MF DOOM

Greetings True Believers, This issue�s opening scene is set in an undisclosed and unassuming location which serves as the secret hideout for one of the most feared, yet most respected super-villians....the man known only as Doom. �Known� in this case is extremely vague at best. For who truly knows what lurks behind those eyes which pierce thru from beneath that metal face? Yes, another masked man. The history of the masked man is as uncertain as it is legendary.. The legacy of Doom is no different. What purpose does the mask serve; does it hide the otherwise visable scars of pain? is it an escape from wrong doings of the past? or does its presence mark the setting of conquest for the future? One thing is for certain and that is it�s no mystery that Hip Hop is not a safe-ground for second chances. They are few and far between....nearly non-existent. However, Doom is indeed a product of rarity. The world was first familarized with him as the mild-mannered Zev Love X of the group K.M.D. Zev�s personal entrance into the business was the result of the helping hands of Third Bass who let him shine on �The Gas Face� from their debut �89 album. Not long after, K.M.D dropped a few top notch singles and a well received album entitled �Mr. Hood� on Elektra in �91. Following the success of that, K.M.D was further preparing to establish themselves as the �Kause of Much Damage� onto the industry... Unfortunately, tragedy struck both musically and personally. First, one of the lead MCs, Onyx, left the group leaving the weight on the remaining two, who happened to be brothers; Zev Love X & Subroc. Then K.M.D�s second album,�Black Bastards� suffered delays due to the label being unaccepting of their artwork which was a twist on their logo; a �x� out sign over the sambo character which had long been used as a premier negative potrayal of black people, particularly in entertainment. K.M.D lost the fight to maintain the use of the character and the cover although the context of the character as a logo was obviously an attempt to destroy this perception , initiate a healing process, and most importantly relay a more positive and accurate depiction of black people. Regardless, the ending result was the label opting to drop the project and the group itself off the label. Amiss all of this choas tragedy struck again only this time much closer to home as Zev�s brother, Subroc, was struck by a car and returned to the essence... Time off was needed and taken. Internal evolutions occured. Musical mutations took place. The mask was forged and donned then finally in �97 Zev resurfaced, but now the monkier was DOOM! Indeed much had changed.....then again maybe not so much. Perhaps the previous events only accelerated that which would have been an eventual natural metamorphisis. No one can ever really be certain. What we do know is that Doom�s approach to music is what defines such phrases as, �the fine line between insanity and genius�. Unconventional. Abstract. Unorothodox. These words merely scrape the surface of the layer of grain he goes against; musically, conceptually and let us not forget rhythmically. As if to mock the standards of musical timing his vocal patterns take shape and words land upon the drums in the same manner that a rock is skipped great distances across a lake; skillfully, constant yet erratic, and without a hint of when it will come to an end. Behind the boards and sampler things aren�t much different. Doom has long abandoned the rules of what is supposedly allowed or forbidden; 80�s R&B hits, rap classics, afternoon cartoon favorites...all are suitable prey for the hands of Doom. All to often such creativity breeds inferior imitations, but in all honesty I seriously doubt that Doom has much to trouble himself with in this realm. In a somewhat ironic twist, this could be viewed reminiscent of The Mighty Thor (one of many who attempted to foil Doom�s comic book counterpart) and his legendary hammer which could only be lifted by those deemed equally worthy. Doom�s style seems unfit for any would be clones. The pure truth of the matter is that Doom best personifies the orgins of Hip Hop...even better than those who may focus on attempting to make music that sounds like how it did �back in the day� or the �old school�. This is simply proven by the fact that Hip Hop culture was built on rebellion.The act of doing that which was generally considered to be taboo and that friends..is the essence of Doom! Reissue of - Operation Doomsday - 2006


MF DOOM aka Daniel Dumile is an American hip hop artist who has taken on several stage names in his career - originally Zev Love X, most famously MF DOOM, and in side projects as King Geedorah, Metal Fingers and Viktor Vaughn.
Contents

History

Early Years with KMD

He was born in Southeast London, England on January 9, 1971 to a Zimbabwean father and a Trinidadian mother [citation needed]; the family moved to New York and lived in Long Island where he was raised.

As Zev Love X, he formed the group KMD with his younger brother Subroc and another MC called Onyx The Birthstone Kid. Originally, "KMD" stood for "Kausing Much Damage," but before their first album they changed it to "a positive Kause in a Much Damaged society." His debut on record came when he appeared on the song "The Gas Face" from The Cactus Album by the rap group 3rd Bass. A&R Dante Ross learned of KMD from 3rd Bass, and signed them to Elektra Records.[1] In 1991 KMD released their album Mr. Hood, which became a minor hit through its singles "Peachfuzz", "Who Me?" and heavy video play on cable TV's Yo! MTV Raps and Rap City. The group is seen today as a part of the genre of conscious hip hop outings, along with labelmates Brand Nubian, Poor Righteous Teachers, and early De La Soul.

