An archival interview with Yen Records’ engineer Yasuhiko Terada along with some words from Hosono himself on SFX. The following interviews were originally featured in the book Haruomi […]
“Check The Technique: KMD’s ‘Black Bastards’ and the Birth of MF DOOM” (Cuepoint, 2015)
Like many people around the world, we’ve been heavily listening to and remembering Daniel “MF DOOM” Dumile through his music over the last few days…
One of the best pieces we’ve read about DOOM’s story and legacy is “Check The Technique: KMD’s ‘Black Bastards’ and the Birth of MF DOOM.” Written by Cuepoint’s Brian Colemen, the essay dives into a pivotal moment in Doom’s story when Elektra dropped his group KMD and his brother/collaborator Subroc died suddenly in a car accident.
“After Doom got his check [from Elektra], he looked at it and said, ‘Yo, I should get dropped more often. This is more money than I’ve ever gotten in the music game.’ I know he must have been devastated, but he didn’t seem like it. He was almost Zen-like. I didn’t see him much after that.” – Dante Ross
The article also mentions a spoken word album from ex-Last Poet Gylan Kain that was heavily sampled on Black Bastards. The Blue Guerilla, released in 1970 on Juggernaut Records, is a powerful piece of proto-hip hop that features Kain’s manic, stream-of-consciousness vocals over soul, blues and avant-garde jazz. We’ve linked both albums below.
Rest in peace, DOOM.
Read the full article here: https://medium.com/cuepoint/check-the-technique-kmds-black-bastards-and-the-birth-of-mf-doom-1849f4c0a6f4
