When I heard the sad news about the passing of a legendary Hip Hop MC, MF D00M, a masked rapper who was respected in the industry worldwide, curiosity made me look up the man online, which lead me to interesting facts about his Zimbabwean roots and family lineage.
An Instagram post written by MF DOOM’s wife, Jasmine Dumile confirmed his untimely death that occurred on October 31, 2020.
Born Daniel Dumile in 1971, to a Zimbabwean father, who was a teacher, and a British mother (by birth).
In a 2013 Mail & Guardian article with writer Mpho Moshe Matheolane, MF Doom uttered the following statement; "Xhosa! That's my father's language. That's his lineage right there, from Zimbabwe." and "My father was always trying to get us to pronounce the clicks properly when we were growing up."
He moved with his family from London to Long Island, New York, as a child and started performing and producing hip hop as a teen under the name Zev Love X.
Daniel and his younger brother Dingilizwe, known as DJ Subroc, formed the group KMD and released a critically acclaimed debut album, "Mr. Hood," in 1991.
Their sophomore album was prepared for release in 1993 when Dumile's brother died after being hit by a car.
In 1999, the rapper re-emerged as Metal Face Doom, wearing a mask modeled after the Marvel villain Dr. Doom, and released a solo record titled "Operation: Doomsday."
"I am a writer and it's something that I am very serious about. See, it's as a writer that I am talking to you. Those characters [DOOM, MF, King Gheedrah] are just creations of my writing. So who you're talking to right now, that's Dumile. DOOM is just an act that I put on and that's why I wear the mask with him. I am not a celebrity rapper like some of the other people, nothing like that. I just do what I do – writing and making music that's all." He told Mail & Guardian.
Throughout his career, MF DOOM continued to release albums with his signature underground style, while also contributing to significant milestones in rap culture, including a collaborative project with DJ Danger Mouse called Danger DOOM, producing tracks for Ghostface Killah, working with television program block Adult Swim and more.
The rapper also worked with Nike, officially collaborating on a pair of Dunk His in July of 2007 during the brand’s Black Box series of releases.
Rest In Peace, MF Doom