Background and career
Daniel Dumile ( DOO-mə-lay; born Dumile Daniel Thompson; July 13, 1971 – October 31, 2020), also known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both mostly stylized in all caps), was a British and American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and "supervillain" stage persona, he became a major figure of underground hip hop and alternative hip hop in the 2000s, and has been widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential lyricists in hip-hop. Dumile was born in London and raised in Long Beach, New York. He began his career in 1988 as a member of the hip-hop trio KMD, performing as Zev Love X. The group disbanded in 1993 after the death of his brother DJ Subroc. After a hiatus, Dumile reemerged in the late 1990s. He began performing at open mic events while wearing a metal mask resembling that of the Marvel Comics supervillain Doctor Doom, who is depicted on the cover of his 1999 debut solo album Operation: Doomsday. He adopted the MF Doom persona and rarely made unmasked public appearances thereafter.
During Dumile's most prolific period, the early to mid-2000s, he released the acclaimed Mm..Food (2004) as MF Doom, as well as albums released under the pseudonyms King Geedorah and Viktor Vaughn. Madvillainy (2004), recorded with the producer Madlib under the name Madvillain, is often cited as Dumile's magnum opus and is regarded as a landmark album in alternative hip hop. Madvillainy was followed by another acclaimed collaboration, The Mouse and the Mask (2005), with the producer Danger Mouse, released under the name Danger Doom. Though he lived most of his life in the United States, Dumile never naturalized as a U.S citizen and struggled to obtain lawful permanent residency. In 2010, after returning from an international tour for his sixth and final solo album, Born Like This (2009), the United States Department of Homeland Security denied him entry and found him "unlawfully present", forcing him to return to England.
Dumile worked mostly in collaboration with other artists during his final years, releasing albums with Jneiro Jarel (as JJ Doom), Bishop Nehru (NehruvianDoom), and Czarface (Czarface Meets Metal Face, and the posthumous Super What?). In 2020, he died in a Leeds hospital from angioedema following a reaction to a blood pressure medication. After his death, Variety described him as one of hip hop's "most celebrated, unpredictable and enigmatic figures".
Daniel Dumile was born Dumile Daniel Thompson in Hounslow, London, on July 13, 1971, the son of a Trinidadian mother and Zimbabwean father. According to Dumile, he was conceived in the United States where his parents lived, and was born in London when his mother was visiting family. As a child, Dumile moved with his family to Long Beach, New York, on a non-immigrant B-2 visa, where he grew up in a black nationalist Muslim household as part of the Five-Percent Nation. He had four younger siblings, including the rapper DJ Subroc, with whom he formed the rap group KMD, until Subroc was struck and killed by a motorist at the age of 19. Dumile said he had no memory of his childhood in London and identified more with New York. When Dumile was three years old he was approved by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service for permanent resident status. However, due to a lack of funds, his family could not file his paperwork. Dumile remained a British citizen his entire life and never naturalized as a U.S citizen.
