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Daniel Dumile
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Daniel Dumile | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Daniel Dumile |
| Also known as | MF DOOM The Super Villain Viktor Vaughn King Geedorah Metal Fingers Metal Fingered Villain Zev Love X |
| Born | January 9, 1971  London, England |
| Origin |  Long Island, New York, United States |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, producer |
| Years active | 1989–Present |
| Label(s) | Metal Face Rhymesayers Fondle 'Em Big Dada Nature Sounds Shaman Works Stones Throw Sound-Ink Insomniac, Inc. |
| Associated acts |
KMD Madvillain DangerDoom Monsta Island Czars |
| Website | MF DOOM site (not updated since 2004) Official Myspace |
Daniel Dumile (pronounced /duːməleɪ/) (born January 9, 1971) is an American hip hop artist who has taken on several stage names in his career - originally Zev Love X, most famously MF DOOM, and in side projects such as King Geedorah, Metal Fingers, Viktor Vaughn, and collaboration projects such as DANGERDOOM and Madvillain. He remains one of the most popular and critically acclaimed independent hip hop artists today.
Contents |
Dumile, the son of a Trinidadian mother and Zimbabwean father, was born in Southeast London, England,[1] then moved with his family to New York and was raised in Long Island.
As Zev Love X, he formed the group KMD with his younger brother Subroc and another MC called Onyx The Birthstone Kid.[1] A&R Dante Ross learned of KMD from the rap group 3rd Bass, and signed them to Elektra Records.[2]
Dumile and KMD's debut on record came on 3rd Bass's song "The Gas Face" from The Cactus Album,[1] followed in 1991 with KMD's album Mr. Hood, which became a minor hit through its singles "Peachfuzz", "Who Me?" and heavy video play on cable TV's Yo! MTV Raps and Rap City.
Subroc was struck and killed by a car in 1993 while attempting to cross a Long Island expressway before the release of a second KMD album entitled Black Bastards.[1] The group was subsequently dropped from Elektra Records before the release of the album due to controversy over the album's cover art[2] which featured a cartoon of a stereotypical pickaninny or sambo character being hanged from the gallows.
With the loss of his brother, Dumile retreated from the hip-hop scene from 1994-1997. He testifies to disillusionment and depression, living "damn near homeless, walking the streets of Manhattan, sleeping on benches".[3][1] In the late 1990s, he left New York City and settled in Atlanta. According to interviews with DOOM, he was also "recovering from his wounds" and swearing revenge "against the industry that so badly deformed him."[1] "Black Bastards" had become bootlegged at the time, leading to DOOM's rise in the underground hip-hop world.
Dumile began to rap at open mic events at the Nuyorican Poets Café in 1998 where he withheld his face by putting a stocking over his head. His new identity was influenced by Marvel Comics supervillain Dr. Doom. He wears the mask while performing and isn't photographed without it, except for very short glimpses in videos such as Viktor Vaughn's "Mr. Clean" and in earlier photos with KMD[1]
The release of Operation: Doomsday in 1999 by independent label Fondle 'Em marked the official turning point for Dumile in his reinvention of himself from a major label recording artist of minor status to independent artist, where he would find his greatest success.
The following year, he began releasing albums of instrumental work, a series known as Special Herbs.
DOOM's first commercial breakthrough came in 2004, with the album Madvillainy together with producer Madlib under the group name Madvillain. Released by Stones Throw Records, the album was a critical and commercial success. MF DOOM was seen by mainstream audiences for the first time as Madvillain received publicity and acclaim in publications such as Rolling Stone, New York Times, The New Yorker, and Spin. A video for "All Caps" and a 4-date U.S. tour followed the release of Madvillainy. An additional video for "Rhinestone Cowboy" and a segment from the tour are shown on the DVD Stones Throw 101.
In the same year, MF DOOM's second solo album MM..FOOD was released by the Minnesota-based label Rhymesayers Entertainment, using various food items to metaphorically explain life and himself. As Viktor Vaughn (another obvious play on Dr.Doom, whose "real name" is Victor von Doom) he has released two albums Vaudeville Villain & Venomous Villain (also called VV2),
Though still an independent artist, MF DOOM took a bigger step towards the mainstream in 2005 with The Mouse and the Mask, a collaboration with producer DJ Danger Mouse under the group name DangerDoom. The album, released on October 11, 2005 by Epitaph, was done in cooperation with Cartoon Network's adult swim and frequently references characters from adult swim programs. DOOM also made an appearance in "November Has Come," a track on Gorillaz's 2005 album "Demon Days." In 2006 MF hosted the Adult Swim Christmas special and he could be seen in between shows and other such things.
Nike shoes did a collaboration with Doom and brought out the Nike Dunk High MF Doom shoe.
MF DOOM produced tracks for both of Ghostface Killah's 2006 albums, Fishscale and More Fish; and the two are currently at work on a collaboration album entitled Swift & Changeable. So far only one track has been released from the album, "Angels", which appeared on a Nature Sounds compilation in late 2006. DOOM has also revealed plans for a second Madvillain album with producer Madlib, with one song, "Monkey Suite", first appearing on the Adult Swim/Stones Throw Records album Chrome Children. Other potential projects mentioned by DOOM include new albums from DANGERDOOM, The John Robinson Project and KMD,[4] as well as further albums under both his Viktor Vaughn and King Geedorah aliases. However, many such DOOM projects have been rumored in recent years without materializing.
