MF DOOM

“	Just remember ALL CAPS when you spell the man name. DOOM	”
―MF DOOM's Spotify bio[1]

Daniel Dumile † (born Dumile Daniel Thompson; July 13, 1971 - c. October 31, 2020 [aged 49]), better known as MF DOOM (among other names), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and "supervillain" stage persona, Dumile became a major figure of underground hip hop and alternative hip hop in the 2000s.^[2][3]

History

Dumile was married to Jasmine Dumile for an unknown period until his death in October 2020. The couple had five children.^[4] Dumile's son Malachi died at the age of 14 from unspecified causes in late 2017.^[5]

Early life

Dumile was born in Hounslow, London, on July 13, 1971,^[6][7][8] the son of a Trinidadian mother and Zimbabwean father.^[9][10] He was the eldest of five children.^[11] According to Dumile, he was conceived in the United States, and happened to be born in London because his mother was visiting family.^[12] As a child, Dumile moved with his family to Long Island, New York, and grew up in Long Beach on Long Island. He said he had no memory of his London childhood and his parents had no affiliation with British culture.^[13] However, he remained a British citizen, never gaining American citizenship.^[14]

Dumile began DJing during the summer after third grade.^[15][16] As a child, he was a fan and collector of comic books and earned the nickname "Doom" (a phonetic play on the name Dumile) among friends and family.^[17][18]

Early career

Dumile formed the hip hop group KMD in 1988 with his younger brother DJ Subroc and Rodan, who was later replaced by Onyx the Birthstone Kid.^[19] A&R representative Dante Ross learned of KMD through the hip hop group 3rd Bass and signed them to Elektra Records.

On April 23, 1993, just before the release of the second KMD album, Black Bastards,^[20] Subroc was struck by a car and killed while crossing the Long Island Expressway.^[21][22] Dumile completed the album alone over the course of several months, and it was announced with a release date of May 3, 1994.^[23] KMD was dropped by Elektra and the album went unreleased due to its controversial cover art, which featured a cartoon of a stereotypical pickaninny or sambo character being hanged.^[24]

After his brother's death, Dumile retreated from the hip hop scene from 1994 to 1997, living "damn near homeless, walking the streets of Manhattan, sleeping on benches".^[25] In the late 1990s, he settled in Atlanta; he had moved to Georgia in the mid-90s.^[26] According to interviews with Dumile, he was "recovering from his wounds" and swearing revenge "against the industry that so badly deformed him".^[27]

1997-2001

In 1997 or 1998, Dumile began freestyling incognito at open-mic events at the Nuyorican Poets Café in Manhattan, obscuring his face by putting tights over his head.^[28] He turned this into a new identity, MF Doom, with a mask similar to that of Marvel Comics supervillain Doctor Doom.^[29] He later used a mask based on the character Maximus from the 2000 film Gladiator.^[30]

2002-2004

Dumile's breakthrough came in 2004 with the album Madvillainy, created with producer Madlib under the group name Madvillain.^[31] They recorded the album in a series of sessions over two years before a commercial release on March 23, 2004.^[32] Madvillainy was a critical and commercial success,^[33] and has since become known as Dumile's masterpiece.^[34]

2005-2009

Although still an independent artist, Dumile took a bigger step towards the mainstream in 2005 with The Mouse and the Mask, a collaboration with the producer DJ Danger Mouse under the group name Danger Doom. The album, released on October 11, 2005, by Epitaph and Lex, was developed in collaboration with Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and featured voice actors and characters from its programs (mostly Aqua Teen Hunger Force). The Mouse and the Mask reached #41 on the Billboard 200.^[35]

2010-2021

After completing his European tour, Dumile was refused re-entry into the United States.^[36][37] He settled in the UK in 2010.^[38] Key to the Kuffs, an album Dumile made in collaboration with the producer Jneiro Jarel as JJ Doom, was released on August 20, 2012, and included guest features from Damon Albarn, Beth Gibbons of Portishead, Khujo Goodie of Goodie Mob and Dungeon Family, and Boston Fielder.^[39]

In August 2017, Adult Swim announced a Doom compilation, The Missing Notebook Rhymes, that would consist of songs from his upcoming projects and featured appearances on other artists' songs. The Adult Swim website was to release one new song per week over the course of 15 weeks.^[40] However, the arrangement was canceled in September after the release of only seven tracks.^[41]

