Ave atque vale, MF DOOM. So many tangled, knotty streams of words, rhymes on rhymes on rhymes on rhymes on rhymes, sharp and lucid or full of gleeful non sequiturs or very frequently both at once. "Rock Co Kane Flow", "That's That", "Saliva", "Crosshairs", "Blacklist", the sustained excellence of Mr. Hood and Black Bastards and Operation Doomsday and Madvillainy, a zillion more hits across half a dozen aliases and permutations; an Anansi figure, a knowing trickster (and sometime huckster) who marched resolutely to the beat of his own drum, who did things his way and his way alone. Perhaps the single most influential figure of the late '90s underground, spawning more imitators than even Aesop Rock or EL-P and making fans across the spectrum of hip-hop culture; there were a small number who didn't fuck with DOOM, but not respecting DOOM's pen was entirely unheard of. Beautiful to think that "The Unexpected" can now be added to the setlist at the great rave-up in the sky, now that Sean Price, with whom he had such chemistry, doesn't have to perform it alone. Even lovelier to imagine Zev Love X reuniting with Subroc again. Rest in peace to a truly sui generis motherfucker, a fallen original, a one of one. We love you.
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