Hip-hop has seen a lot over its fifty-some years, but certainly nothing like MF DOOM, the masked lyrical assassin who slipped into the game like a mickey, eviscerating all competition with wicked flows, a wacky sense of humor, and a vivid imagination. The self-proclaimed “best rapper without a chain ya ever heard” emerged like a savior at the turn of the millennium when rap’s renegade soundwave was dumbing itself down for mainstream assimilation. Not having it, DOOM bucked convention, going firmly against the grain and establishing his own lane on the fringes of the commercial realm, where he created just as much of a splash as his big-budget counterparts on major labels. No small feat, he also distinguished himself in so many ways – rapping in the third person; barely uttering a curse word; and presenting himself as funny, irreverent, and subversive, with a no-fucks-given attitude. Perhaps, that’s why hip-hop elder statesmen Q-Tip dubbed him, “Your favourite rapper’s favourite rapper,” an honorific that defines DOOM to this day.
Tip, of course, emerged from a different era of hip-hop – the Golden Era – when the unspoken principles of creativity, originality, and innovation ruled. ‘Biting’ (or copying) someone else was seriously frowned upon, and every MC embraced their own inner rebel. It smelled like teen spirit at its finest – a glorious time when hip-hop held up a middle finger to the world. In fact, DOOM, in his prior incarnation as Zev Love X (of the group KMD), was a product of this era as well, though his career got viciously sidetracked. After losing his brother and partner-in-rhyme, Subroc, in a tragic accident and getting dropped from a major label deal, he probably never even dreamed he’d have a second chance. But here’s the twist: DOOM reinvented himself completely, returning with a style and concept that left the madding crowd of MCs in the dust.
After going back to the drawing board – and the basics of writing clever rhymes over catchy beats – he perfected and elevated his art. He was prolific as well, recording no less than eight albums for as many different labels between 2000 and 2005. In short, he was a one-man army, whose underground empire eventually erupted onto the surface. It wasn’t easy, but DOOM earned the respect of his fellow rhymers and seemingly everyone else through sheer talent and commitment to his craft. The Villain represents that rare artist who defined himself on his own terms, rapping to the beat of his own drummer, and never giving a rat’s ass about what anyone else was doing or saying. If being yourself was authentic, and being authentic was cool, DOOM was the “clever nerd” who won our hearts through his incredible art.
MF DOOM, ‘Doomsday’
The title track from his self-produced debut, ‘Doomsday’ has come to epitomise the ‘new’ DOOM style as he transitioned to becoming a solo artist – a reinvention marked by a laid-back, conversational delivery that sounded nothing like Zev Love X. His penchant for sampling quiet storm R&B – in this case Sade’s ‘Kiss of Life’ – may have sounded initially suspect but demonstrated DOOM’s ability to take stuff that no one else in hip-hop would touch and make it dope. (He broke more unwritten rules here by sampling the drum programming and some scratching from BDP’s ‘Poetry’). But, in this case, the track provided the perfect emotional underpinning for a poignant tribute to his late brother. Introducing us, as well, to his new persona, he said, “Definition, Supervillain / A killer who loves children / One well-skilled at destruction as well as building.”
King Geedorah, ‘No Snakes Alive’
The rapper/producer is a rare breed, but DOOM ranks up there with the best of this hybrid class. Here he demonstrates his production prowess on a one-off album credited to another one of his zany aliases, King Geedorah. Misspelling aside, one might recognize the name as the three-headed dragon from outer space, who occasionally emerges to challenge his archnemesis, Godzilla. Since DOOM defined himself as a writer, he proves his versatility here, fully inhabiting the character – albeit with tongue planted firmly in cheek. “The Three-Headed set it, never get busted,” he raps, “He’s a man of his word, who’s not to be trusted.” The unorthodox backing track, with its shifting time signatures, is pure cinematic genius, jacked from Godzilla Vs. Megalon (1973), while, lyrically, DOOM is accompanied by long-time collaborators Jet Jaguar (aka MF Grimm) and Rodan.
Viktor Vaughn. ‘Modern Day Mugging’
Expanding his cast of aliases, DOOM develops the character of Vik Vaughn, an allusion to Victor Von Doom, who grows up to become Marvel comics villain Dr. Doom. On Vaudeville Villain, an album he was working on simultaneously as the King Geedorah album, Take Me to Your Leader, he also takes a break from production, turning over beat-making duties to a group of unknown newcomers, while focusing solely on rhyming. The result is a collection of cutting-edge beats like this one, which sounds like a proper fusion of hip-hop and electronic music. Meanwhile, DOOM frees himself up for more mythologizing, taking us along on a crime spree where he mugs people with an unloaded gun. The hilarious twist is that he almost gets shot by an old lady who’s packing, a reversal that is vintage DOOM.
