Under the mask of MF Doom

VOICES Under the Mask of MF Doom

By Elliot Yuen | Illustration by Sherry Liu | Layout by Sonia Shum

The album also has the appearance of King Geedorah, another alter-ego of Dumile, a character based on the three-headed dragon, King Ghidorah, from Toho Studios. 4 Years after Operation Doomsday, DOOM released another project called ‘Take Me to Your Leader’ under the name King Geedorah. On the standout track, AntiMatter, the album would feature the mysterious, silky-smooth Mr Fantastik, whose identity is still heavily disputed amongst DOOM fans to this day. Following ‘Take Me to Your Leader’, DOOM would release another project, ‘Vaudeville Villain’, under the moniker Viktor Vaughn, a young, powerhungry henchman who looks up to MF DOOM. The name Viktor Vaughn was influenced by the real name of Marvel character Doctor Doom, Victor von Doom.

After DOOM’s projects that centred on his other characters, he would then return to his main alter-ego, collaborating with legendary producer Madlib to create his magnum opus: ‘Madvillainy’. ‘Madvillainy’ was a critical success, famously receiving a rare 10/10 score from internet critic Anthony Fantano. Beyond Madlib’s outstanding usage of samples from incredibly obscure records and DOOM’s buttery smooth rhymes, the project also contained some of MF DOOM’s most iconic songs. On the internet, it would be rather common to find a rabid DOOM fan type the phrase ‘all caps when you spell the man name’ in response to someone referring to DOOM as mf doom or MF Doom. This phrase originated from the 20th track of the album: ‘All Caps’, a song that is also famous for being one of the rare DOOM songs to have a music video.

Afterwards, MF DOOM would continue with his work, releasing ‘MM..FOOD’, a concept album based on the theme of food, a testament to the eccentric nature of his music. Following this, he would collaborate with Wu-Tang rapper Ghostface Killer before dropping his final solo album: Born Like This. However, after he completed a tour in Europe, he was denied re-entry into the United States, forcing him to stay in England. He would continue to release collaborative projects with other rappers and producers, until December 31, 2020, when his wife announced his death the previous month on Halloween. Although MF DOOM’s passing solidified him as a legend, his death has only magnified the mysterious air that has always surrounded him. Unlike his mainstream contemporaries, DOOM would rarely make public appearances, and even so, would only appear wearing his signature Gladiator mask in the MF DOOM persona. Furthermore, his mysteriousness extended beyond public appearances. Not only did he utilise multiple personas beyond MF DOOM, but he would also refer to himself in the third person. On top of that, he would rarely use social media, famously tweeting ‘MF DOOM IS NOT ON TWITTER’ on his twitter account. But DOOM’s secrecy wasn’t merely because he didn’t want the public to know about his personal life, rather, it was a major part of his persona. To the disappointment of his fans, he would even send ‘DOOMbots’ to perform in his shows, imposter rappers disguising themselves as the masked MC, performing in his stead.

MF DOOM was never a very public man, even longtime collaborators knew next to nothing about his personal life. The producer Madlib, whom he collaborated with for his album: Madvillainy, even revealed that they would only ever meet once or twice every year, and even when they met, the conversation never drifted to his personal life. MF DOOM is a man surrounded by myth and mystery, but with reason. Beyond it being because of his villain persona, DOOM’s lack of transparency is likely a result of his distrust of authority. All throughout his life, DOOM has always been a victim of authority. These instances include when Elektra Records dropped him from their label following his brother’s death and when the US government barred him from returning to the US. Combined with the premature death of his brother, whom DOOM was very close to, DOOM would consequently harbour a cynical, lone-wolf mentality throughout his life, with lyrics proclaiming that you are ‘born alone’ and you ‘die alone, no matter who your man is’. Thus, at the core of DOOM’s story, although filled with myth and legend, is the story of a man who has channelled his frustration from the injustices he’s faced and turned it into art.

The supervillain of hip hop: MF DOOM. Any rap fan worth their salt knows his name (and to spell it in all caps). MF DOOM, the alterego of the late Daniel Dumille, is famous for his incredible lyricism, dropping multisyllabic rhymes and internal rhymes left and right as he simultaneously crafts a vivid, surreal story that he delivers with his signature laid-back flow. Even beyond his lyricism, DOOM’s production skills are also outstanding, sampling from old films, commercials, and cartoons to create eccentric beats that were both nostalgic and rough-around-the-edges. MF DOOM’s persona was built from the campy comic book villains that appeared in superhero cartoons, namely Doctor Doom, a supervillain from Marvel comics. MF DOOM’s music reflects the origins of his persona, with both his lyrics and production drawing allusions to the classic comic book cartoons that he consumed in his youth.

Even though MF DOOM is no household name, having stayed in the underground of rap all throughout his career, this hasn’t stopped him from heavily influencing current mainstream hip hop. Most notably, Grammy award-winning rapper Tyler the Creator has referred to MF DOOM as one of his biggest inspirations. Beyond that, DOOM’s fanbase also includes fellow rappers Earl Sweatshirt, Mos Def, Ghostface Killah, Danny Brown, and much more. Thanks to this, DOOM is often referred to as ‘your favourite rapper’s favourite rapper’. Furthermore, MF DOOM’s influence has even reached artists with completely dissimilar musical styles. One such artist is Playboi Carti, who references DOOM in the track ‘Stop Breathing’ with the line: ‘I just hit a lick in a mask, MF DOOM’. However, even with MF DOOM’s incredible influence, he’s known as one of the most mysterious artists in music, with Variety magazine describing DOOM as ‘one of the most celebrated, unpredictable and enigmatic figures in independent hip-hop’. The legend of MF DOOM begins with the hip hop group KMD under the moniker of Zev Love X. The core of KMD consisted of DOOM and his brother, Dingilizwe Dumile, who was known as DJ Subroc. They released their first project, ‘Mr Hood’, in 1991 under the label, Elektra Records. However, DJ Subroc would later die from a tragic car accident. Following his death, Zev Love X would complete their sophomore project alone, ‘Black Bastards’. The content of KMD took a darker turn with Zev Love X as its only member. The darker content of KMD after DJ Subroc’s death was best showcased by the cover for ‘Black Bastards’, which depicted a blackface caricature being lynched. Due to the controversiality of the album cover and allegations of racism, Elektra Records would drop KMD and shelve the album. Following this, Zev Love X would disappear completely from public view for 3 years. In this time period, not much is known about his whereabouts or actions, with him only revealing that he had been homeless for some time during the 3-year hiatus. However, Zev Love X would return from his disappearance with a new alterego: MF DOOM.

DOOM’s return was solidified by his full-length debut album, ‘Operation Doomsday’. Compared with his work in KMD, ‘Operation Doomsday’ was much rawer and idiosyncratic, containing samples from the 1967 Fantastic Four and even the theme song of The New Scooby-Doo Movies. Furthermore, ‘Operation Doomsday’ is one of MF DOOM’s most personal projects, even to this day. In the song ‘Doomsday’, the chorus has DOOM proclaiming:

‘On Doomsday! Ever since the womb//‘Til I’m back where my brother went, that’s what my tomb will say//Right above my government; Dumile//Either unmarked or engraved, hey, who’s to say?’.

Here, DOOM ponders his death, wondering if anyone will remember him after his passing and simultaneously reflecting upon the death of his brother. Furthermore, DOOM refers to his real name, Dumile, a rare occurrence throughout his entire discography and public appearances. DOOM uses his name as a double entendre, wondering if his tomb will be engraved with the name Dumile or if ‘DOOM it’ll say’.