MF Doom: Rapper whose work continues to have far-reaching influence
The artist’s persona and disguise resisted an era during which famous hip-hop stars captivated fans through image, identity and authentic life stories
On New Year’s Eve, the death of enigmatic rapper and producer MF Doom was announced by his widow, Jasmine Dumile, on Instagram. The news shocked a broad community of Doom fans extending far beyond the confines of hip-hop. No cause of death or explanation as to why this was being revealed two months after it had happened was disclosed – but the mysterious circumstances seemed fitting for a figure who wore the disguise of a metallic mask and spent his career creating alter-egos.
Daniel Dumile was born in London in 1971 to a Trinidadian mother and Zimbabwean father. The family moved to Long Island, New York, during his childhood at an age young enough to have no memory of London or affiliation with British cultural identity.
As a teenager, Dumile began rapping under the name Zev Love X with his younger brother, Dingilizwe (DJ Subroc). The name of their graffiti crew KMD was in 1988 repurposed into the name of a rap trio.
The following year, fellow Long Island outfit De La Soul released their much-lauded LP 3 Feet High and Rising, proving the existence of a receptive market for a genre-defining esoteric hip-hop similar to KMD. Dumile’s guest verse on cult classic “The Gas Face” by 3rd Bass also gained KMD some valuable exposure, and prompted legendary A&R rep Dante Ross to sign the group to Elektra Records. Onyx the Birthstone Kid replaced the original third member, Rodan, before the trio were signed.
KMD released their critically acclaimed debut record Mr Hood in 1991. It was lighthearted and lively, brimming with political charge and youthful enthusiasm. Onyx left the group while the brothers were working on their sophomore release, Black Bastards. Their sound changed dramatically as they went from being devout Muslims to drinking and experimenting with psychedelics. In the new music, they doubled down on social justice, digging deep into America’s history of racism.
However, in 1993 Dingilizwe was hit by a car while crossing an expressway on foot and killed at the age of 19. KMD were soon dropped from Elektra Records who objected to the proposed cover art for Black Bastards, a cartoon of a Sambo figure being lynched.
After Dingilizwe’s death, Dumile disappeared from public life for several years. He finally re-emerged in New York City’s spoken word circuit, wearing a stocking over his face while performing at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.
Both a weapon of defence and mystique, anonymity would become a necessity and a trademark as Dumile adopted various means of subterfuge, most notably adorning his signature mask, a replica from the movie Gladiator. Under the moniker MF (Metal Face) Doom, Dumile modelled himself on the Marvel character Doctor Doom and in 1999 he released Operation: Doomsday. Interludes throughout the album tell the comic-book story of the masked rap super villain.
His persona and disguise resisted an era during which famous rap stars captivated fans through image, identity and authentic life stories. While hit records of the time were highly polished with lots of depth and clarity, Dumile’s music was a refuge for listeners weary of glossy, commercial rap as well as a gateway for fans totally unacquainted with hip-hop. Dumile penned riddles fans would unpack for years, whilst enchanted with his innovative sampling of everything from Brazilian jazz-funk to cartoons to poet and writer Charles Bukowski. He bridged audiences and styles.
Dumile released innumerable offbeat, unpredictable solo and collaborative works including at least seven full-length projects between 2003 and 2005 alone, using other alter-egos with names such as King Geedorah and Viktor Vaughn. But 2004’s Madvillainy, his collaboration with crate-digging producer Madlib, is widely regarded as his masterpiece album and one of the greatest albums of the decade for its inspired sampling and charismatic lyricism.
Dumile had grown up on Long Island and spent most of his life in America, but he’d been born in the UK, and never become a naturalised US citizen. In 2010, while trying to re-enter the country after a European tour, he was denied entry and had to stay in London. He spent nearly two years apart from his family before they came to join him. In interviews, he said that people at his record label were the only people he knew in the UK and his music during this period sounds understandably distant and detached. On top of that, his 14-year-old son King Malachi Ezekiel Dumile died in 2017.
MF Doom, who died on 31 October 2020, leaves behind a body of work that will continue to incalculably influence other artists for years to come. On Christmas Day last year “MF Doom” was trending on Twitter after preeminent 24-year-old rapper Playboi Carti from Atlanta, Georgia, the home of trap music, name-checked him on his latest release. It was not known publicly at this time that Dumile had already died – he is one of the most celebrated and unpredictable figures in hip-hop, who is mysterious in both life and death.