I’ve been a bit numb since the news broke on New Year’s Eve that MF Doom had passed. It’s just didn’t seem real but then again, it never does. It just hits you like a ton of bricks out of nowhere. We all know how rough 2020 had been on so many levels so I don’t need to run down that list. But then just as we are hours from saying goodbye to 2020 before one last bombshell hits the hip hop world right before we enter in 2021. Daniel Dumile aka MF Doom aka DOOM aka Viktor Vaughn aka Zev Love X aka King Geedorah aka Metal Fingers had passed away at the age of 49. It was announced an Instagram post from his wife and it was heartbreaking. We were left without details other than knowing that Doom passed 2 months earlier on Halloween. Absolutely devastating.
At this point of my life, some of these rappers that I’ve listened to for years have become family to me. They’re there for me no matter the mood I’m in and always take me back to different times of my life better than any memory or picture can. I hear songs and see album covers and I go back in time. When I think of MF Doom I have so many things that flash through my mind. Doom and Underground Hip Hop came along in the late 90’s when the Jiggy Era was upon us. Underground Rap had a small following compared to mainstream rap but it was for sure a cult following of fans. Sure we still sang along to Master P and No Limit Records’ “Make Em Say Ugh” at parties but when the headphones were on we were tripping out on the drums, sitar, lyrics, and flow on Company Flow’s “The Fire in Which You Burn.” We were also nodding our heads to the beat and memorizing every lyric to MF Doom’s “Dead Bent.”
It was “Dead Bent” (the original from the Fondle ‘Em Records 12” single!) when I first fell for Doom. I didn’t really know anything about him but eventually picked up the Operation Doomsday album through mail order once it became available. When that CD arrived into my mail box at my college dorm, it didn’t leave my Sony Discman for months. I became the biggest MF Doom fan immediately when I heard the song “Doomsday” with the ill Sade sample from “Kiss of Life.” Doom handled the production on the album and his beats were just different. His sampling was different. His rhyme schemes were different. Doom was relatable and clever so you just kept pressing rewind to try to catch something you might have missed during your last listen.
MF Doom wore a mask to conceal his identity. Did it really matter what somebody looked like or the image they portrayed if the music was dope? Nope… Doom was out to prove that. But MF Doom didn’t come out of nowhere. Years before Operation Doomsday, Daniel Dumile performed as Zev Love X from the early 90’s hip hop group, KMD. I remembered KMD from their “Peachfuzz” video but never knew that Zev Love X was MF Doom until I read it in a magazine at a record store. The core members of KMD (aka Kausing Much Damage) were Zev and his little brother, DJ Subroc. Also in the group at different times were Rodan and Onyx the Birthstone Kid. KMD’s debut album Mr. Hood dropped in 1991 on Elektra Records.
Black Bastards was the follow up album from KMD that was supposed to be released in 1993. Before its scheduled release, DJ Subroc was tragically killed when he was hit by a car trying to cross the Long Island Expressway in New York. Zev Love X aka MF Doom had just lost his little brother and then that same week, KMD was dropped by Elektra Records due to the title of their new album, its lyrical content, and the album’s controversial artwork which was drawn by Zev aka Doom himself. The album got shelved and the remaining members of KMD disbanded. In 1993, Zev Love X disappeared from the music scene completely.
I haven’t seen much on Doom’s whereabouts from 1993 - 1997 but have heard that he was homeless for some of the time looking for park benches to sleep on around Manhattan. He would forever be scarred by the loss of his brother and the way the record industry treated him and his group. Dumile eventually did return in 1997 to start performing at open mics in Manhattan with tights over his head to hide his identity. Zev Love X had been reincarnated as a new character from Dumile known as MF Doom. Operation Doomsday is a classic album and is one of the best hip hop albums ever made.
Following the success of Operation Doomsday, Doom next started releasing instrumental albums under the name Metal Fingers. He dropped beat albums every year from 2001 - 2004 with the Special Herbs series where fans heard beats they already knew but started hearing other beats that Doom had never rapped on. This included “All Spice” which remains one of my favorite Doom beats of all time where he once again samples Sade and her track “Is it a Crime.” Not only is this my favorite Doom beat of all time, it damn near might just be my top instrumental of all time.
In 2003, Dumile decided to introduce 2 new characters to go along with Zev Love X and MF Doom. Yes, Dumile stayed in the studio and must have never slept because he put out a ton of material at a time when rappers just weren’t releasing as often as they do now. In 2003, the three-headed monster known as King Geedorah and Viktor Vaughn both dropped albums. With different monikers, Dumile had the freedom to explore different record labels to release his albums. Doom’s production continued to stretch boundaries with his King Geedorah album, Take Me To Your Leader while on as Viktor Vaughn’s Vaudeville Villain, he flipped styles over some abstract experimental beats that forced him to change up his flow. Dumile lived outside the box and continuously pushed himself creatively. Here’s “The Fine Print” from the King Geedorah album.
In 2004, Doom dropped 3 new albums on 3 different labels. Yes, DMX always gets props for dropping 2 platinum albums in the same year (1998), but Doom dropped 2 timeless albums in 2004. He joined forces with Madlib for the Madvillainy album on Stones Throw Records in March of 2014. Madlib handled the beats while the Supervillain handled the rhymes. The album was recorded over 2002-2003 out in Cali at Madlib’s studio, The Bombshelter which yes, used to be an actual bomb shelter. The album is widely considered one of the best hip hop albums of all time. Like Deltron 3030 in 2000, Madvillainy brought non-rap fans into the hip hop genre which got the album critical acclaim across the world. With Madvillainy, we got Madlib at the top of his game and Doom staying in the pocket with every beat.
The other big Doom album from 2004 was MM..Food which was released on Rhymesayers Entertainment. While with Madvillainy we had all Madlib beats, MM..Food was mostly produced by Metal Fingers outside of one Madlib beat and one Count Bass D beat. The production was amazing on the album and Doom’s lyrics kept getting more creative. Some of my favorite beats of his were on that album. It’s a shame that the original version of “Kookies” has disappeared due to sample clearance issues but you can still find it out there. Doom has often been called your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper and I think this video of Mos Def truly defines that sentiment. Hearing him rap “Beef Rap” is so great.
Doom was an artist that you could never predict what was coming next. In 2006 he dropped his collaborative album with Danger Mouse titled “The Mouse and the Mask” which infused a lot of Adult Swim’s popular lineup of characters from that era in with the beats and rhymes. Top to bottom, this was another standout album from Doom.
Doom’s passing is like one of your favorite uncles dying. He was such a great storyteller and just seemed like a regular dude that we all could kick it with. He kept it real in the music industry and outside of his disappearance years of 1993 - 1997, has remained relevant in hip hop since 1991. How many rappers from the early 90’s still get buzz when they release something? Doom had recently just dropped a new song with BADBADNOTGOOD only a few weeks ago and yup…. it was a dope track!
MF Doom is going to be really missed. I had to write all of this because I couldn’t just go back to work Monday without talking a little bit about Doom. Daniel Dumile meant a lot to me and will continue to as I will not ever stop playing his music. I know I’m not alone in saying that so like the other fallen rappers before him, Doom’s legacy will live on. RIP Daniel Dumile. You will never be forgotten down here buddy. You were, are, and forever will be a legend in this genre of hip hop that we all love so much. Rest in peace homie. Glad to know that Subroc has some company up there.
Here is my Spotify playlist with nothing but MF Doom. It’s a long one so only for the diehard fans only who like getting deep into an artist’s catalog.