Downfall of Ibliys: A Ghetto Opera

Recorded in one 24-hour period just before he was incarcerated for narcotics conspiracy in 2000, Downfall of Ibliys is actually MF Grimm's first full-length album, despite the fact that he had been recording and dropping singles for a solid decade prior. Produced mostly by MF DOOM (credited here as Metal Fingers), along with Count Bass D and Dr. Butcher, it's a highly personal record that blends religious references with tales of triumph, despair, and everything in between, reflecting the many facets of Grimm's life; crime and punishment, revenge and redemption, ignorance and inspiration. Supported by undeniably funky beats that are often much more playful than the subject matter, it's loaded with memorable songs like "I.B.'s," "Life and Death," "Voices Pt. 0," and "Foolish" (featuring Megalon and MF DOOM). Many of these instrumentals would reappear on the Special Herbs series a few years later, but most of them sound better here, topped with Grimm's rhymes that alternate between true-crime confessionals and positive messages for the youth.