Despite no new DOOM releases in 2006, Kidrobot and Stones Throw released an 8" tall Madvillain toy available to coincide with the release of the Chrome Children CD/DVD (hosted by Peanut Butter Wolf) which featured a DVD performance of Madvillain and several other Stones Throw artists. MF DOOM also continued to work with [adult swim] doing voice-over work as Sherman The Giraffe on Perfect Hair Forever, being the voice for The Boondocks ads and previews and hosting their Christmas Eve 2006 programming.
MM..FOOD was reissued under the Rhymesayers label on July 24, 2007 as a special edition CD & DVD package.
MF DOOM will also be doing production on the second album of past collaborator, Kurious which is due early 2008. He has also made an appearance on Stones Throw's B-Ball Zombie War on a track called "Mash's Revenge" along with Guilty Simpson and the late J Dilla. Lately, DOOM has co-won a mtvU Woodie Award with madlib for in the category in Left Field Woodie for Madvillain's "Monkey Suit" video.
| Did it on the sly Before he's gone bye bye spit it on the fly Brush your teeth, rinse and gargle A true nerd who messed with new words since Boggle And used slang in Scrabble Rhymed with a Northern drawl, twang and babble Flossy pen jargon to break the world record Do a Faustian bargain and tape the girl nekkid "Mince Meat", from The Mouse and the Mask |
MF DOOM's lyrics are sometimes perceived as eccentric. With an abundant use of polysyllabic rhymes and bizarre metaphors, MF DOOM combines complex syntax with phrasing to create a rhyme flow that is both exhausting and entertaining. His songs commonly lack the typical verse/chorus structure in favor of showcasing extended rhyme schemes and strophic or repeating beats and melodies.
Samples from old cartoons (particularly Fantastic Four cartoons in which characters often refer to their arch-enemy, Dr. Doom) frequently find their way into MF DOOM's productions. Even before his work on the Adult Swim-influenced DANGERDOOM project, his raps alluded to popular movies and TV shows, often Star Trek and the Godzilla films.
Unlike many rappers' first-person point of reference, MF DOOM refers to himself in the third person to better convey his own semi-fictional persona. DOOM himself is a caricature, a masked incarnation of the "supervillain" that his lyrics describe, which combines with personal traits and experiences to create an endlessly fascinating topic for his own songs.
Little is known about Dumile's personal life, although he did reveal details in a 2006 interview that was published on his MySpace page. He stated that he is married, his wife named Jasmine, with two children, one of them teenage.
Recently, fans have become disappointed with Doom's appearances. Reports of lipsyncing lookalikes recently caused a promoter to post Dumile's address and phone number. Small amounts of research discovered the following information:
Dumile is believed to live at home with his wife, Jasmine, 37, mother, Ashlyn, 55, and childen, in their Kennesaw GA house. The house in Kennesaw sold for approx. $125k in 2004, and surrounding homes are valued approximately the same amount. Jasmine is 37 and attended Roosevelt High Roosevelt, NY.
"Roosevelt High was the best. The people and experiences that I encountered there helped me be the person that I am today." "I left good ole Roosevelt and now live in Altanta, GA with husband and 2 boys. I'm self employed and life is good."
Similar to his name, MF DOOM's mask is based on the Fantastic Four character Dr. Doom. However, it is not to be confused with Kool Keith's alias Dr. Dooom. Originally, MF DOOM sported a mask that was very similar to Dr. Doom's, however his current mask, designed by Lord Scotch, a New York graffiti artist, is styled to resemble the mask worn by Russell Crowe in the film Gladiator.
It's said to hide the metaphorical scars remaining from the death of MF DOOM's brother Subroc in 1993; MF DOOM has also given a number of alternative meanings for the mask, including the preservation of creative anonymity in the increasingly image-driven genre of hip-hop.
- Official MF DOOM myspace page at MySpace
- MF DOOM & Madlib as Madvillain
- Official Madvillain myspace page at MySpace
- MF DOOM & Danger Mouse as Dangerdoom
- Official DANGERDOOM myspace page at MySpace
- MF DOOM complete discography (hosted by Stones Throw)
| Stones Throw Records |
|---|
| Madlib Projects |
| Jaylib | Lootpack | Madvillain | Yesterdays New Quintet | DJ Rels | Quasimoto |
| Other Members |
| Aloe Blacc | Charizma | J Dilla | J-Rocc | Koushik | M.E.D. | MF DOOM | Oh No | Peanut Butter Wolf | Percee P | The Turntablist | Gary Wilson | Breakestra | Georgia Anne Muldrow |
| See Also |
| Madlib discography | Stones Throw Discography | Daniel Dumile discography | James Yancey Discography |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Daniel Dumile |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | MF DOOM, Viktor Vaughn, Zev Love X |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Rapper, producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 9, 1971 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |