He hold his heart when he tellin rhymes. MF Doom at gig with Jedi Mind Tricks at 4040 (aka Stalag 2000). Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/cullenstalin/

He hold his heart when he tellin' rhymes. MF Doom at gig with Jedi Mind Tricks at 4040 aka Stalag 2000. Photo by flicker.com/photos/CullenStalin. Philadelphia. 2000.

With ongoing speculation regarding the authenticity of his live performances, MF Doom’s brother and confidant, Dimbaza Mfazwe Dumile, chimes in and offer fans an official spot to vent and get their message viewed directly by the man himself. As an aside, we hear that Doom was ID’ed at his own show in Toronto last night, and we have yet to learn of any complaints.

Peace to DIM for reaching out and offering his unique first person perspective.


GOTDOOM

When Artist/Entertainer MFDOOM set out to establish a less-visual approach to his live performances, audiences could have been forgiven for thinking the endeavor was crazy. How, after all, could anyone really believe that they were capable of providing entertainment that would achieve the same level of captivation, interactivity, and — perhaps the most vexing part of all — nostalgic-value that the greats of concert halls have been putting on for decades? But that’s exactly what MF DOOM set out to do, and now, a few years later, it is generally a foregone conclusion that this eponymous Artist ranks among the top emcees in America — if, not, the world. In general, the great musicians of the world tend to share a number of important characteristics in common: They express a unique, often idiosyncratic presence with intention and passion; they are developed from exposure to top-quality peer reciprocity and progress through fastidious work environments; they have the potential to evolve over the years into something far more nuanced and elegant than their youth tends to express (but which is typically implied early on); and they do all this year after year, slowing building up an edifice of reliability, ever-growing complexity, and stylistic character.

But there are also a number of non-harmonious characteristics that the great Artists of the world share, and most of these are based in the unique philosophy that is ultimately the wellspring of their creation. For MF DOOM, he knew exactly what the guiding philosophy of his interpretation would be from the beginning: It would be a clairvoyant affair, rooted firmly in the soul and created with one’s own mind’s eye, toward being carried on even after he no longer has a hand in it.

“Businesses as usual – My brother has succeeded for the past two or three years at putting these things in perspective”, DOOM’s brother MFAZWE told me: MFAZWE – which is his actual middle name given at birth – is based on Long Island, remains family-oriented, and over the years, has often carried out handling of fan inquiries for his brother. “My brother, ‘he explained’, has expressed to me, his philosophy on providing an audibly value-added dimension to his live performances – I’ve recognized it’s theatrical potential, and remain supportive of his vision. He (MFDOOM) has always intended to receive feedback from audiences regarding their acclimation to the process. This, in turn, would afford the opportunity for fans to provide input, all-the-while assuring that there aren’t any interferences with DOOM’s artistic freedom, even if the process of achieving this relies more on long-term participation than short”.

With that in mind, he said, he has installed on his brother’s website, a Discussion Group, to explore his philosophy, and the meaning of MFDOOM’s interpretation of performance, and what that holds for the future DOOM live shows.

“To be frank (and with apologies to any disappointed fans) I’ve summed up the ‘DOOM live shows’ in three (3) simple words”, says MFAZWE; “You’ll have to go to the website to find out what those three (3) words are. However, most of the fans perspectives are deeply personal in their own unique way, and that ties them together into an international fraternity of sorts, no matter where they’re from in the world or what particular style or philosophy they express – we value their feedback”. Membership to the Discussion Group is free, and is designed with the fan experience in mind, providing unprecedented participation and possibilities.

This year, audiences will have a chance to attend the official MFDOOM Fan Feedback Group Page, at http://gotdoom.info. The Group is moderated by MFAZWE, Metalface Records’ de-facto in-house Web Developer; MFDOOM’s brother, acclaimed Artist and Producer; whose very noticeable emcee battle with Mos Def is outwardly expressed, which is represented by an embedded audio clip entitled “Intro”, resembling a main event. It’s an outright challenge – and one which he hopes to benefit from at the release of his debut album this Summer.

For a more in-depth discussion of the MFDOOM saga, as well as of course, the most insight that you’ll EVER get into the Artist enigma that we call MFDOOM, from one of his closest confidants – check out the website at http://gotdoom.metalfacerecords.com. Please also note that all participation is FREE–all feedback and comments are listed in the order that they are received–and had been explicitly-requested sometime late last year by MFDOOM, himself.

Dim Dumile