An inquest into the 2020 death of MF DOOM has shed light on the circumstances surrounding his passing.
Jssmin Thompson, the wife of the masked rapper, told Wakefield Coroner’s Court that his death was caused by negligence while he was being treated at St. James’ University Hospital in Leeds, as Leeds Live reports. She told the inquest he wasn’t being checked on regularly and had been unable to alert staff to his worsening condition as his buzzer was out of reach.
Thompon also said her husband was given what appeared to be a makeshift hospital room, with his death occurring at a time when a number of hospitals in the UK were stretched by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement shared with the inquest into the rapper’s, she described her husband as "a wonderful, talented man taken too soon and missed by everyone."
MF DOOM, real name Dumile Daniel Thompson, died in October 2020 at the age of 49. His cause of death was angioedema, a rare condition which causes a part of the body to suddenly become swollen. It’s believed that the condition occurred as a reaction to his blood pressure medication. The local hospital trust carried out an investigation into how it treats patients diagnosed with angioedema after the rapper’s death, with a number of recommendations made on how to improve care.
MF DOOM was born in London and raised in New York. He and his wife had relocated to the UK from the US in 2010 along with their five children. He developed a number of health conditions, his wife told the inquest, including kidney disease which had led to weight gain and anxiety.
Thompson said her husband had been prescribed a new medication to help treat his health problems but, after just two doses, he started to struggle with breathing and subsequently went to the A&E department at St. James’ University Hospital before being admitted for further care.
The inquest into MF DOOM’s death is ongoing.
