MF Doom
Daniel Dumile entered the world in Hounslow, London on the 13th of July 1971. His mother was from Trinidad and his father came from Zimbabwe. The family moved to Long Beach, New York when he was three years old. He grew up there as part of a black nationalist Muslim household within the Nation. Dumile later claimed no memory of his childhood in London and identified himself strictly as a New Yorker. He had four younger siblings including DJ Subroc who would become his musical partner. They formed the rap group KMD together in 1988 under the name Zev Love X. A&R representative Dante Ross signed them to Elektra Records after hearing their work through the hip hop group 3rd Bass. Their debut album Mr. Hood arrived in 1991 with Dumile performing the last verse on the track The Gas Face.
Subroc died on the 23rd of April 1993 while crossing the Long Island Expressway at age nineteen. Dumile completed the second KMD album Black Bastards alone over several months but it never received an official release due to controversial cover art featuring a stereotypical character being hanged. He retreated from the scene from 1994 to 1997 living nearly homeless and sleeping on benches in Manhattan. In late 1997 or 1998 he began freestyling incognito at open-mic events at the Nuyorican Poets Café in Manhattan. He obscured his face by putting tights over his head before adopting a metal mask resembling Marvel Comics supervillain Doctor Doom. Bobbito Garcia's Fondle 'Em Records released Operation: Doomsday in 1999 as his first full-length LP under this new identity. Jon Caramanica later called it one of the most idiosyncratic hip-hop albums of the 1990s.
Madvillainy arrived on the 23rd of March 2004 after two years of recording sessions with producer Madlib. The album became known as Dumile's masterpiece and is regarded as a landmark record in hip hop history. Later that same year Rhymesayers Entertainment released Mm..Food which Pitchfork described as a crazy pastiche that grew more coherent upon repeated listening. The Mouse and the Mask followed on the 11th of October 2005 as a collaboration with DJ Danger Mouse developed alongside Cartoon Network's Adult Swim program. This project reached number forty-one on the Billboard 200 chart. Dumile also appeared on Gorillaz second album Demon Days during 2005. Nathan Rabin noted that VV:2 represented an unusual career choice where he went deeper underground instead of embracing wider fame following the success of Madvillainy.
Dumile never naturalized as a U.S citizen despite living there for most of his life. He applied for permanent residency under the immigration registry provision in 2004 but U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services denied his application in 2005. After returning from an international tour for Born Like This in early 2010 the United States Department of Homeland Security found him unlawfully present and refused re-entry. He settled in England permanently after being separated from his wife and children for nearly two years. Key to the Kuffs released the 20th of August 2012 included guest features from Damon Albarn and Beth Gibbons while Resident Advisor noted its play on Britishisms. Dumile lived in Yorkshire for several years before residing in Leeds at the time of his death. His family relocated to London in 2012 after which he stated he was done with the United States.
Born Like This arrived the 24th of March 2009 as his first solo album to chart in the US. Pitchfork reviewer Nate Patrin observed that Dumile's lyrics were darker than earlier records with a focused rasp that grew slightly more ragged and intense. NehruvianDoom followed the 7th of October 2014 as a collaboration with rapper Bishop Nehru lasting just over thirty minutes. Czarface Meets Metal Face released the 30th of March 2018 featured verses by Open Mike Eagle alongside Dumile's razor-sharp lyricism. Posthumous releases included appearances on Grand Theft Auto Online tracks Lunch Break and The Chocolate Conquistadors. Super What? arrived May 2021 completed in early 2020 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Madlib planned to finish Madvillainy 2 in April 2023 having received permission from Dumile's family to release eleven songs submitted in 2009.
Bradley and DuBois described Dumile as among the most enigmatic figures in hip-hop whose raspy baritone weaves an intricate web of allusions drawn from comic books and metaphysics. His flow was loose and conversational yet delivered with technical precision eclipsing Big Pun and Eminem in rhyme usage. Special Herbs instrumentals series began releasing in 2001 under pseudonym Metal Fingers. Pitchfork observed that these tracks sounded plenty finished even without vocal tracks. A review in CMJ New Music Monthly compared his beats to soul jazz while he frequently incorporated samples and quotations from film into his production work. The album Take Me to Your Leader laid out the mythos of King Geedorah a three-headed golden dragon space monster modeled after King Ghidorah.
Dumile died the 31st of October 2020 at St James's University Hospital in Leeds from angioedema following a reaction to blood pressure medication. He had suffered from high blood pressure and kidney disease before his death. His wife Jasmine announced it publicly on December 31 after being kept away during lockdown until the day of his passing. An inquest by the Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust found doctors were misled when his health appeared to improve and care plans were insufficiently detailed. Dr Hamish McLure released an apology stating treatment had been substandard. Flying Lotus wrote All u ever needed in hip-hop was this record after Madvillainy release. Thom Yorke called him a massive inspiration who changed things with stream of consciousness genius. A biography titled The Chronicles of Doom arrived the 29th of October 2024.
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Common questions
When and where was MF Doom born?
Daniel Dumile entered the world in Hounslow, London on the 13th of July 1971. His mother was from Trinidad and his father came from Zimbabwe.
What caused MF Doom to change his name and adopt a mask?
Dumile retreated from the scene from 1994 to 1997 living nearly homeless before he began freestyling incognito at open-mic events at the Nuyorican Poets Café in Manhattan. He obscured his face by putting tights over his head before adopting a metal mask resembling Marvel Comics supervillain Doctor Doom.
Why did MF Doom never become a U.S citizen despite living there for most of his life?
He applied for permanent residency under the immigration registry provision in 2004 but U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services denied his application in 2005. After returning from an international tour for Born Like This in early 2010 the United States Department of Homeland Security found him unlawfully present and refused re-entry.
How did MF Doom die and when did this occur?
Dumile died the 31st of October 2020 at St James's University Hospital in Leeds from angioedema following a reaction to blood pressure medication. He had suffered from high blood pressure and kidney disease before his death.
What are some key albums released by MF Doom after 2000?
Madvillainy arrived on the 23rd of March 2004 after two years of recording sessions with producer Madlib. Later that same year Rhymesayers Entertainment released Mm..Food which Pitchfork described as a crazy pastiche that grew more coherent upon repeated listening.