Rodan

Rodan is a legendary figure in the Toho pantheon. A pterosaur, his 1956 debut was the first Kaiju film shot in colour, and he’s since appeared in ten films, fifteen video games and countless novelisations. His history as an emcee is equally as chaotic.

Rodan - real name unknown - was a member of NYC rap trio KMD. He joined in 1988, when the group also practiced graffiti art and breakdance as well as emceeing. Rodan left the group before their first album to finish high school. Whilst in the process of completing their second album in 1993, KMD frontman Subroc was killed by a car on the 878 Nassau Expressway. A combination of this untimely death and the incendiary content of the sophomore record led to it going unreleased. KMD were unceremoniously dropped from their label, leaving young artist Zev Love X destitute. He then vanished from the hip hop scene, only to reemerge in 1998 as the mask-clad villain, MF DOOM.

It was on DOOM’s debut - Operation Doomsday - that Rodan resurfaced, this time alongside his newly-assembled Monsta Island Czars collaborators. “Who Do You Think I Am?” finds Rodan spitting alongside Kong, Megalon and X-Ray, a combination which makes for a highlight on the acclaimed album.

Escape from Monsta Island!, MIC’s first full-length album, was released in 2003. It featured Rodan on nine of the twenty tracks, making him the most pervasive member across the entire record. Escape from Monsta Island! remains the groups only LP, though persistent rumours of a follow up have circled for over a decade. An elusive, difficult to find record titled The Next 1,000 Years was unofficially released, though it’s not considered a canonical effort by fans.

Rodan’s accessibility spiked with “No Snakes Alive,” a track off King Geedorah’s 2003 debut. He featured alongside MIC colleague Jet Jaguar, an alias of the low-key legendary MF Grimm. The record received rave reviews, and is generally considered to be amongst DOOM’s most consistent and impressive output. The assists provided by his MIC collaborators were invaluable in crafting such a diverse, engaging record.

His debut EP, 2002’s Flight Lessons, contained a number of songs that would eventually make it onto his first full-length album. That debut LP - Theophany: The Book Of Elevation - was largely produced by MIC member X-Ray. Released in 2004 to little reception, it’s an 18-track collection that cements Rodan as one of MIC’s most accomplished talents. A record you won’t find on your friendly neighbourhood streaming service, it’s worth seeking out for a fierce and dynamic listen.

A bonus CD, included with some early sales of 2004's MM... FOOD, contained three Rodan tracks - "Mineral Kingdom," "Witchcraft 2" and "Ruler Of Day And Night." The latter features DOOM behind the decks, and ranks amongst Rodan's best output - not only is it a great track, it's also a fantastic backronym for his alias.

Rodan slowly faded into complete obscurity, the truth behind his identity vanishing with him. He appeared on Stronghold’s Mixtape Vol. 2 in 2006, when MF Grimm included him in the short-lived ‘Strong Monstas’ clique. He made a more recent appearance on King Cesars' 2016 record, which also revived Monstas such as Kong, Speiga, Megalon and Kamackeris.

A 2013 mixtape entitled AmeriKKKan Inquisition went unreleased, only to be leaked on a YouTube channel by user ‘RONOMICAL’. Little is known about the reasons for the project’s abandonment and the user who ultimately leaked it, which only adds to the sense of mystery that swirls about the rapper.

Since then, Rodan’s been dormant. Though Warner Brothers have teased their Rodan’s return in Kong: Skull Island, the emcee seems to have ceased terrorising guest verses, posse cuts and curiously verbose solo records.

Gigan

Gigan, an alias of NY rapper Zymeer, is equally as enigmatic. He’s named for a half-monster, half-mecha alien - one of Godzilla’s fiercest foes - who has only appeared in three of Toho’s 29 Godzilla films. As an emcee, Gigan is similarly elusive.

Gigan is primarily notable for his feature on Geedorah’s “Krazy World,” which finds him performing the entire track with a production assist from the artist himself. It’s this generous feature that’s solidified Gigan’s legend amongst DOOM fans, and it’s no surprise - outside of this verse, Gigan is incredibly scarce. He’s appeared on MIC’s Escape From Monsta Island! as well as the group’s unofficial debut, The Next 1,000 Years.

The Gigan EP - released in 2002 - is the only glimpse of the rapper in his element. He didn’t make an appearance on King Cesar’s 2016 MIC-uniting LP, and Discogs.com lists an appearance on a German non-label rap sampler as his only other non-MIC output.

