Who is MF DOOM?
MF DOOM, King Geedorah, and Viktor Vaughn are some of the alter egos of one artist. Daniel Dumile is a ‘British’ rapper who moved with his family to New York when he was a child with his family. In New York, he discovered the rap genre and became involved in the Hip-Hop culture.
Comics and MF DOOM.
MF DOOM is always sporting a metal mask, in fact, the MF in his name stands for Metal Face. MF DOOM’s comics influence is no secret, from his comic book references in his lines to his face mask everything about him is comic-like. Fans of MF DOOM are quick to point out that one of the reasons that he wears a mask is his operation for Doctor Doom, from the marvel comics. The second reason for his mask is that MF DOOM doesn’t want the spotlight as he leads a very private life.
MF DOOM Alter Egos.
Doom alter egos are described in his albums. MF DOOM is a 40-year-old supervillain trying to reach world domination. Viktor Vaughn is a young Doom wanna be, who wants to take over the world as well; however, he thinks he can do a better job than MF DOOM. King Geedorah is a three-headed snake that has the same goals as MF DOOM and Vaughn, but he tries to reach it using the power of mind control. Every Doom album tries to tell a story, from world domination to food, MF DOOM does it all. His albums have characters, backstory, setting, plot, and conflict which makes his album a unique experience.
MF DOOM’s influence.
Although MF DOOM is an obscure rapper, a lot of mainstream rappers credit him as one of the most influential figures in rap music. He’s often referred to as your favorite rapper, favorite rapper, because of his unique style and his ability to rap about whatever he wants and gain success at the same time. A lot of rappers feel constrained within the genre to talk about drugs, money, women; however, Doom proved to many that if you tell a good story success is possible.
Additional Information, and questions.
Do you think that genres restrict artists?
Can you think of other artists—it doesn’t have to be musicians— that create a universe of characters and alter egos?
Why do you think that MF DOOM and many other artists, don’t want to be in the spotlight and prefer a private life?
Song and Album recommendations.
My favorite MF DOOM song is Figaro from his alter ego Madvillain.
*Explicit language.
My favorite albums from Doom is Madvillainy and Born like this.
That’s so cool! I never heard of him, but he sounds so creative! Storytelling has no limits, and he’s proof of that. He’s so unique in his storytelling ways, and I love that he didn’t allow rap to limit the topics to sing about. And yas! Blending music with literature — respect!
This is such a cool concept. I’m not into rap music but I definitely want to check his stuff out since I super like the idea of music that tells stories. Great post!