ALL CAPS - an epitaph to the enigmatic MF DOOM

In Memory of Daniel Dumile July 13 1971 - Oct 31 2020

Empty, amber bottles litter the roof, winking at the glowing L.A. sunrise as it breaks over mountains, bleeding across the sky red, then orange. On a two-seat, sand coloured sofa The Villain sprawls out with a built-in frown, searching the plumes of smoke that roll down the hills. A bong gleams on a table beside him, smouldering like the barrel of a gun as he sits back and coughs out a hit. Swinging on a chair beside him is another, a tarry blunt pinched in an ‘O’ in his left hand. The Lew Howard All Stars spin on a record player beside them, psychedelic plucks over mysterious basslines.

– meat grinder

Variants of rhymes and phrases on torn paper plaster the yellowing walls of the bunker. Silenced by the darkness, the creative restrictions of the day are done. On the far side of the room, dusty liberty caps sit in two silver tins beside Star Trek: The Next Generation. The sombre motif from Lonnie Smith’s “In the Beginning” loops over a drum beat on a BOSS SP-303 as two heads bop in telepathic unity.

- figaro

Upstairs. The credits open to Thunder and Lightning. Rhythmic strings of syllables, mythical vignettes

of villains and veiled faces, coarse and cryptic. Laundry scavenged for change, pizza boxes and packet mac in the corner. A full stomach rests a rolling tray covered in loose green crumbs as another wrap is ready. Notes on the table, ash on the carpet. The masked gladiator sharpens his tools before cutting the butter.

– all caps

A silent clock whirls on the wall as if time was of no object. Mariana Mariana spins silently on the floor between sofas surrounded by endless records, Brazilian, French, Indian. The curtains are closed. The Phantom of the Grand Ole Opry is beneath them, watching the walls exhale in relief and awe. Sipping Moët from a flask, a blunt puffing beneath chrome alloy, he’ll sit and wait for the cream to rise to the top.

- rhinestone cowboy

After DOOM's death I wanted to write something about 'Madvillainy', arguably his most influential album and one of my favourites (produced by Madlib). The product you see before you comes after reworking a piece I had previously written about him into four parts, each part inspired by a different song from the album.