''Key to the Kuffs'' is a collaborative album by

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

artists

Jneiro Jarel Omar Jarel Gilyard, known by his stage name Jneiro Jarel, is an American recording artist, music producer, composer and Disc Jockey, DJ. Recognized for his versatile, abstract, and often experimental style, he is also known for his beat-making ali ...

and

MF DOOM Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...

under the moniker

JJ Doom JJ DOOM was an American alternative hip-hop duo composed of Jneiro Jarel and MF DOOM. History On 15 February 2012 the website ''Pitchfork'' ran an article stating that JJ DOOM's debut album would be called ''Key to the Kuffs'' and released via L ...

. It was released on

Lex Records Lex Records is a British independent record label based in Camden, London, England. Style Lex has a varied musical output. Most releases are alternative hip hop, alternative rock or electronic. The label works with a small group of artists. ...

on August 20, 2012.

Recording

Jneiro Jarel produced the music in his studio in New Orleans. Although he and DOOM met several times during the recording the bulk of the work was carried out in their respective studios. MF DOOM recorded the vocals for the album in London between December 2010 and April 2012. The album includes guest vocals by

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...

of Blur and

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

Beth Gibbons Beth Gibbons (born 4 January 1965) is an English singer and songwriter. She is the singer and lyricist for the band Portishead, which has released three albums. She released an album with Rustin Man, '' Out of Season'', in 2002, followed by an ...

of Portishead,

Khujo Goodie Willie Edward Knighton Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known as Khujo, is an American rapper. He is one-fourth of Goodie Mob (along with T-Mo, Cee-Lo, and Big Gipp), and one-half of The Lumberjacks (with T-Mo). Life and career Khujo was bor ...

Goodie Mob Goodie Mob is an American hip hop group based in Atlanta, Georgia, consisting of CeeLo Green, Khujo, T-Mo, and Big Gipp. History The group was formed in 1991 by Cameron " Big Gipp" Gipp, Willie "Khujo" Knighton Jr., CeeLo Green (born Thoma ...

and

Dungeon Family The Dungeon Family is a musical collective, based in Atlanta, Georgia that specializes in Southern hip hop with heavy funk and soul influences. The group derives its name from "The Dungeon", the name given to record producer Rico Wade's studio, ...

, and Boston Fielder.

Release

Two alternative versions of tracks from the album were released prior to the album. The tracks were the Doom/

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...

Jonny Greenwood Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician and composer. He is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the alternative rock band Radiohead, and has written numerous film scores. Along with his elder brother, th ...

version of "Retarded Fren" and the

Dave Sitek David Andrew Sitek (born September 6, 1972) is an American musician and record producer, known for his work with his band TV on the Radio. He has also worked with bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Foals, Celebration, Little Dragon, Beady ...

remix of "Rhymin' Slang."

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, ''Key to the Kuffs'' received an average score of 74% based on 26 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described ''Key to the Kuffs'' as a "killer new album with a spectral guest vocal by Beth Gibbons from Portishead." ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' listed a lyric in "Banished" as one of the best rap lines of 2012.

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

listed "Guv'nor" as his "single of 2012." In 2017 ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' wrote that "''Key to the Kuffs'' has aged into excellence in the nearly five years since it first came out."

Track listing

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. Production *

– production * Metalfingerz Doom – additional skit arrangement Additional performers *

Shannon Powell Shannon Powell (born April 8, 1962) is an American jazz and ragtime drummer. He has toured internationally and played with Ellis Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr., Danny Barker, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra ...

– percussion *

– featured vocals * Capitol Peoples – outro * Roderick Skeaping – violin *

– featured vocals * Boston Fielder and Muthawit Orchestra – strings * Indigo – additional vocals *

– vocals Additional personnel * Tom Brown – executive production, A&R * Will Skeaping – A&R * Who Dat? – mixing * Metalfingerz Doom – mixing * Earl Scioneaux – additional engineering , additional mixing * Stephen Sedgwick – additional mixing * Drew Brown – additional mixing *

Matt Colton Matt Colton (born 30 March 1975) is an English mastering engineer and member of the mastering group of the Music Producers Guild. He has mastered recordings for artists such as Muse, Coldplay, James Blake, George Michael, Hot Chip, Gary Num ...

– mastering Artwork *

Steve Powers Steve Powers (born February 25, 1934 in New York City) is a musician, journalist and teacher who has had a 45-year career in New York City radio and television,Hinckley, David"From JFK to 'QXR: Powers Signs Off"''The Daily News''. June 13, 2007. as ...

– art * Klaus Thymann – portrait * DLT – layout

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2012 debut albums Lex Records albums Albums produced by BadBadNotGood JJ Doom albums