MF DOOM

A Thom Yorke Remix Of MF DOOM’s ‘Gazzillion Ear’ Was Unshelved After 10 Years

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Radiohead’s Thom Yorke has done extensive work with hip-hop artists over the years, including the late MF DOOM, whose 2009 Born Like This single “Gazzillion Ear” Yorke remixed for its original release. However, it turns out Yorke actually made two remixes at the time: The one that made its way onto the original single release was his “Monkey Hustle” version, and his “Man On Fire” version was shelved for the next 11 years. Today, though, as British independent label Lex Records celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, the label has been putting out remixes from its catalog — which includes the “Man On Fire” version of “Gazzillion Ear.”

The remix is a spacey, glitchy, eerie-sounding affair, stripping away most of the percussion and letting DOOM’s intricate lyrics take center stage (the two remixes actually take their titles from a pair of linked bars in the second verse in which DOOM uses both phrases).

DOOM has received a slew of tributes from both fans and his musical peers over the last eight months after his family announced his October death on New Year’s Eve, 2020. A street in his New York hometown was renamed in his honor, while the verses he’d recorded for artists like IDK, Your Old Droog, and his group Czarface have slowly trickled out. Meanwhile, elsewhere on the remix tip, The Avalanches added a verse from the late masked rapper on a remix of their song “Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life.”

A Street In MF Doom’s Hometown Of Long Beach, New York Has Been Renamed For The Legendary Rapper

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After MF Doom’s family revealed the sad news that the legendary rapper had died in 2020 at the untimely age of 49, an outpouring of grief at the loss and appreciation for his artistry erupted. Now, the community where he grew up has decided to commemorate the rapper’s legacy even further, renaming the street he grew up on in Long Beach, New York in honor of him. KMD – MF DOOM Way is named for the rapper and a group he and his younger brother Subroc created early in his career.

As Stereogum points out, Dr. Patrick Graham, a former schoolmate of MF Doom, spearheaded a petition to make the dedication. With close to 10,000 signatures at the time of publishing, the City Council of Long Beach approved the petition. For those familiar with the city, KMD — MF Doom Way is on East Houston Street, covering the block between Riverside Boulevard and Long Beach Road. The ceremony for renaming the road was Saturday.

Born Daniel Dumile, Graham said that Doom represents the best of the resilience that’s needed to carry into the future. “His hip-hop lyricism represents some of the culture’s best linguistic metaphors, garnering intergenerational and interracial admiration,” he said. “His life and art symbolize the resilience we need in our present context.”

The ceremony for renaming the road was today, check out some posts from the event below.

Fans And Friends Alike Salute MF DOOM On What Would Have Been His 50th Birthday

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When MF DOOM passed on Halloween in 2020, it was thought that he was just a few months shy of his 50th birthday until it turned out the whole world had his birthday wrong for decades. Today is his correct birthday, so in honor of the musical supervillain, both fans and friends alike are sharing their stories and hailing their shared hero.

Since the announcement of his passing, there has not only been a renewed interest in DOOM’s existing works but also a bunch of new releases that many of his collaborators had been sitting on or were otherwise prepared to release and delayed out of respect. His first posthumous appearance was on the joint album Super What? with his group Czarface, consisting of DOOM, Wu-Tang rapper Inspectah Deck, and Demigodz MC Esoteric, who tweeted a bit of behind-the-scenes info about also the album’s accompanying comic written by DOOM.

Meanwhile, a string of posthumous releases included appearances on The Avalanches’ “Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life,” on Your Old Droog’s previously recorded “Dropout Boogie,” and on IDK’s newly released album USee4Yourself on the song “Red” with fellow DOOM adherents Jay Electronica and Westside Gunn.

In addition, the game-changing underground rapper will be honored with a street in Long Beach, New York, sometime soon, with discussions on what to call it in the works (I kind of like “Daniel Dumile Drive” but “KMD-MF DOOM WAY” has been floated, as well). Check out the birthday wishes for the legendary MC below.

