Latest Release
- 31 DEC 2023
- 2 Songs
- WestSide Doom - Single · 2017
- MM..FOOD (Deluxe Edition) · 2004
- Operation: Doomsday (Complete) · 1999
- Metal Fingers Presents: Special Herbs Vol. 5 & 6 · 2003
- BORN LIKE THIS (Redux) · 2009
- Operation: Doomsday (Complete) · 1999
- The Mouse & the Mask · 2005
- The Mouse & the Mask · 2005
- Born Like This · 2009
- Super What? · 2021
Essential Albums
- By the time Daniel Dumile dropped this, his second proper MF DOOM album, he was already an underground legend. Part of that was his surreal origin story—after tragedy derailed his ’90s rap career, Dumile returned metal-masked and seeking revenge against the industry that wronged him. But most of his rep came from raw talent: a tumble of clever rhyme schemes and punchlines set to a loping score of rough-cut jazz loops and vintage film snippets. While his cachet would carry DOOM into collabs with members of Radiohead, Wu-Tang and even Aqua Teen Hunger Force, MM...Food finds him in the early days of his crossover appeal, totally ignoring his own hype. While many concept albums lean toward the esoteric or idea-stuffed, this one is built on an almost tauntingly basic conceit: throw DOOM a topic (food) and watch the wordplay go. On opener “Beef Rapp”, he delves into the mortal dangers of, well, rap beef: “I suggest you change your diet/It can lead to high blood pressure if you fry it.” And “Hoe Cakes” toys with another hip-hop trope—dastardly deeds done after dark. But lest you think the culinary connections are all easily parsed, try “Potholderz” on for size: DOOM finds at least four meanings for these kitchen aids, casting them in one instance as tools that help him cook up and cannibalise lesser MCs. Metal Fingers flexes his producer skills, too, packing the album’s midsection with jaunty sound collages that use Fat Albert and Frank Zappa samples to extend the edible metaphor. But nothing beats hearing DOOM croon his best/worst Cole Porter impression over a Madlib track, then binge-rap a two-minute verse inspired by beer. MM...Food captures Dumile at his most unburdened, making these songs as nourishing as they are fun.
- Great minds think alike. Before MF DOOM and fellow producer and rapper Madlib were canonised as heroes of hip-hop’s underground scene, they were two oddballs who’d amassed cult followings for the ways in which they coloured outside the lines. Both had an affinity for Melvin Van Peebles samples, and both had maintained a variety of bizarre alter egos: Madlib had done time as the high-pitched Lord Quas, among others, while DOOM’s nom de plumes included King Ghidra/Geedorah and Viktor Vaughn. Introduced by a mutual friend, the bicoastal pair became fast friends and collaborators, creating a side project, Madvillain, that led to 2004’s Madvillainy, a one-off album that was decidedly to the left of what hip-hop fans were hearing on early-2000s commercial radio, with songs that defied formulaic pop song structure. In fact, the 22 tracks collected on Madvillainy are more like sound collages with lyrics. There’s a celebration of cannabis (“America’s Most Blunted”), as well as an ode to spaced-out jazz legend Sun Ra (“Shadows of Tomorrow”). The duo could be silly, as with “Operation Lifesaver aka Mint Test”—on which DOOM ponders the paradox of an attractive woman with bad breath—or serious, as with “Strange Ways”, a meditation on settler-colonial violence and religion. And their alter egos allowed them to get meta at times: One of the album’s most clever cuts, “Fancy Clown”, finds Viktor Vaughn griping with an unfaithful girlfriend—whom he suspects of cheating with DOOM. While DOOM dazzles with wordplay, concepts and intricate rhyme schemes on Madvillainy, Madlib delivers with equally fascinating soundscapes. The duo’s unorthodox approach to creativity would inspire everyone from Yasiin Bey to Tyler, The Creator and the Odd Future crew in the years to come, making Madvillainy a watershed album for those willing to take a walk on the weird side.
- 2021
Music Videos
- 2020
- 2020
- 2018
- 2018
Artist Playlists
- His idiosyncratic flow, beats and rhymes made him a celebrated outsider.
- Rap rule-breakers and scoundrels brought to life by the villian.
Live Albums
- JJ DOOM, Jneiro Jarel & Chad Hugo
- Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse
- YOTA : Youth of the Apocalypse
More To Hear
- The life and achievements of the late legend MF DOOM.
About MF DOOM
MF DOOM exited this world as mysteriously as he emerged. The masked MC, who posed as a supervillain, was born Daniel Dumile in London, England, in 1971. After moving to the U.S., he got his professional start in 1988 under the moniker Zev Love X in the alt-rap trio KMD with his younger brother, DJ Subroc and friend Onyx the Birthstone Kid. By 1993, Dumile’s world shattered when his older brother was killed trying to cross the Long Island Expressway. Dumile retreated, eventually reemerging as a new comic-book-inspired character: the masked marauder MF DOOM. He quickly became a freestyling force in New York City’s underground, initially wearing pantyhose over his face before he could afford his signature metal mask. His first record as DOOM, 1999’s Operation: Doomsday, introduced audiences to the artist’s brilliant rhyme patterns and penchant for obscure cultural references. His food obsessions were established with 2004’s MM...FOOD, where he blended his love of culinary arts with his passion for great lyrics. “Rapp Snitch Knishes”, with its delicious puns, punchlines and rhythmic rhyme patterns, remains one of the greatest verbal exercises in hip-hop history. DOOM was a great lyrical sorcerer on his own, but he also played well with others. Two collaboration albums, 2004’s Madvillainy with Madlib and 2005’s The Mouse & the Mask with Danger Mouse solidified DOOM’s place in rap’s Hall of Fame. Dumile always cherished the mystique associated with his DOOM character, and that continued right up to the very end: he died on Halloween of 2020, but his death wasn’t announced until New Year’s Eve. It was one last trick from rap’s most prolific magician.
- HOMETOWN
- London
- BORN
- 13 July 1971
- GENRE
- Hip-Hop/Rap