Daniel Dumiley is known to the public as MF Doom. He was born in England. Daniel proved himself as a rapper and producer. In his tracks, he played the role of the “bad guy” perfectly. An integral part of the singer's image was wearing a mask and an unusual presentation of musical material. The rapper had several Alter egos, under which he released several records.
Alter ego is an alternative personality of a person whose character and actions reflect the personality of the author.
Childhood and youthful years of the rapper
Date of birth of a celebrity - January 9, 1971. He was born in London. The parents of a black guy had nothing to do with creativity. For example, the head of the family worked in an educational environment. As a child, along with his family, Daniel was forced to move to the territory of New York. He spent his childhood in Long Island.
Like most teenagers, Daniel was interested in sports, reading comics and video games. Then, music was added to the above hobbies. He wiped the records of popular American rappers to holes, secretly dreaming that he, too, would someday rap.
The beginning of the creative career of MF Doom
At the end of the 80s, he takes on the creative pseudonym Zev Love X, and together with his brother, he founded the first band. The guys simply called their brainchild - KMD. Initially, they wanted to start the team as a project of graffiti artists. But after some time, the brother left the team, and MC Serch joined the group, who invited Daniel to participate in the recording of the musical composition The Gas Fac of his own band 3rd Bass. At that time, the rappers were just recording their debut LP.
After Dante Ross listened to the A&R track, he found out about KMD and decided to invite the guys to sign a contract. Thus, the rappers became part of the prestigious label Elektra Records. In addition, a new member joined the team - Onyx the Birthstone Kid.
New albums
In the early 90s, the band added a debut disc to their discography. This is a collection of Mr. Hood. In general, the collection was warmly received by music lovers. Among the presented tracks, the listeners especially singled out: Peachfuzz and Who Me?. Bright clips were recorded for some of the compositions, which increased the popularity of the band.
On the wave of popularity, the team began to work closely on the creation of the second LP. During this period of time, Daniel shared his thoughts with reporters in an interview. He said that with the advent of popularity, his social circle has narrowed dramatically.
In 1993, when only a couple of tracks remained before the full recording of the album, the rapper received a tragic message. It turned out that his brother had died in a car accident. Daniel was very upset by the loss, because he was close to his loved one.
“While I was busy with work, I did not notice how many of those with whom I communicated earlier had passed away. Someone was killed by criminals, someone surrendered to a drug overdose ... ”, says the rapper.
Despite this, he continued to work on the log-play. Soon the rappers presented the single of the second studio album. We are talking about the composition What A Nigga Know. Then the name of the second album became known. It was named Black Bastards.
Issues with Black Bastards release
In addition to the name of the second collection, the fans became aware of exactly how the album cover will look like. She imitated the gallows game. It featured a character-talisman of the team, hung on a shibenitsa. The duplicate cover was noticed by T. Rossi (Billboard columnist). The woman filed harsh criticism of this creation. The label also condemned the author. Against the backdrop of a heated scandal, the label refused to release the collection. Moreover, Elektra decided to terminate the contract with the musicians.
The label was not even afraid of losses. The director of the record company was much more worried about his reputation, so he did not consider options for changing the style of the album cover. Absolutely all materials related to the LP were handed over to Daniel. But, the rapper, in his defense, said that after this trick, he personally does not want to deal with Elektra.
“This was a dead record. Everyone was afraid of her and did not want to take on promotion and printing. I wholeheartedly wanted to work with the business, but he didn't want to work with me. At the time, things looked very bad. It even seemed to me that this would have to say goodbye to the rapper's career ... ".
Interestingly, the second longplay was sold by pirates with a bang. On the one hand, this position was KMD on hand. The guys secretly received the status of a cult group in the underground environment. At the end of the 90s, the record will still be released by one of the best labels in the country. It will be called Black Bastards Ruffs + Rares EP. The presented collection will feature several tracks of the disc, but in 2001, the album will be released in the form that was issued in 1994.
During this period of time, the black rapper moved to the Atlantic. He barely performed or recorded. The performer left the musical field. Then no one knew that Daniel would return and show the public what quality rap is.
The start of the solo career of rapper MF Doom
After temporarily leaving the stage, Daniel created a new alter ego. His project was called MF Doom. According to the musician's idea, MF Doom mixes the images of villains in himself, and at the same time he parodies them on stage.
In 1997, a new character enters the scene. He performs at the most vicious outdoor events in Manhattan. The singer in a rather strange form appeared before the public. The rapper pulled a stocking over his head and rapped. He explained his trick to journalists and viewers like this - his Alter ego wants to remain in the shadows.
Later, thanks to the efforts of Lord Scotch, Daniel put on his first mask. He spent every performance only in this form. Only once did he appear before the public without a branded product. This event was noted in the video of Mr. clean. In one of his interviews, he told why he prefers to wear a mask:
“I think that Hip hop is going in the direction where music lovers are interested in everything except the main thing - music. They will be interested in how you look, what you wear, what brand of sneakers you are wearing, whether there are tattoos on your body. They are interested in everything, but music is not. With the help of a mask, I try to tell my listeners that they are looking in the wrong direction. I'm kind of screaming that you should watch and understand what I create in the recording studio.
In 1997, a presentation of a new single took place. We are talking about the composition of Dead Bent. Then the rapper released a few more new products. The works were warmly received by the fans of the performer.
New albums
At the end of the 90s, his discography was finally replenished with a debut LP. The new collection is called Operation: Doomsday. The album includes songs released earlier. The record did not pass by the underground environment. In hip-hop communities, she was talked about as a classic.
