MF DOOM THE BEST MC WITH NO CHAIN YA EVER HEARD

MF DOOM redened an era of music and exploded the underground rap scene with an ability and outlook impossible to replicate. His life and career teach anybody searching to make it big that it's the art that come rst, not the artist.

What do you think when you hear the word “underground?” Someone who fails to meet the requirements for mainstream acclaim? A regional talent with a small but dedicated fanbase? Or, just maybe, a radical visionary who ignores convention and opts for his own unique ideals regardless of who wants to hear them.

Enter MF DOOM.

Born Daniel Dumile, his rap start came in the early to mid-1990s with his music group KMD alongside his brother Sub-Roc. The group found commercial success with a style more comedic and lyrically abstract than most New York hip-hop at the time. The trio Zev Love X (Dumile), DJ Sub-Roc, & Onyx would later get signed to Elektra Records and planned the release of their second studio album BlackBastardsin 1994. While recording the album, member Onyx left the group leaving only the two brothers to complete the project. However in April 1993, SubRoc was killed in a car collision while crossing the street.

Burdened by grief, Dumile made it a mission to complete the album that he and his late brother longed for. Upon its completion in 1994, Elektra refused to release it in part due to the controversial nature of the album cover which depicted a racist caricature. They would then drop Dumile from the record label. Thus ensued a period of the next few years where Dumile wandered homeless around New York unable to see the last merits of his brother's life come to fruition.

The tragic events leading up to this point molded Dumile. He became more aware of the politics and excessiveness that took over the hip hop genre, all detracting from the music. He wanted to become someone who opposed that, a figure who would prioritize the sound first and not simply the lifestyle associated with it. He " swore vengeance on the industry that had disfigured him so badly." A villain.

The villain represents anybody. Anybody in here could wear the mask. It's about coming from the heart and what you have to say.

MF DOOM contrasts so much of what we now associate with modern rap culture. He found a way to play towards his interests organically and interweave it with his lyrical messaging. It was a way of informing the listener the idea of “cool” is strictly defined by whatever you're into and should never lay victim to conformity. His discography is littered with songs on ridiculous topics, unorthodox rhyme schemes and innovative beat production.

"I was kinda like, if I ip the comic style of writing into Hip Hop, that's something niggas ain't done yet. I was looking for an angle that would be brand new."

It adds to the value of freedom, straying away from the formulaic solutions of what should work and playing closer to what works for you. The mask he dawns serves not only to reference the villain of the Fantastic Fourseries Doctor Doom, but additionally to illustrate that whoever’s behind the mask isn’t important, all that truly matters is the quality of music you're able to put out. A quintessential message for an industry where how you’re perceived reigns more than how you perform.

MF DOOM's story offers a combative foundation to what is seen in our culture today. The insistence of “looking the part” drilled in by social platforms and socially conscious mindsets prohibits many from fulfilling their passions for love but rather for attention. And that isn’t where the priority should be.

His unapologetic fearlessness and style lives on far past his passing in late 2020. His life carries an example of how adversity forces you to think outside the box and embrace the strengths that each of us represent. Most importantly he preached to everyone that lack of recognition should never deter the unique vision and art each of us has the power to create.

"Is he still a y guy clappin if nobody ain't hear it, and can he testify from in the spirit?"

His legacy exceeds music altogether and has become an icon for underground art and for everyone continuing the battle for substance over sales.