MF DOOM persona

Dumile created the MF Doom character as an alter ego with a backstory he could reference in his music.^[42] The character combines elements from the Marvel Comics supervillain Doctor Doom, Destro, and the Phantom of the Opera;^[43] like Doctor Doom and Phantom, Dumile referred to himself in the third person while in character.^[44] His signature mask was similar to that of Doctor Doom,^[45] who is depicted rapping on the cover of Dumile's 1999 debut album Operation: Doomsday.^[46]

Dumile wore the mask while performing, and would not be photographed without it, except for short glimpses in videos and in earlier photos with KMD.^[47]

Legacy

Dumile was celebrated in independent hip hop.^[48] After his death, the producer Flying Lotus wrote of Madvillainy: "All u ever needed in hip-hop was this record. Sorted. Done. Give it to the fucking aliens." The English musician Thom Yorke, who twice collaborated with Dumile, wrote: "He was a massive inspiration to so many of us, changed things... For me the way he put words was often shocking in its genius, using stream of consciousness in a way I'd never heard before."^[49]

Death

In October 2020, Dumile was admitted to St James's University Hospital in Leeds, England, after suffering respiratory problems.^[50] On October 31, he died from angioedema, a rare reaction to a blood pressure medication he had been recently prescribed. He had suffered from high blood pressure and kidney disease. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, Dumile's wife, Jasmine, was not allowed to visit him in the hospital until the day of his death. Jasmine announced Dumile's death on December 31, 2020.^[51] The cause of death was not announced until July 2023.

Discography

Studio Albums

• Operation: Doomsday (1999)
• Take Me to Your Leader (2003, under the name King Geedorah)
• Vaudeville Villain (2003, under the name Viktor Vaughn)
• VV: 2 (2004, under the name Viktor Vaughn)
• Mm..Food (2004)
• Born Like This (2009, under the name DOOM)

Collaborative Albums

• Madvillainy (2004, with Madlib as Madvillain)
• Special Herbs + Spices Volume 1 (2004, with MF Grimm)
• The Mouse and the Mask (2005, with Danger Mouse as Danger Doom)
• Key to the Kuffs (2012, with Jneiro Jarel as JJ DOOM)
• NehruvianDoom (2014, with Bishop Nehru)
• Czarface Meets Metal Face (2018, with Czarface)
• Super What? (2021, with Czarface, posthumously)

Live Albums

• Live from Planet X (2005)
• Expektoration (2010)

Compilation Albums

• Special Blends Volume 1 & 2 (2004, as Metal Fingers)
• Special Herbs: The Box Set Vol. 0-9 (2006, as Metal Fingers)
• Unexpected Guests (2009, under the name DOOM)
• The Missing Notebook Rhymes (2017, under the name DOOM)

Instrumental Albums

All of them were released under the name Metal Fingers.

• Special Herbs, Vol. 1 (2001)
• Special Herbs, Vol. 2 (2002)
• Special Herbs, Vol. 3 (2002)
• Special Herbs, Vol. 4 (2003)
• Special Herbs, Vols. 4, 5, & 6 (2003)
• Special Blends, Vols. 1 & 2 (2004)
• Special Herbs, Vols. 5 & 6 (2004)
• Special Herbs, Vols. 7 & 8 (2004)
• Special Herbs, Vols. 9 & 0 (2005)
• Special Herbs: The Box Set Vol. 0-9 (2006)

EPs

• MF EP (2000)
• MM..More Food (2004)
• Occult Hymn (2006)
• Unicron (2008)
• Victory Laps EP (2011)
• Bookhead EP (2017)
• WestSide Doom (2017)

Demos

• Madvillainy Demo Tape (2008)

Mixtapes

• Swift and Changeable: The Prequel (2012)

Promotional Singles

• Saliva (2003)

Singles

• My Favorite Ladies (2002)
• All Outta Ale (2002)
• Yee Haw (2003)
• Is He Ill? (2003)
• Vomit (2006)
• Lively Hood (2015)
• Avalanche (2016)

Filmography

• Demon Days Live (2005)
• Our Vinyl Weights a Ton: This Is Stones Throws Records (2013)

Gallery

References