Doom. Not to be confused with nobody.
Idiosyncratic underground hip-hop artist Daniel Dumile celebrates his 44th birthday today. Dumile is known by several rap pseudonyms and has released hip-hop albums under them along with loose corresponding alter-egos: Zev Love X, Viktor Vaughn, King Geedorah, and his most well known identity, MF DOOM.
Most of us here on Action A Go Go are fans of DOOM’s non-sequitur lyrics, his multi-syllable rhymes, his monotone delivery and his tendency for sampling old Marvel Comics cartoons from the 1960s (along with other obscure music) for his beats. He wears a Dr. Doom mask as part of his gimmick which further strengthens the connection between the art forms of comic books and hip-hop music. In light of that link, I’d venture to say that rappers were the first fanboys to come out, so to speak, with what was (and kind of still is) considered a nerd’s interest. Today, if you ask most guys who look like nerds if they like hip-hop, they’ll most likely include MF Doom in their iPod rotation along with a liking for Def Jux and Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block.
From my personal collection.
The Long Island emcee’s DIY aesthetic, instrumental series and his collaborative efforts have earned much praise from his fans here at Action A Go Go. To pay tribute, here are some songs from two of his most celebrated albums for your listening pleasure:
Madvillainy (released in 2004) was his joint album with west coast producer Madlib. The whole album is like an audio adventure on an acid trip. The second is the now out-of-print MM…Food. Also released in 2004, DOOM incorporated food as metaphors and wordplay for each of his album’s hookless lyrical narratives. It was re-released in 2007 after the original included a sample from the Children’s Television Workshop’s ending credits in Sesame Street episodes. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOOM!!!
Sy L. Shackleford is a jack-of-all-trades columnist for Action A Go Go. A University of Connecticut graduate with a degree in both psychology and communication sciences, he is a walking encyclopedic repository for all things Marvel Comics, movies, hip-hop, et. al. You can follow him on Twitter @shack_house83.
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