Operation: Doomsday by MF Doom

Operation: Doomsday, released by Fondle 'Em Records on 19 October 1999, was Daniel Dumile's first solo album and the debut of MF Doom. Years earlier he had been Zev Love X in the trio KMD, which fell apart in 1993 when his brother DJ Subroc died. He came back wearing a metal mask modeled on the Marvel villain Doctor Doom, who glowers from the album cover, and he produced the whole thing himself.

It's lo-fi, murky and hilarious, built from dusty, woozy loops, with Doom's dense, sideways wordplay tumbling out at a lazy drawl. Nothing about it chases the radio, which is exactly why it matters: few records have cast a longer shadow over indie hip-hop. Sub Verse put it out again in 2001, its running order lightly tweaked, and Doom's own Metal Face Records put out a deluxe remaster on 24 October 2011.

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