Subroc was accidentally struck and killed by a car in 1993 while attempting to cross a busy Long Island expressway, before the release of a second KMD album entitled Black Bastards. The group was subsequently dropped from Elektra Records before the release of the album due to controversy over the album's cover art[1] which featured a cartoon of a stereotypical pickaninny or sambo character being hanged from the gallows.

With the loss of his brother, Dumile became disillusioned and began to suffer from bouts of depression. He disappeared from the hip-hop scene from 1994-1997, and testifies to living "damn near homeless, walking the streets of Manhattan, sleeping on benches and shit" [1]. Shortly after this time, he left New York City and settled in Atlanta. According to interviews with DOOM, he was also "recovering from his wounds" and swearing revenge "against the industry that so badly deformed him." Meanwhile, Black Bastards was heavily bootlegged and Zev Love's legend grew.

Birth of MF DOOM
Operation: Doomsday
Operation: Doomsday

In 1997, he began appearing at the Nuyorican Poets Café at open mic events for rappers, although few people knew that the man freestyling with a stocking over his face was the former Zev. The imaginative MC began using the new identity MF DOOM, inspired by the Marvel Comics supervillain, Dr. Doom from the Fantastic Four comic, using a metal mask while performing and refusing to be photographed without it ("MF" stands for "metal face". MF Grimm used the same initials but this stands for "Mad Flows"). (Note: this could also be Microphone Fiend DOOM referencing the song of same name released in '88 by Eric B. & Rakim on Follow the Leader).

The release of Operation: Doomsday in 1999 by independent label Fondle 'Em marked the official turning point for Dumile in his reinvention of himself from a major label recording artist of minor status to independent artist, where he would find his greatest success while maintaining the most control over his music.

Operation: Doomsday was received very well by underground listeners and was re-released in 2000 by SubVerse Music. In December of 2000 Dumile shot two music videos for the album's re-release, his first two videos in nearly a decade. "Dead Bent" and "?" featuring Kurious Jorge were shot in New York City by video artist PISTON HONDA. They received limited airplay on cable access video channels and a skateboard culture video called "Lunchbox" in the US. MTV France however, played both videos in rotation. The following year, he began releasing albums of instrumental work, a series known as Special Herbs for several small record labels under the name Metal Fingers. He created an additional alter-ego King Geedorah as a member of Monsta Island Czars, a group consisting of MF Grimm and (currently) 13 other underground New York emcees who released their debut album in 2003. It appears that his tenure in the Monsta Island Czars is now over.

Mainstream recognition

MF DOOM was still far below the radar of mainstream press when two albums were released under new aliases in 2003. The first was Vaudeville Villain, released under the name Viktor Vaughn on Sound-Ink Records, and the second was King Geedorah's Take Me To Your Leader, released by Big Dada/Ninja Tune. Viktor Vaughn appears as solely a rap project - he has no production or executive producer credit on the album, but raps throughout the album - and alternately, King Geedorah is a conceptual production project. Although he raps on few of the songs on Take Me To Your Leader, the album is produced entirely by MF DOOM. Several of his long time collaborators appear as MCs.

DOOM's first commercial breakthrough came in 2004, with the album Madvillainy together with producer Madlib under the group name Madvillain. Released by Stones Throw Records, the album was a critical and commercial success. MF DOOM was seen by mainstream audiences for the first time as Madvillain received publicity and acclaim in publications such as Rolling Stone, New York Times, The New Yorker, and Spin. A video for "All Caps" and a 4-date U.S. tour followed the release of Madvillainy. An additional video for "Rhinestone Cowboy" and a segment from the tour are shown on the DVD Stones Throw 101.

DOOM was featured on the 2004 De La Soul release The Grind Date, MF DOOM rapping on the track "Rock Co.Kane Flow", which was also released as a single. Late in the year, DOOM's second solo album MM..Food? was released by the Minnesota-based label Rhymesayers Entertainment, using various food items to metaphorically explain life and himself. As Viktor Vaughn he released his sophomore effort Venomous Villain (also called VV2), an album which received mixed reviews. Many criticised the production values, which were considered inferior to DOOM's recent work. Also criticised was its length: 33 minutes, only 10 of which feature DOOM.

In 2005 MF DOOM took another step towards the mainstream (while maintaining his independent artist status) with The Mouse and the Mask, a collaboration with producer DJ Danger Mouse released under the group name DangerDoom. The album was released on October 11, 2005 and frequently references characters from Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. He also voiced the giraffe named Sherman in Adult Swim's Perfect Hair Forever; not coincidentally a song on The Mouse and the Mask called "Perfect Hair" references the cartoon extensively. Perfect Hair Forever did not debut officially on Adult Swim until a month after Danger Doom, so many listeners might not have understood the references to Coiffio and Mt. Tuna. Also on this album, MF DOOM dissed M.I.C and MF Grimm in a song called "El Chupa Nibre" when he referred to the group as "midgets into crunk". MF Grimm featured a retaliatory track, "The Book of Daniel," as the closing track on his 2006 triple album, American Hunger.