Megalon

Another MIC member who trades in mystery, Megalon - also known as Tommy Gunn - has released a single solo album. Gunn's Kaiju alias is shared with a legendary Beetle-like adversary who takes on both Godzilla and Jet Jaguar in 1973's Godzilla vs. Megalon. One commenter claimed that, though sourcing Gigan’s EP proves difficult, it’s nothing compared to sourcing Gunn’s The Nickel Bag. As of publication, I’ve yet to hear it.

Much like Rodan’s debut EP, Megalon’s Black Jesus contained a swathe of tracks that were eventually included on his 2004 LP, A Penny For Your Thoughts. The 22-track record is gangsta through-and-through, building on the base he laid with “Rain Blood,” his contribution to Grimm’s The Downfall of Ibliys: a ghetto opera.

Megalon’s other notable appearances are on Operation Doomsday’s “The Finest” and Gigan’s “Power.” He also appeared on 1995 Def Jam single “Bomdigi” by Erick Sermon, contributing featuring vocals to the track’s remix, included as a b-side.

Much of his catalogue on discogs.com is logged in error - he seems to share his name with a dubstep producer, whose minor hit “You Make Me Say” appears on a swathe of 2012 compilation albums.

Jet Jaguar

Better known as MF Grimm, Jet Jaguar is the most famous non-DOOM member of MIC. This is due, in part, to his early collaborations with the now legendary villain - the MF EP, a dual EP split between Grimm and DOOM, fostered ideas of an unbreakable link between the two artists. Whilst the pair were close in the late 90s and early 2000s, their vicious falling out is documented in Grimm’s “The Book Of Daniel,” the scathing diss track that closes out his 2006 triple-album American Hunger.

Grimm is the most accessible and critically appreciated Czar, mainly due to his slightly larger fanbase and less mysterious career trajectory. His MIC alias - Jet Jaguar - makes reference to a heroic robot introduced by Toho in 1973's Godzilla vs. Megalon, which pit Jet Jaguar and Godzilla against Megalon and Gigan. Even outside of his alias' on-screen exploits, Grimm’s story is a remarkable one, immortalised in an award-winning comic book, Sentences.

As a child, Grimm - real name Percy Carey - was a child actor on Sesame Street, a gig set up by his then-neighbour Morgan Freeman. He set his sights on becoming an emcee at age 14, and was soon expelled for beating up his school Dean for owed drug money. In 1994, having survived an attempt on his life eight years prior, Grimm was attacked by a gang of rival drug dealers. Shot seven times, he slipped into a coma, losing his vision, hearing and the ability to move from the waist down. His brother Jay was killed. Lucky to survive the attack, he eventually recovered his sight and hearing but remained confined to a wheelchair.

When he woke, his nearly-completed record had been pillaged by colleagues who believed he’d never wake up. It wasn’t until 2005’s Scars and Memories that a bulk of these tracks were formally released.

Turning back to drug dealing to support his music career - which included supporting his newly formed collective, Monsta Island Czars - he was eventually apprehended and sentenced to life in prison. Uncertain of his future, he posted bail, linked up with DOOM and recorded The Downfall of Ibliys: a ghetto opera. The critically acclaimed record was intended as a last ditch effort at creation, though Grimm continued to release records from prison until his early release in 2003. Since then, releases such as American Hunger, The Hunt For The Gingerbread Man and Good Morning Vietnam 2: The Golden Triangle have cemented Grimm as a staple of NYC’s underground scene; a versed veteran of both the old and the new.

Outside of his solo material, MF Grimm has appeared on tapes by German producer DJ BK and legendary scratching progenitor DJ Premier. He guest starred on the remix to KMD’s “What A Nigga Know?” as well as on Operation Doomsday track “Tick, Tick...”. Despite founding MIC prior to his sentencing, Grimm didn’t appear as Jet Jaguar on Escape From Monsta Island! due to his incarceration. He was credited as an executive producer, and appears on “Run The Sphere (Remix)” a track included on the MIC compilation Monsta Mixes Vol. 1. He did release a single album as Superstar Jet Jaguar - 2004’s Digital Tears: E-Mail from Purgatory, written in prison and dropped following Grimm’s early release.

The consistency Grimm brings to efforts such as The Downfall of Ibliys and American Hunger make him the most unfairly maligned of MIC. The critical appreciation levelled at Grimm cannot compare to his relatively low-key commercial successes, which are perhaps exacerbated by his esoteric stylings and counter-mainstream content. His discography is nigh-flawlessly catalogued on Spotify, where he maintains a modest-yet-impressive following.