Few would expect that DOOM would be taking on the straight role as he does in this vaudevillian Rap High-Art wonder, “Gorilla Monsoon,” produced by Daringer and more than ably set up by the unhinged prevarications of Westside Gunn.

“Ayo/Ayo” Westside Gunn repeats in his squeakiest voice ever, alluding to himself as if he were Dorothy, far, far, far away from Kansas. “Ayo, I was in my cell, I clicked my heels three times / P Just 2’s, my khaki suit mastermind / Water whip, tossed the coke in the alkaline … Immaculate rhyme (Immaculate rhyme) / It’s so obvious / Watchin’ the world from up top / Snakeskin binoculars.” It’s hard not to be impressed by an MC that rhymes “obvious” with “binoculars.”

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Stoned immaculate, the Buffalo, New York little brother sounds quite strange here. His helium-maniacal delivery is buttressed by the pure creativity of the Daringer beat, drenched in a tacky ‘50s B-grade movie vibe, but it sounds like he’s spinning about lyrically – letting off sparks.

It’s funny too, as Westside Gunn enunciates his rhymes with such an earnest style that sounds pre-adolescent: this is not an insult. He spits with great enthusiasm: “My bedroom had a bedroom, my wrist be dancin’ / My bedroom had a bedroom, my wrist be dancin’ / The flyest that’s livin’, we live and die by the kitchen / Choppin’ on dishes, rack the puff in…”

In comparison, DOOM’s verse comes across as relatively sedate and even seems to make some sense. Unlike Westside Gunn’s verse with all its trademark Griselda interruptions – all the “skrrrrrtttt” and “Pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow” and “Drrrrr” and “Du-du-du-du-du-du-du-du…” – DOOM’s only has a subdued “yup” and “psst.”

DOOM seems to be taking on the older statesman role here, surveying the contemporary scene. His closing words are typically elegant, albeit with opaque references: “What’s revealed is of a certain feel – growth / Yellow moist mushy, banana peeled coke / At worst, could not be confused with real soap / Nope, you see disaster is intended / In the face of truth, don’t ever be offended….Overstand the past to get a grasp of the present (psst) / I make it faster than you spends it / End it.”

What is particularly nice on “Gorilla Monsoon” is the way the musical mania is sustained by Daringer, in a way that supports the MCs’ imaginative flow. It never lets up, even while the drums are relatively relaxed and laidback.  Occasionally, there is a drum-roll, just for show almost, but it’s the wall of wavy sound that creates the highly cogent and distinctive mood that is almost beyond words.