MF DOOM, ‘Rap Snitch Knishes’
A common denominator in much of DOOM’s lyrics is laugh-out-loud humour. He might start with a unique word like ‘knish’ and rhyme it with ‘snitch,’ and eureka! Suddenly he’s spun a whole yarn about how ignorant drug dealers-cum-rappers are always incriminating themselves in their rhymes. Of course, it wouldn’t be as funny if there weren’t so many examples of life imitating art. DOOM and partner in rhyme Mr. Fantastik go to town on this subject over an infectious sample rescued from the cheese monger. The song also boasts one of the most hilarious hooks ever: “Rap snitches, telling all their business, going to court they be their own star witness / Do you see the perpetrator? Yeah, I’m right here / Fuck around get the whole label sent up for years.” Tracks like this one highlight part of the genius of DOOM, which is keeping us all in stiches.
Madvillain, ‘All Caps’
The Madvillainy album, a collaboration with west coast producer Madlib, represented a major breakthrough for both artists, and stands as a benchmark in independent hip-hop. The universally popular album, which won raves from fans and critics alike, spawned this track, which doubles as DOOM’s musical calling card (cue up the popular refrain: “all caps when you spell the man’s name”). It skillfully appropriates elements of the opening theme to the hit 70s cop show, Ironside. The cascading minor piano chords give depth and urgency to the Villain’s lyrical attack as he raps, “And he won’t stop until he got the masses / And show ‘em what they know not through flows of hot molasses.” After years of struggling as the underdog, DOOM finally realised his vision for domination with this stellar release.
DOOM, ‘Cellz’
Since DOOM has always considered himself a writer first and foremost, it only makes sense that his third solo release would pay homage to fellow literary talent and celebrated lush, Charles Bukowski. In fact, he opens this apocalyptic track with a sample of Bukowski reciting from ‘Dinosaura, We’, taken from the documentary Born Like This. As a cartoon and comic book fiend, DOOM digs into his old bag of tricks, culling various elements from Hanna-Barbera’s Superfriends cartoon to craft a chilling soundscape. But he sounds dead serious on this one, even taking a jab at his fans when he raps, “Metal Face Finster, playin’ with the dirty money / Sinister, don’t know what he sayin’ but the words be funny.” This track reminds us that no matter how humorous he gets, there is always a darkness to DOOM lurking just below the surface.
JJDOOM, ‘Retarded Fren’
Following successful collaborations with Madlib and Danger Mouse, DOOM decided to join forces with American producer Janeiro Jarel, his tour deejay and labelmate, also signed to British label, Lex. He was apparently tired of rhyming to the same kind of beats and trying to break out of quirky mode. Known for his avant-garde productions, Jarel provides the backing track for this banger, which sounds downright haunting. DOOM’s stream of consciousness flow rises to the occasion with lines like, “What happens when the poles shift? / Won’t matter for shit who you roll with.” The mysterious track title, like many in his catalogue, is a throwaway line that he casually drops at the end, but with DOOM even being inscrutable contributes to his appeal.
DJ Muggs & MF DOOM feat. Kool G Rap, ‘Assassination Day’
Aside from his own work, DOOM has appeared on countless one-offs for other producers, including this track by DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill fame. These days, Muggs has also reinvented himself as a specialist in slow and low, faux film-soundtrack productions that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. DOOM blesses him with an appropriately eerie verse, “Playing slow, in fact, playing so slow,” you can almost hear his husky breath between stanzas. Even next to the Kool Genius of Rap, who packs powerful verses, he holds his own. Incidentally, the animated, black-and-white video for this track curiously depicts Ye as the target of assassination (as Donald Trump and Vlad Putin cheer on), though none of this is reflected in the lyrics, and DOOM considered Kanye a friend.
S.H. Fernando Jr. aka SKIZ is the author of The Chronicles of DOOM: Unraveling Rap’s Masked Iconoclast (Astra House/Faber), as well as the founder of WordSound Recordings. He has produced ten albums as his musical alter-ego, Spectre Tha ILL Saint.
