MF Doom death: Tyler, the creator leads tributes to revolutionary hip hop artist, dead at 49

‘Safe travels villain,’ wrote the artist

The world of hip hop is mourning the death of groundbreaking rapper MF Doom at the age of 49.

Yesterday (31 December), the artist’s family released a statement confirming that Doom (real name Daniel Dumile) had died on 31 October, of undisclosed causes.

“The greatest husband, father, teacher, student, business partner, lover, and friend I could ever ask for,” Doom's wife Jasmine wrote on the rapper’s Instagram page.  

“Thank you for all the things you have shown, taught and given to me, our children and our family. Thank you for teaching me how to forgive beings and give another chance, not to be so quick to judge and write off. Thank you for showing how not to be afraid to love and be the best person I could ever be.”

Figures from across the music industry and elsewhere have shared tributes to Doom and his work online.

Actor and rapper Riz Ahmed wrote: “REST IN PEACE MF DOOM. Pioneer, poet, mad scientist, supervillain. One of a kind. Thank you for what you gave us.”

“Safe travels villain,” wrote rapper Tyler, the creator, in a post which has been “liked” over 250,000 times.

El-P, the producer and rapper who forms half of the hip hop duo Run the Jewels, wrote: “THE MOTHERF***IN SUPERVILLAIN.”

“LONG LIVE MF DOOM,” wrote Denzel Curry, while collaborator Kenny Beats posted: “I heard that some authors rewrote entire novels by the greats just to see how it felt. 

“Denzel and I made [2020 EP] Unlocked talking about DOOM every single day just trying to channel an ounce of the feeling. RIP MF DOOM.”

When Doom performed under the MF Doom moniker, he was known for wearing a mask reminiscent of Doctor Doom, the popular villain from Marvel’s Fantastic Four comics.

Doom’s biggest commercial success was the 2004 album Madvillainy, created with producer Madlib under the name Madvillain. 

He was also known for his collaborations with DJ Danger Mouse, Gorillaz, Ghostface Killah and many more.