IDK Stands Shoulder-To-Shoulder With MF DOOM, Westside Gunn, And Jay Electronica On ‘Red’

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A year and a half ago, IDK seemingly shot out of a cannon and landed on a new rap tier thanks to the release of his 2019 major-label debut, Is He Real?. The project was quickly met with acclaim and left both new and old fans excited for what the DMV native would next have in store for fans. Nineteen months later, IDK returns with his sophomore album, an effort that answers the question posed in the title of his debut album. USee4Yourself checks in at 17 songs including one that finds the rapper standing beside a trio of respected lyricists.

USee4Yourself sees IDK standing beside MF DOOM, Westside Gunn, and Jay Electronica on “Red.” It’s is a heavy banger supported by verses from IDK, Westside Gunn, and Jay Electronica while MF DOOM makes brief appearances throughout the song. The song could grow to be one of the favorites from the album alongside “Shoot My Shot” and “Pradadabang.”

As for the rest of the album, USee4Yourself presents features from Young Thug, Offset, Lucky Daye, Sir, T-Pain, Rico Nasty, Swae Lee, Slick Rick, and Sevyn Streeter.

Press play on the video above to hear “Red.”

USee4Yourself is out 7/9 via Clue No Clue/Warner Records. Pre-order it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

MF DOOM Will Receive His Very Own Street Sign In New York

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Late last year the hip-hop community was shocked by news of MF DOOM’s death. The rapper passed away on Halloween, but his family opted to keep the news from the public until they were comfortable. Now, seven months later, he’ll be honored with a new street sign in Long Beach, New York.

Earlier this year, one Dr. Patrick C. Graham, who went to high school with DOOM, started a petition for getting a street sign named after him. Though he initially wanted to call is KMD-MF DOOM Way” — the first part a reference to the hip-hop duo with which he first made his name — a new report from HipHopDX reveals it will likely be called something else.

“Right now, there’s discussion instead of just ‘KMD-MF DOOM WAY,’ there’s going to be some indication of his actual government name,” Graham told the publication. “That’s all I knew him as was Dumile [laughs]. They were trying to do it before his birthday, but I feel we shouldn’t rush.”

Graham also spoke about the steps he took towards making the street sign a reality. “I had several community members contact me to see if I could get engaged with it,” he said. “I used to run the Martin Luther King Center there, so I still have a close connection to the community. I was born and raised there, went to high school with Dumile. So I said give me a minute and I’ll craft a letter to the City Council based on how I see it and then converted that letter into a petition. The group said they loved it and we moved forward.”

The news comes after Your Old Droog’s “Dropout Boogie,” which features a verse from DOOM, was released.

The Late MF DOOM Advocates Self Education On Your Old Droog’s ‘Dropout Boogie’

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Brooklyn, New York rapper Your Old Droog is one of the many, many rappers influenced by the late, great MF DOOM, both in form and in his steadfast adherence to a philosophy of being anti-famous. Like DOOM, Droog emerged from the New York underground and rose to notoriety via the internet, maintaining an air of mystery early in his career that had many fans wondering just who he really was. Droog received the ultimate blessing for a DOOM fan, getting the chance to work with his idol on multiple songs before the elder rapper’s death on Halloween last year, and today, he shared the first they ever recorded together: “Dropout Boogie.”

A short, sample-heavy song extolling the virtues of self-education (well, as much as it decries the many shortcomings of the US education system), “Dropout Boogie” really highlights the impact of DOOM’s syllable-stacking style on the generation of rappers who grew up under him. The track will be available as a 7″ vinyl on Nature Sounds, which you can pre-order here. Droog also accompanied the release with a statement on DOOM’s impact on his life and career.

This man’s work renewed my interest in hip-hop and rhyming at a time when I got tired of hearing what was on the radio or what was considered popular rap, I deadass started listening to classical music, and then I heard DOOM.

For him to end up appreciating what I do 10 years later shows the power of never giving up on your passion, staying the course, believing in yourself and having vision.

Aside from him being featured on the track, the song already had a lot of personal meaning for me. School is not for everybody. You know, it has its extracurricular pluses but overall, it wasn’t for me. For some people, it’s good but not for me. I don’t work well fitting into boxes. I dropped out of high school, and community college, twice! This is certainly an anthem of sorts.

The GED was nice though, that gave me confidence. Stay confident and follow your own path. Not the one laid out to you by your parents or teachers. Peace.

Listen to “Dropout Boogie” above.

