“Just on the edge all the time”: the rapper Thom Yorke put on the same level as Bob Dylan
While he certainly didn’t invent rapping, plenty of people point out the similarities between what Bob Dylan does on songs like ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ and the rap music which broke into the mainstream around 20 years later. It’s no surprise to see people compare the dexterous and inventive wordplay employed by many modern rappers with what Bob Dylan was doing with words in his frenzied mid-1960s peak.
Famed for his revolutionary use of words and language in song – so impressive that even the Nobel Prize committee took note – Dylan also has a habit of “sampling” other works in his own way, incorporating elements of old songs, movie dialogue, poetry and prose into his lyrics.
In fact, Dylan even appeared on a track with the pioneering rapper Kurtis Blow in 1986, laying down the first verse on the song ‘Street Rock Duet’. Later, he spoke of his appreciation for the art form and its practitioners, so he has an understanding and appreciation for the genre.
Making a more specific connection between Bob Dylan and the rap music that came after him, Radiohead singer Thom Yorke singled out one particular rapper he believed was operating on the same level as Dylan. Speaking to NPR’s Bob Boilen for the All Things Considered radio programme in 2008, Yorke was asked to name some recent records that had “knocked him out”. After talking about the Liars album Drums Not Dead and name-checking both Aphex Twin and Nigel Godrich, Yorke moved on to eulogising the 2004 Madvillain album, Madvillainy.
Reserving special praise for one half of the Madvillain supergroup, MF Doom, Yorke described his use of language by saying that he’s “like Bob Dylan but without any folk. It’s like the last 50 years hasn’t happened”.
Agreeing with Bob Boilen’s comparison that MF Doom’s imagery on the album is “like Dada in many ways; anything can happen”, Yorke adds that “it just takes a lot of courage to, like, knock out these rhymes the way he does I think”.
The only album released by supergroup Madvillain, the record saw MF Doom join forces with producer Madlib, and the pair received rave reviews and critical acclaim for their exciting, experimental work. Yorke expanded that what he particularly appreciated about the vocals on the record was the way in which they are “just on the edge of the freestyling thing all the time. And he is just coming from right at the back of your head”.
One of the most highly experimental rap albums that anyone had ever released before or since; it’s not only in MF Doom’s lyrics that you can draw a comparison to the inventive wordplay of Bob Dylan but also in the way that he pushed the very boundaries of the genre that he was working in altogether.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out Bob Dylan Newsletter
All the latest stories about Bob Dylan from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.