The following years were no less productive. The fact is that the rapper, under the new creative pseudonym Metal Fingers, recorded 10 instrumental LPs from the Special Herbs series. The work was quite warmly received by critics and fans. His career developed rapidly.
Soon, Doom, on behalf of his alter ego King Geedorah, presented another album to fans. We are talking about the compilation Take Me to Your Leader. The rapper's voice was present only on a few tracks, he entrusted the rest of the work to his friends. The record cannot be classified as a success. In general, she passed by music lovers and fans. Music critics of the work also received a reserved response.
In 2003, MF Doom's discography was replenished with the LP Vaudeville Villain on behalf of another alter ego of singer Viktor Vaughn. The tracks that topped the collection told listeners about the adventures of a villain who traveled through time. Alas, this work did not catch the hearts of either fans or music critics.
Peak popularity of MF Doom
The peak of the rapper's popularity caught the singer only in 2004. It was then that the presentation of one of the most striking works of his discography took place. It's about the Madvillainy record. Note that the rapper Madlib took part in the recording of the collection as part of the duet Madvillain.
The album was released by Stones Throw Records. It was an incredible breakthrough. Reputable online publications spoke flatteringly about the LP. The record took 179th position on the Billboard 200 chart. In support of the collection, he went on tour.
At the same time, Viktor Vaughn presented the record Venomous Villain. Daniel hoped that on the wave of popularity, fans and critics, the novelty would also be warmly received. But disappointment awaited him. Critics and fans literally "shot" the album with negative reviews. He gave up and never released an album again under his alter ego King Geedorah/Viktor Vaughn.
Soon he signed a contract with the prestigious label Rhymesayers. In the same year, the presentation of the LP MM.Food took place. Note that this is the first collection in which the rapper proved himself as a singer and producer. Critics and fans call the record another successful project of the rapper. From a commercial point of view, the album can be called a success. His record gave Daniel a new round of development.
The creative activity of the rapper in 2005-2016
In the early 2005s, the rapper took several steps towards the mainstream. With the participation of several popular artists, he presented to the public a "delicious" album The Mouse and the Mask.
Mainstream is the dominant direction in any area, which is typical for a certain time. The direction is often used in art to contrast with the alternative and the underground.
The record was recorded on two labels - Epitaph and Lex. Since the collection was created with the support of the Adult Swim channel, the tracks featured the voices of several characters from the popular animated series, which was shown by the presented channel. Note that the new longplay has become the best-selling album of the rapper's discography. It took an honorable 41st place on the Billboard chart.
In the same year, he performed the track "November Has Come" from the album Demon Days by Gorillaz. The composition took high positions in the local charts, and doubled the popularity of the rapper.
In 2009, the rapper began performing under the pseudonym DOOM. These were not the latest news from the singer. In the same year, the presentation of the LP Born Like This took place. And the prestigious Lex label helped the rapper to record the collection.
In general, the record was warmly received by fans and music critics. Note that the presented longplay hit the charts of the United States of America. The record took an honorable 52nd place on the Billboard 200.
In 2010, the presentation of the Gazzillion Ear EP took place. The presented longplay was headed by "delicious" remixes from the rapper's repertoire. A little later, he presented another remix, which users could download for free.
Live album presentation
In the same 2010, the rapper recorded one of the brightest live albums of his discography on the Gold Dust Media label. The record was called Expektoration. In support of the collections, the artist went on a large-scale tour.
Three years later, it became known that Daniel, with the participation of rapper Bishop Nehru, was working closely on creating a common LP. The disc was released in 2014. The collection was called NehruvianDOOM. The album was warmly received by fans and music critics. It peaked at number 59 on the Billboard chart. In the same year, with the participation of rapper Flying Lotus, Daniel released a collaboration. The track was named Masquatch.
The rapper was incredibly productive. In 2015, he presented the MED LP to fans of his work (with the participation of rapper Blu). In the same year, Daniel released the video A Villainous Adventure. In the video, he told fans about the new place of residence, and also pleased the "fans" with a story about plans for this year. And in the same year, the popular band The Avalanches presented the single Frankie Sinatra to music lovers. Daniel took part in the recording of the composition.
Details of the personal life of rapper MF Doom
Daniel can safely be called a happy man. He was lucky to meet the love of his life. The rapper's wife's name is Jasmine. The woman gave birth to five children to the singer, was his "right hand".
Interesting facts about the rapper MF Doom
- The "MF" in his name means "metal face" or "metal fingers".
- The rapper's manager at one time said that if journalists want to take a detailed interview with him, then they must remember the main rule - never ask about the artist's personal life.
- The rapper's concert rider featured cough drops and a can of vitamin C.
- He suffered from alcoholism. It is for this reason that the rapper's discography includes such a small number of solo LPs.
- It was rumored that he did not just wear a mask. Haters said that instead of himself, he could easily release another singer.
Death of a rapper
On December 31, 2020, a post appeared on the rapper's personal Instagram, the author of which was the singer's wife. She spoke about the fact that the rapper died. She clarified that he passed away on October 31, 2020. At the time of death, only relatives learned about the tragedy. She did not disclose the reason for the death of Dumiley.
Posthumous album by MF DOOM
After the sudden death of rapper MF DOOM, the presentation of the artist's posthumous album took place. The collection was called Super What?. Note that the disc was recorded by a rap artist in collaboration with the Czarface band.
