Even in his afterlife, MF DOOM has managed to keep us guessing. The underground king, who passed away last year, received shout outs on January 9 in celebration of what many thought would’ve been his 50th birthday. It was later revealed that the Metalface Villain was actually born on July 13. Known for his hard-hitting, boom bap raps and cult classics like Operation: Doomsday and Madvillainy, DOOM remained one of hip-hop’s most mysterious MCs over the course of his 20+ year career. Here are 5 things to know about MF DOOM.
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His mask was inspired by the Gladiator film
It’s well known that some of MF DOOM’s music was inspired by masked comic book villain Doctor Doom. DOOM’s mask, however, took inspiration from somewhere else. In a 2010’s interview DOOM said, “You know the movie Gladiator? Well around that time, they started selling these ‘gladiator masks’ that were replicas from the movie. So what it was is that a friend of mine told me he saw this mask that would be perfect for the DOOM character.”
He was a producer
MF DOOM crafted sounds for himself and others, including Joey Badass and Ghostface Killah. DOOM produced four tracks on Ghostface’s critically acclaimed 2006 album Fishscale.
He was signed to a record deal with Adult Swim
MF DOOM’s working relationship with Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim ran deep. He voiced characters for the network, featured his music in shows like The Boondocks and even signed a recording contract with AS.
Because of that, he got me to do shot for him I NEVER would’ve done for anyone else. For instance. After DangerDOOM came out and did so well, I got Adult Swim to sign DOOM to a record deal for another album. We have him a 45k advance. And then… nothing. He dipped.
— SPIRAL CURSE DEMARCO (@Clarknova1) December 31, 2020
He was well-respected
Although obscure, MF DOOM’s music and talent was embraced by many. Upon his death, he was showered with praise from the likes of DJ Premier, Questlove, Ghostface Killah and Tyler, the Creator.
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He was particular about his name
MF DOOM stylized his name with all caps. ALL CAPS.
Photo via MF DOOM’s family
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