same name, you know the Doom name, it kinda made me look into him more. There's a lot of things that were similar, you know what I'm saying? As my career went on, I look back at it, I'm like, yo. If anything, I can't just pack this up; I gotta freak it like that. Just to give back to that whole era anyway. It influenced my writing a lot. There's no real boundaries. You can go as diverse and as wild as you wanna go with it. You nahmean?

PM: So, along the lines of what we were talking about earlier, the concept of King Geedorah seems to be an optimistic look at where humanity might go. Personally, I see a decline in culture. I see a decline in art. Rap, of course. Do you feel differently?
M: Actually, I have to agree with you. In my perspective, in my history on this planet - 30-some-odd years -- and just seein' how it's been going, it seems like it's declining. If I had to predict the next 10 years, it's bleak, you know what I'm sayin'? Geedorah's been to perspectives that I never even thought of and has ideas about other places that I never even knew. So, I'm like, it puts a new spin on things. It almost brings hope back ... A lot of leaders on this planet -- so-called leaders -- definitely ain't factoring in, you know what I'm sayin'? They don't know (Earth's) real potential. There's a lot of metaphysical things, and technological aspects as well, that cross-correlate. That the so-called leaders of this planet don't even know about. They ain't even up on it. So, I look at it like, Aight, with these new pieces in it, yo, we got some type of chance. It's all up to the children. It depends on what we put in their heads. Really.

PM: What do you think is the best album of all time?
M:So, aight, not including my stuff? 'Cause if my stuff was in there, I'ma pick one of my shits! But if I wanna be fair about it...

PM: If you had to only listen to one album for the rest of your life, would you really pick one of yours?
M:Nah. Nah, you right. (Laughs.) Once I'm done with it, I'm done with it yo, I'm tellin' you. Aight, if I had to listen to one album. Out of any genre of music?

PM: Yeah, just your favorite shit.
M: John Coltrane. The joint with, uh -- well I got a Best Of album from him. It got "Afro Blue" on there, and it has "My Favorite Things." Yeah, those two songs -- two good, long versions of those songs -- that's the shit I could listen to anytime. Cleanin' the house, cleanin' the bathroom, throw that on. No matter what's goin' on, that's my timeless piece right there.

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