The Chronicles of DOOM
Unravelling Rap's Masked Iconoclast
Published on 11. September 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-0-571-39213-1 (ISBN)
Description
A Rough Trade and Clash Book of the Year
'Excellent, detailed [. . .] Hip-hop writer SH Fernando Jr benefits from an insider's understanding of the milieu and provides generous context.' Kitty Empire, Observer
On December 31, 2020, the world was shocked to learn about the death of hip-hop legend MF DOOM. Born in London and raised in the suburban enclave of Long Beach, New York, Daniel Dumile Jr.'s love of cartoons and comic books would soon turn him into one of hip-hop's most enigmatic, prolific, and influential figures.
The Chronicles of DOOM: Unraveling Rap's Masked Iconoclast recounts the rise, fall, redemption, and untimely demise of MF DOOM. Broken down into five sections: The Man, The Myth, The Mask, The Music, and The Legend, journalist S. H. Fernando chronicles the life of Daniel Dumile Jr., beginning in the house he grew up in in Long Beach, NY, through to the mysterious, masked icon that he was to become. Centring the music, Fernando deftly lays out the history of east-coast rap against DOOM's life story and dissects the personas, projects, tracks, and lyrics that led to his immortality.
Including exclusive interviews with those who worked closely with him, the book provides an unknown, intimate, behind the scenes look into the life of MF DOOM, a supervillain on stage and hero to those who paid attention.
'Excellent, detailed [. . .] Hip-hop writer SH Fernando Jr benefits from an insider's understanding of the milieu and provides generous context.' Kitty Empire, Observer
On December 31, 2020, the world was shocked to learn about the death of hip-hop legend MF DOOM. Born in London and raised in the suburban enclave of Long Beach, New York, Daniel Dumile Jr.'s love of cartoons and comic books would soon turn him into one of hip-hop's most enigmatic, prolific, and influential figures.
The Chronicles of DOOM: Unraveling Rap's Masked Iconoclast recounts the rise, fall, redemption, and untimely demise of MF DOOM. Broken down into five sections: The Man, The Myth, The Mask, The Music, and The Legend, journalist S. H. Fernando chronicles the life of Daniel Dumile Jr., beginning in the house he grew up in in Long Beach, NY, through to the mysterious, masked icon that he was to become. Centring the music, Fernando deftly lays out the history of east-coast rap against DOOM's life story and dissects the personas, projects, tracks, and lyrics that led to his immortality.
Including exclusive interviews with those who worked closely with him, the book provides an unknown, intimate, behind the scenes look into the life of MF DOOM, a supervillain on stage and hero to those who paid attention.
More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 232 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
435 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-571-39213-1 (9780571392131)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
S. H. Fernando Jr., SKIZ, is a writer/journalist whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone and The Source. He currently lives in Baltimore, MD.