MF Doom Doesn't Listen To Hip Hop; Just Raps for the Money

Madvillainy, the debut album from the duo of MF Doom and Madlib, turned 15 this week.

To celebrate, Spin mag interviewed Doom. 

During their chat, Doom admitted he's really not much of a rap fan.

"I write rhymes and shit to get money. Other than that I don’t listen to hip-hop music. I listen to jazz music and instrumentals and shit like that ... I didn’t know it was gonna be such a popular thing. It’s something we used to do for a side hobby, to keep your mind fresh. Word games. You might be walking down the street, playing with words in your mind, so you throw them back and forth, and words that rhyme just come to you. It’s something we did as a hobby, like practicing thoughts, brain exercises. Word searches and things like that, studying different languages, where words come from. A practice to keep your mind sharp, is how we used to see it. But then it turned out to be something—if you put it to music, in a rhythmic way, and you know how to bring the point across, then you can turn it to something that’s real profitable. I’m blessed to be part of this whole thing, from this hip-hop experience."

You can check out the whole interview here.