He threw in bits of jazz, Stax Soul, and ’60s rock into the mix. The beats, produced by DOOM himself, were a heady mix of Quiet Storm-era R&B, mixed with pounding hip-hop drums. He began to move away from the traditional 16-bar verse/chorus song structure. The lyrical content, approach, and musical backdrop were unique. Released in the final quarter of 1999, it’s both reverent of the past and weirdly futuristic.īut it wasn’t just DOOM’s delivery and the grittiness of the sound that made his album so appealing. Eventually the label released Operation: Doomsday, a twisted and unorthodox hip-hop origin story that plays as part comic book, part Saturday morning cartoon, part monster movie, part fever dream. It would be another few years before he began to sport the flashier Gladiator/Maximus-fashioned guise.Īll told, Fondle ’Em put out three separate DOOM 12”s from ’97 to ’98, each making DOOM more and more of an underground sensation. He took the piece of WWF merchandise, associated with the wrestler Kane, and spray-painted it silver. Furthermore, DOOM changed his rhyme flow from upbeat and peppy to a heavy, drunken slur.īack then, DOOM wore a store-bought mask. These 12”s contained dusty, unpolished tracks, with all of the lo-fi studio hiss and grime still dripping from it. Starting in 1997, DOOM began crafting his new material through Fondle ’Em Recordings, an ultra-indie imprint created by Bobbito Garcia, then one of the foremost champions of underground hip-hop. He proclaimed that he was “scarred” forever by his initial experiences in the music industry, and now was forced to cover his face to hide the damage. DOOM began to fashion his “character” in the mold of Victor Von Doom himself.
There are stories of DOOM resurfacing on stage during the mid-’90s rocking a stocking mask, a la Ghostface Killah in ’92 and ‘93. Zev Love X didn’t emerge with his metal-faced visage overnight.
Once known as the relatively carefree Zev Love X, a member of the group KMD, he retreated to the metaphorical shadows after music industry shenanigans and the death of his brother, Dingilizwe “Subroc” Dumile. Which makes Operation: Doomsday, released 20 years ago, his Fantastic Four #236 (1981), a memorable and perfectly crafted re-introduction. DOOM has earned his legendary status by executing one of the best and most unlikely reinventions for an emcee. And like many great supervillain origins, it’s one born out of tragedy. MF DOOM has become as familiar as the origin of the supervillain that inspired him. Happy 20th Anniversary to MF DOOM’s debut album Operation: Doomsday, originally released October 19, 1999.įittingly, the origin of Daniel Dumile a.k.a.
0 kommentar(er)