MF DOOM Joins The Avalanches For A Energy-Boosting Remix Of ‘Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life’

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May marked six months since the world was shocked with the news of MF DOOM’s passing, a death that actually occurred on October 31, 2020, but was withheld by his family until the end of the calendar year. The announcement sent ripples throughout the hip-hop world as many took to social media to share their condolences and their best memories that involved the late rapper.Last month, the first posthumous piece of music with MF DOOM arrived through a joint album with Czarface (Esoteric and Wu-Tang’s Inspectah Deck) titled, Super What?. Now the late rapper’s voice can be found alongside The Avalanches.

The electronic band tapped the late rapper to join them for a remix of “Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life” on the 20th anniversary deluxe reissue of The Avalanches’ 2000 debut album, Since I Left You. The updated track keeps most of the song’s original production intact while bringing in a new dose of energy thanks to DOOM’s slick lyricism and undeniable energy.

Shortly after his death, it was revealed that DOOM was very close to completing a sequel to his and Madlib’s Madvillain album Madvillainy, often saying it was “85% done” according to Peanut Butter Wolf, the founder of Stones Throw Records. As for The Avalanches, the song is just one of 15 remixes that will appear on the deluxe reissue of Since I Left You.

You can listen to the “Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life” remix in the video above.

Since I Left You (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) is out 6/4 via Modular Recordings. Pre-order it here.

El-P Calls MF DOOM’s Death ‘A Severe Blow To The Writing World’ On Open Mike Eagle Podcast

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MF DOOM‘s peers and admirers are still grieving his loss. When his death was announced on New Year’s Eve last year, many lamented the untimely demise of one of the foremost underground rappers in hip-hop and a pioneer for the genre. Run The Jewels member El-P took it a step further during the latest episode of Open Mike Eagle’s Stony Island podcast What Had Happened Was, calling DOOM’s death “a severe blow to the writing world” as a whole.

“I don’t just mean the rap world, lyric writing, [but] human writing,” he clarified. “The world lost an important writer.”

The episode, which was recorded in early January after the news broke, mainly focuses on El-P’s experience producing Killer Mike’s R.A.P. Music LP, which laid the groundwork for their future partnership as Run The Jewels. It’s part of a multi-part series exploring El-P’s near-30-year career as a producer and rapper, from his beginnings in the New York underground as a member of Company Flow through his work as a label owner and near-mythic figure in the hip-hop world, much like DOOM.

Open Mike Eagle, meanwhile, paid tribute to his fallen collaborator in January, recording and sharing a freestyle borrowing DOOM’s iconic flow and paying tribute to the villain’s penchant for trolling his fans with doubles at one point in his career. You can listen to Open Mike and El-P’s latest episode of What Had Happened Was here.

MF DOOM’s First Posthumous Album Is A Joint Effort With Czarface, ‘Super What?’

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MF DOOM

MF DOOM is returning this week — in a way — thanks to Super What?, a joint album with Czarface (Esoteric and Wu-Tang’s Inspectah Deck) releasing this Friday, May 7. The project will be the first posthumous MF DOOM release since his death was announced by his family on New Year’s Eve last year, two months after his passing. The album is a follow-up to the trio’s 2018 effort Czarface Meets Metalface and was recorded and scheduled for release in 2020. Those plans were paused due to COVID-19 but will proceed this month as a tribute to the late, great DOOM.

Super What? is available for pre-order on both CD and vinyl on MFDOOM’s website GasDrawls.com, with a special edition vinyl already sold out (sorry) and a GasDrawls exclusive vinyl still available for the price of two standard editions. The album is accompanied by a comic book written by Czarface MC Esoteric and illustrated by Benjamin Marra. The ten-track tape features guest appearances from Gorillaz’s Del The Funky Homosapien and Run-DMC’s DMC.

DOOM’s passing sparked a renewed interest in the underground icon’s discography, as streams of his old projects leaped nearly 900% in the wake of the announcement of his death and tributes poured in from both collaborators like Open Mike Eagle and admirers such as Playboi Carti. Hopefully, Super What? will satisfy that interest as fans continue to await news on the Madvillainy sequel that was also reportedly in the works.

Super What? is due 5/7. Pre-order it here.