To most uninterested listeners, the grimey 90s hip-hop trio KMD might’ve just seemed like a blip on the genre, but behind the contemporary alignment, there was potential in their powerful and comical style. Rhymes that were both satirical and thought-provoking topped the beats on their debut record ‘Mr. Hood’ in 91’. With the heavy sampling of old children's shows like Sesame Street, the group delivered a self-aware charm front to back with some chart success in singles like ‘Peachfuzz’.
The young group had promising ability and they recorded their set to be sophomore effort ‘Bl_ck B_st_rds’ in 93’, but with this LP there were notable complications. Member Onyx left the group leaving brothers Zev Love X and Subroc to finish the project on their own, except that would never come to be.
The tragic death of Subroc, shortly before finishing the project, had left Zev Love X brotherless. With the death of Subroc came the death of KMD, having their forthcoming album cancelled by the label, stranding the last remaining member. Zev Love X dropped out of the NY scene, with seemingly no foundation to fall upon. A rap career with eager potential and scintillating absurdity lost in the wake of a loved one's death. A hiatus ensued.
Zev reemerged in 97’ but with a new identity: The supervillain - MF DOOM. Being spotted at various open mic nights, DOOM had shrouded his jaunty persona behind a metal mask, one resembling the Fantastic Four antagonist of a similar pseudonym. This wasn’t the same Zev Love X. DOOM had come with almost tangible revenge, like he was coming at the scene after what he had experienced, catalysing one of the greatest minds in musical history.
Every comic book character needs a good origin story right? Right. So, Operation Doomsday dropped in 99’ and was the perfect benevolent release, showing DOOM’s raw talent as a rapper and producer. The dusty lo-fi beats on this record were as warming as they were infectiously groovy, providing the best possible soundscape for the cartoon samples and streams of momentous flows.
With his newfound voice, seeming to have dropped an octave from KMD, DOOM was now spitting syllabic wizardry from start to finish, leaving any listener impressed with his rhythmic gymnastics. To roll out “I’m saying, electromagnetic field it blocks all logic, Spock and G-Shocks her biological clock when I hit it, slit it to the shitter” is the witty and satirical charm he was built upon in KMD but for DOOM - this was merely the beginning. This was the first mark upon the many alter-egos, collaborations and creative benchmarks he would come to be known for...
The infamous DOOM. It’s hard to do this man justice in just one article, with the string of classics under his belt and earth-shaking influence he has had on the industry. As I’ve read before - “He’s your favourite rappers favourite rapper” and that stands true. Even if your favourite rapper is DOOM. He is the supervillain after all.
For me, the iconic rapper was the gateway drug into hip hop and he still stands as the most fascinating. The way he builds his worlds with characters, art and music was leaps ahead of his time which only foreshadowed his genius. Take ‘Fancy Clown’ for example, a playful but highbrow clash of two alter egos; having ‘Viktor Vaughn’ throw threats after finding out his partner had cheated on him with none other than ‘MF DOOM’.
This inception of characters is just the beauty of the world-building and the immersive nature of DOOM’s character. Even if it’s the same man behind both the personas it’s hard not to feel the tension when Viktor spits “When you see tin head tell him be ducking down. I’m not romping around he better be ready and prepared to be stomped in the ground”.
credit: Redferns
This villain persona reached further than just the music and lyrics, blurring the line between the creator and the character. Most notably, the fake DOOMs he’d send to perform in his place at shows, hiding the imposter behind his iconic mask simply because he couldn’t be bothered.
Genius or malevolent, stunts like these gave DOOM the iconic status as the villain of rap, a character praised endlessly from masterpiece to masterpiece. As said by the man himself “the bad guy ain’t really the bad guy if you look at it from his perspective” and it was this perception, coupled with the comic book culture, that cemented his intellect on projects like ‘Madvillainy’, ‘MM..FOOD’, ‘Vaudeville Villain’ and his ‘Special Herb Mixtapes’ to just name a few.
DOOM was the mask, the hyperrealism of the creator and the character. There was something selflessly genius about it, like a hypnotic way to focus on the art and not the person behind it. He was never one to relish in wealth and insight the braggadocio lifestyle that can come hand in hand with it which kept his private life private. It was this separation that gave his family time to mourn before the news came to us that he had tragically passed.
A true original innovator and creator, someone that will be studied and celebrated for generations, a man so mythical in his rhymes and beats it’s hard to comprehend his discography with just one piece of writing.
All I can say if you haven’t already is just lose yourself in his work, in the worlds and characters built by the mastermind Daniel Dumile in the MF DOOM rabbit hole. “Till I'm back where my brother went, that's what my tomb will say”. Rest In Power DOOM. Now with his brother and son - Just remember, ALL CAPS when you spell the man name. (1971-2020)
Written by Liam Robinson of the band Marines
(instragram: @liam_rob2026
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