In 2005, MF Doom appeared on two other Danger Mouse-produced projects: the Gorillaz album "Demon Days", rapping on the song "November Has Come", and Danger Mouse's remix of Zero 7's "Somersault". In 2004 he appeared on the track "Social Distortion" by Prince Po, which was produced by Danger Mouse.

Current and upcoming projects

MF Doom produced four tracks on Ghostface Killah's Fishscale album released in April, and two tracks on Ghostface Killah's More Fish. The two are also currently at work on a collaboration album called "Swift & Changeable". Doom is also planning to make another Madvillain album with producer Madlib, with one song, Monkey Suite, first appearing on the Adult Swim/Stones Throw Records album Chrome Children, which also contains the first-ever live show by DOOM released on DVD. He is also featured in the single 'More Soup' with rapper Moka Only from the group Swollen Members.

He also plans to make another Dangerdoom album with Danger Mouse. Also planned is another solo release, a new record under his alter ego Viktor Vaughn, a new King Geedorah album and a new album under the KMD name. [2]

He hosted Adult Swim on Christmas Eve, 2006.

Style

MF Doom's lyrics are sometimes perceived as eccentric. With an abundant use of polysyllabic rhymes and bizarre metaphors, MF Doom combines complex syntax with phrasing to create a rhyme flow that is both exhausting and entertaining. For example, an excerpt from Kookies, from the studio album MM..Food?:

One lonely evening alone home,
End up with carpel tunnel syndrome,
Here I am known for giving heavy back aches,
Grown and living off of Little Debbie snack cakes

Samples from old cartoons (particularly Fantastic Four cartoons in which characters refer to "DOOM") frequently find their way into MF Doom's productions. His songs commonly lack the typical verse/chorus structure in favor of showcasing extended rhyme schemes and strophic or repeating beats and melodies.

Unlike many rappers' third-person point of reference (most often used as a device of egotistical self-promotion), MF Doom refers to himself to better convey his own semi-fictional persona. Doom himself is a caricature, a masked incarnation of the "supervillain" that his lyrics describe, which combines with personal traits and experiences to create an endlessly fascinating topic for his own songs.

Personal life

Little is known about Dumile's personal life, although he did reveal details in an interview conducted on Independence Day in 2006, that was published on his Myspace page. He stated that he is married, with two children, one of them teenage. [2]

He currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. [3]

The Mask

Similar to his name, MF Doom's mask is based on the Fantastic Four character Dr. Doom. Originally, MF Doom sported a mask that was very similar to Dr. Doom's, however his current mask, designed by Lord Scotch, a New York graffiti artist, is styled to resemble a mask worn by a character in the film Gladiator.

Said to hide the metaphorical scars remaining from the death of MF Doom's brother Subroc in 1993, MF Doom has also given a number of alternative meanings for the mask, including the preservation of creative anonymity in the increasingly image-driven genre of hip-hop.

Discography

Below is the list of his official albums.

KMD (as Zev Love X with Subroc and Onyx)

* Mr. Hood (1991)
* Bl ck B st rds (2001)
* Best of KMD (2003)

MF DOOM

* Operation: Doomsday (1999)
* MM..Food? (2004)
* MM..LeftOvers (2004)
* Live from Planet X (2005)

Viktor Vaughn

* Vaudeville Villain (2003)
* VV2: Venomous Villain (2004)

King Geedorah

* Take Me to Your Leader (2003)

Monster Island Czars (as King Ghidra)

* Escape from Monsta Island! (2003)

Madvillain (with Madlib)

* Madvillainy (2004)
* Madvillainy Instrumentals (2004)
* Madvillain Remixes by Four Tet (2005)
* Madvillain Remixes by Koushik (2005)
* "Figaro (Remix)" on Stones Throw 101 (2005)
* "Monkey Suite" on Chrome Children (2006)

Metal Fingers

Main article: Special Herbs

* Special Herbs, Vol. 1 (2001)
* Special Herbs, Vols. 1 & 2 (2002)
* Special Herbs, Vol. 3 (2003)
* Special Herbs, Vols. 3 & 4 (2003)
* Special Herbs, Vols. 4, 5 & 6 (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)

DangerDoom (with DJ Danger Mouse)

* The Mouse and the Mask (2005)
* Occult Hymn EP (2006) - Digital release by Adult Swim

The Super Villain

* Special Blends Vol. 1&2 (2004)

Others

* Nastradoomus (with Nas) (2003)
* Nastradoomus, Vol. 2 (with Nas) (2003)
* MF EP (with MF Grimm) (2003)

Music Videos

* "Who Me?" (1991)
* "Peachfuzz"(1991)
* "?" (featuring Kurious Jorge) (2000)
* "Dead Bent" (2000)
* "I Hear Voices" (2001)
* "Mr. Clean" (2003)
* "Benzoin Gum" (2004)
* "ALL CAPS" (2004)
* "Rhinestone Cowboy" (2004)
* "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" (2005)
* "Monkey Suite" (2006)