To know more about the MF Doom Mask, we need to dive into its origin. Here it is…
Daniel Dumile, pronounced as doom-ee-lay, came around when the hip-hop music was just beginning to get the fame. Those were the days when one could tune into “Yo! MTV Raps”. This was where you got to see gangsta styling, the mysticism of Rakim and the goofiness of the Afros.
Dumile was the part of this disparate generation. He first performed under the name of Zevlove X, and he debut was in 1989. The song he played then was called “The Gas Face”, a single by 3rd Base. In the video of the song, Dumile, 18-years-old then, wore a gas-station attendant’s uniform with a baseball cap. He looked pretty shrunk with those oversized glasses.
After about two years of the release of this single, Dumile joined the group KMD. With them he released the album called “Mr. Hood”. Dumile style included more of freewheeling and was quite vibrant. He had a way of skating through the beats, feeling no disturbance from the guitar and the likes. Dumile’s brother, Dingilizwe, who was also part of the group, got killed in 1993. Later in that year, their second album was rejected, because of the controversy over the cover art.
Dumile vanished from the scene and started living in New York with his son.
It was in 1999 that Dumile released his solo record called the “Operation: Doomsday”. At that time he came out under the name Metal Face Doom, a.k.a. MF Doom. He was verbally agile, and his lyrics more sinister. A true mean streak in the humor he exuded. There were references of his brother’s death in his album. Another big thing was the MF Doom Mask that he wore. This was something most rappers only did metaphorically, but he literally went for it.
When Dumile started performing with his MF Doom Mask, his hip-hop obsession with facades grew. As he was inspired with the Fantastic Four’s villain Dr. Doom, he started calling himself the “Supervillain”. In his raps, it is quite apparent that he refers to Doom as a third person.
While other rappers get obsessed with machismo, Dumile was obsessed with Star Trek and Logan’s Run.
According to Dumile, he wanted to create a complete story for MF Doom, a character with a proper background. He wanted to use that story to reference in his albums, to be onstage and orate. His purpose was to not let the crowd to think about the normal things when he was onstage. He wanted to control the story with his first impressions. So he decided to through in the mask!
Since his album Operation: Doomsday, Dumile has released eight other albums under the name of MF Doom. However, he has also used other personifications like Viktor Vaughn and King Geedorah.
Sounds kinda scary, the way his obsession grew with facades and all. But, this certainly explains the use of his MF Doom Mask.
