Tribute drawing and quick process animation for hip-hop artist MF DOOM. I referenced the cover of his first album Operation Doomsday. In the background is three-headed dragon, King Ghidorah; a kaiju from the Godzilla movies, and the inspiration for his King Geedorah alias. The cosmic background is influenced by legendary Silver Age comic book artist Jack Kirby, which I thought appropriate as the DOOM persona is drawn from Marvel comics.
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2020 was a rough year for many reasons. I was in a great mood on New Year’s Eve, looking forward to putting it behind me, when the news was released that my favorite hip-hop artist, Daniel Dumille aka MF DOOM, not only had passed away but had been deceased since Halloween.
20 years earlier, I decided I needed to listen to his first album, Operation Doomsday, because (now defunct) hip-hop magazine Elemental kept mentioning it. In 2000, streaming music on the internet wasn’t common yet, so to hear the album I needed to track down a physical copy. After calling record stores all over Chicago, I finally found one at Tower Records downtown, took the train down there, and eagerly popped it into my Discman.
I became a fan instantly - the clever yet stupid and fun lyrics; the relatable nostalgia of the Marvel comics references and samples from the 80s cartoons I grew up watching; the production super raw where you could imagine him sitting with a 4-track and an MPC in his Long Island bedroom just making songs for the hell of it. Plus, as a fellow comic nerd who loved villains, his mysterious MF DOOM persona based off Marvel’s Doctor Doom and his cool mask was icing on the cake. All these factors bucked any trends happening in hip-hop then, and even hip-hop now, over 20 years later.
I am glad MF DOOM got the recognition he deserved in his career and has now become an icon. I would later learn Operation Doomsday was made as a tribute to his brother, Dingilizwe Dumile aka DJ Subroc, whom he had released an album with as KMD and passed much too young. In turn, this is my piece for the artist that brought me so much joy. It isn’t super polished, much like Operation Doomsday isn’t, but has a lot of heart.
I still have that MF DOOM cd, one of the few that I brought with me when I moved from Chicago to Seattle. It’s in my car right now, and I still listen to it all the time.
“On Doomsday, ever since the womb, til I'm back where my brother went, that's what my tomb will say. Right above my government, Dumile. Either unmarked or engraved, hey, who's to say?”
Rest in peace DOOM