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The Misunderstanding of MF Doom

Celebrated Villain or Culture Vulture?

By Brooklyn DamienPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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I'm just gonna leave this right here... [Photo via Instagram]

"I write rhymes and shit to get money. Other than that, I don’t listen to Hip Hop music. I listen to jazz music and instrumentals, and shit like that."—MF Doom

"The more complex the subject matter and wordplay is, that’s where you get your points. I’m a rhymer, so I go for points. I ain’t going to be talking shit about the next dude, or bragging about shit I got."—MF Doom

It's easy to misunderstand or misinterpret what someone said, when you hear it from a secondary source. Many entertainers and athletes are infamous for their disdain of the media. Those celebrities feel that the press manipulate and edit pieces of what is said, to try to create a bigger story, instead of just relaying that person's thoughts. MF Doom is notoriously media shy. On the 15th anniversary of Madvillainy, his legendary album with producer Madlib, Spin reached out to Doom for a phone interview. After the phone call, is when the game of "telephone" began. How the interview was interpreted and translated, by a subsequent writer, has some ardent hip hop heads calling MF Doom a mf culture vulture... as quickly as the accusation can be hurled it can be dismissed. As a self proclaimed "rhymer," Doom is well known for the care and attention to detail he puts into his art. He genuinely enjoys the wordplay, and has expressed such. The "instrumentals" that he listens to are definitively hip hop. Some people define them as "chill hop." The sub genre is populated by artists like the late great J Dilla, Oddisee, MF Doom himself, and your humble author, Brooklyn Damien. I myself listen to more neo-soul and instrumentals than modern hip hop, so I instantly understand Doom's statement. Am I a culture vulture because I don't love the music newer rappers make? Perish the thought! So how did we get here? Let's examine the facts.

Reasonable Doubt?

I do this for my culture... [Photo by Johnny Nunez via WireImage]

The initial interview with Spin was a nice read. There was a good back and forth between Doom and the writer. He was very open and affable with Spin. HiphopDx picked up the story, and that is where our signals got crossed, and we got flipped... from the title of the DX article there is a seed planted. A mood is being set. "DOOM admits he doesn't listen to hip hop," this isn't false. Is it the truth though? He didn't admit anything. Doom stated that he didn't listen to hip hop. Words mean things. The definition of admit is "confess to be true or to be the case, typically with reluctance." If you read the original Spin article, you know that this doesn't describe what happened. The next seed of misunderstanding that was planted was when the HHDX writer, Kyle Eustice, who wrote "During the conversation, the veteran MC confessed he only writes rhymes for the financial benefits. While discussing his son Malachi, he mentioned he didn’t really make music at home," another loaded word. Do I need to write what the meaning of confess is? Doom didn't admit or confess to anything. He just stated what he listens to. I'm not judging Kyle. She may have just been looking for different words to use, as to not sound redundant in her writing. Yeah, maybe that's what happened. Either way a conversation was started. If this technician of a rapper doesn't love the genre is he a culture vulture? What is a culture vulture?

Let's talk about it.

I'm not saying nothing... [AP Photo by Matt York]

I like the current top definition for culture vulture on Urban Dictionary. A person or an organization making profit using unhonorable practices, from a culture they do not care for. They give examples, but that is pretty straight forward, no? Dame Dash actually wrote a book titled "Culture Vulture." He has claimed to have coined the term. He didn't, but he may have played the biggest part in its modern usage. The term has been around since the 1940s, with a much different connotation than what is in today's lexicon. Now with all of the facts laid bare can anyone truly call the great emcee MF Doom a culture vulture? I rest my case.

Let Me Get My Bag Though, 'Cause I'm In It.

Do better tomorrow. [Photo from Youtube]

I love hip hop. It's not a small thing. There's tenets, elements, and dimensions to it, it's huge. I support the art, and artists that I know love the culture. A good friend of mine, Mr. Hyde of Necro and Hyde fame, has a show coming up for 4/20 in Brooklyn. If you love hip hop, come out and show your love. Get tickets here. Maybe I'll see you there. If you can't make it you can hit me up on social media. I'm Brooklyn Damien everywhere!

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About the Creator

Brooklyn Damien

Bed Stuy representative, pg, pre gentrification... I actually dig what they've done to the place while I was away... Y'all know the rules, moved from BK to New Jeruse... Well I'm back... Oh, I produce, perform aaand I do all my own stunts.

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