Early

Following a cameo appearance on 3rd Bass’ “The Gas Face,” KMD was signed by A&R Dante Ross and released their debut album Mr. Hood in 1991. The album focused heavily on Black American themes, addressing religion and racism while countering the subject matter with Sesame Street samples. However, they took a sharp turn away from their cheery debut with Black Bastards, a project that was quickly abandoned by Elektra Records due to the title and cover artwork being deemed too contentious. Shortly after, the group was dropped by the label. Black Bastards did ultimately make it to release years later in 2000, when intense bootlegging of the LP gained KMD cult status, but Dumile as his alter ego Zev Love X fell off the music radar totally.

Middle

Dumile re-emerged in the end of 1997, performing under a variety of disguises at open mic nights in New York, such as Nuyorican Poets Café. But it was an old metal prop mask that became synonymous with his debut full-length record, Operation: Doomsday, released in 1999 by independent label Fondle ‘Em Records under the pseudonym MF DOOM. DOOM kept his devotees on their toes after achieving cult status with Operation Doomsday, operating prolifically under a slew of other aliases. Under the identity Viktor Vaughn, he partnered with a plethora of producers, including RJD2, to release Vaudeville Villain in 2003.

Late

Madlib’s collaboration with DOOM on Madvillainy resulted in one of hip-most hop’s accomplished albums. Stones Throw’s much-anticipated final product, released in 2004, mutually exposed both to a bigger rap audience while also being passionately hailed across the board by mainstream music magazines. Since its origins on Operation Doomsday, the MF DOOM character has made a triumphant return with the Rhymesayers’ release of MM…Food in 2004. While it wasn’t as well received by reviewers as Madvillainy, fans hailed MM…Food for its lyrical depth and a more lighthearted DOOM, as well as bringing back his long missed production with standout tracks like “Hoe Cakes” and “Rapp Snitch Knishes.” DOOM released two additional albums under other names between 2005 and 2009.