MF DOOM: Underground hip hop’s legend
On July 13, 1971, Daniel Dumile was born in Hounslow, England. Little did everyone know that in 1999 he would become the hip hop legend MF DOOM. In his early life, Dumile already had a mind for music and started DJing the summer after third grade. Being a collector of comic books, he was given the nickname DOOM by his friends and family.
At age seventeen, Daniel had already started his own hip hop group with his younger brother and Rodan. Tragedy struck on April 23, 1993, just before the release of the group’s second album, when Dumile’s brother, Subroc, was struck and killed by a car. Subroc’s death impacted Dumile greatly. For fans of KMD it seemed hopeless that they would get their second album, until in 1999 Dumile made his debut album under the MF DOOM name with the album Doomsday. Doomsday was an instant hit among fans of Dumile and fans of underground hip hop in general.
With this return of fame, Dumile wasted no time putting out new projects under his King Geedorah, Madvillain, and MF DOOM moniker. In 2003, a new album named “Take me to your leader” was released under Dumile’s alter-ego, King Geedorah. Following the release of “Take me to your leader,” Dumile partnered with producer Madlib in 2004 for the artist’s breakthrough album “Madvillain.” DOOM released six studio albums, one of note being a collaboration with Adult Swim and artist DangerMouse titled “The Mouse & The Mask.”
After the completion of his European tour, Dumile was denied reentry into the United States due to never being registered as an American citizen. After settling down in his home country of Britain, Dumile made a collaboration album named “The Key to The Kuffs” with artist Jneiro Jarel to create JJ DOOM. Dumile partnered with several artists throughout the 2010s, but mostly stayed on the producer side of things.
On December 31, 2021, Dumile’s wife would announce to the public that Dumile had passed the previous month. Dumile was never public with his private life, so we still don’t know how he died, though many theorize it was due to health complications. While the man may be dead, the legend lives on. With over six million monthly listeners just on Spotify alone, it’s no secret that the MF DOOM fanbase still flourishes.
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