Astra House Announces “The Definitive Biography on MF DOOM”
Written by S.H. Fernando Jr. aka SKIZ with cover art by LAmour Supreme the new book should hit shelves in late October 2024
Today marks 20 years since Madvillain‘s groundbreaking Madvillainy LP hit retail shelves. The collaboration between the late Daniel ‘MF DOOM’ Dumile and producer extraordinaire, Madlib, would become one of the best-selling releases from Stones Throw Records and easily the most well-known project of DOOM‘s extensive career. I distinctly remember purchasing the CD from some now-defunct music store (Sam Goody?) at the Capital Mall in Olympia, when it was first released. That day, one of my roommates smugly claimed that “these guys” were “ruining rap,” as he strolled through the living room where a small group of us were listening to it for the first time. That guy was (and remains) an insufferable tool. He’d never admit to making that statement now that Madvillany is universally lauded as a certified classic that has gone on to spawn a never-ending list of imitators.
I wouldn’t list Madvillainy as my favorite moment in Dumile‘s catalog, but it’s understandable why it’s so popular. From the novelty of the Madlib team-up to the iconic Eric Coleman photograph that graces the cover, there’s plenty to love before the flawless production and razor-sharp lyricism ever hits your ears. It’s an amazing introduction to the Supervillain MC‘s off-kilter rhyming style without being too overwhelming for those unfamiliar with more unorthodox hip hop. It’s the sort of album that has become a popular reference for those wanting to demonstrate that they are into “underground” rap and a great starting point for many who would venture further in that direction.
It does seem as though everybody “loves” DOOM now that he’s passed, but we all have to start somewhere. Many of these supposed “superfans” may never even move beyond Madvillainy or the aesthetic of his super cool-looking mask, but that’s still totally valid. Others will dig into his early solo material or his instrumental production work. They’ll discover the projects where he raps that he doesn’t produce along with the inverse where he produces entire albums for someone else. Those who never make it past Madvillainy may never know that Dumile was a prolific beat maker, let alone about his early days in KMD as Zev Love X, his skills as a graffiti writer, or that he created the controversial cover art from his former group’s long-shelved Black Bastards album. A great number of them also DO NOT care. As for those who have been drawn into the mysterious power of the force that is the late-MF DOOM and care to unravel more about who he was, his evolution, and everything that relates to it, a new biography has just been announced that promises to take a deep dive behind the mask of the legend.
The Chronicles of DOOM: Unraveling Rap’s Masked Iconoclast is set to be published on October 29th by Astra House claiming to be “packed with behind-the-scenes content” as “the definitive biography on MF DOOM, charting the reclusive and revered hip-hop artist’s life, career, and eventual immortality.” The book was written by author/veteran music journalist, S.H. Fernando Jr. aka SKIZ, who began writing for such publications as The Source, Rolling Stone, Vibe, Spin, and The New York Times during the golden-era of hip hop in the 90s. A label-owner and musician in his own right, SKIZ is credited with introducing Prince Paul to Dan The Automator, resulting in the formation of Handsome Boy Modeling School. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed biography, From The Streets Of Shaolin: The Wu-Tang Saga.
The following description is taken from the product page on the publisher’s website.
On December 31, 2020, the world was shocked to learn about the death of hip-hop legend MF DOOM. Born in London and raised in the suburban enclave of Long Beach, New York, Daniel Dumile Jr.’s love of cartoons and comic books would soon turn him into one of hip-hop’s most enigmatic, prolific, and influential figures.
Sweeping and definitive, The Chronicles of DOOM: Unraveling Rap’s Masked Iconoclast recounts the rise, fall, redemption, and untimely demise of MF DOOM. Broken down into five sections: The Man, The Myth, The Mask, The Music, and The Legend, journalist S. H. Fernando, or SKIZ, chronicles the life of Daniel Dumile Jr., beginning in the house he grew up in in Long Beach, NY, into the hip-hop group KMD, onto the stage of his first masked show, through the countless collabs, and across the many different cities Daniel called home. Centering the music, SKIZ deftly lays out the history of east-coast rap against DOOM’s life story and dissects the personas, projects, tracks, and lyrics that led to his immortality.
Including exclusive interviews with those who worked closely with DOOM and providing an unknown, intimate, behind the scenes look into DOOM’s life, The Chronicles of DOOM is the definitive biography of MF DOOM, a supervillain on stage and hero to those who paid attention.
While all of this seems very promising, any mention of involvement by Dumile‘s family is noticeably absent. After his death, opportunists poured out of the woodwork to capitalize off his legacy as expected. Whenever an official release or collaboration has come about, it has generally been announced by his estate. Beyond merch like hoodies, hats, skateboard decks, and sticker packs; this has included the Super7 Operation Doomsday Re-action figure; the Super What? collab LP with Czarface, the Your Old Droog “Dropout Boogie” 7-inch single; the 2001 DOOMSDAY tribute/benefit event/art show in San Francisco; and the SUPREME capsule collection. The majority of these collabs even wind up on DOOM‘s official webstore on Gasdrawls.com and/or Rhymesayers.com. As of now, nothing about this biography has popped up on the estate’s social media. With all of that said, maybe a heavily researched biography falls into a different category than standard merch.
One aspect that adds a respectable level of legitimacy to the project is the fact that LAmour Supreme was tapped to create the cover illustration for the book, working with childhood friend and noted cover designer, Rodrigo Corral. There is nothing that projects “bootleg” about this operation. LAmour has created plenty of official MF DOOM art over the years, namely for the collaborations with CZARFACE — an original character that Supreme designed. After Dumile‘s death, the artist painted a beautiful comic-themed tribute piece (featured in the IG post above) in his honor. Although fans began begging him to release prints and shirts with the artwork on it, LAmour openly refused to sell the image in any capacity until, and unless, he was able to find some way to benefit DOOM‘s widow by having any proceeds go directly to her and the family. In April of 2021, the tribute piece was made available exclusively as an NFT, at which point LAmour stated, “*THIS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE EVER AS A PRINT OR TEE! Proceeds are actually going to his family…”
LAmour Supreme‘s involvement is a major green flag for me as someone who has avoided supporting DOOM-related releases by artists like Isaac Pelayo, who chose to ignore and delete comments inquiring about whether or not any funds from their “tribute” releases would benefit the family. Whatever the case with this new biography, there is without a doubt some key involvement by individuals that aren’t known to fuck around. It has definitely caught our interest.
The Chronicles Of DOOM can be preordered now. Link to the Astra House product page for a selection of retailers.