In the opening of MF DOOM’s 2004 album “MM..FOOD”, the rapper professes: “He wears a mask just to cover the raw flesh / a rather ugly brother with flows that’s gorgeous”. Throughout his lyrics and his life, Daniel Dumile – more commonly known by his alias MF DOOM – expressed his desire to reject fame and embrace anonymity. In a 2011 interview with Red Bull Music, Dumile stated that he wanted to be judged by his lyrics, not his appearance – something he believed was becoming endemic in hip-hop. For this, he selected a metal gladiator-style mask.

The obscurity provided by the mask just added to the enigmatic lure of MF DOOM. Dumile’s reluctance to share aspects of his personal life created even more lore. Reddit forums remain filled with fans picking apart lyrics, questioning details from interviews, or debating the best of Dumile’s vast back catalogue.

Before MF DOOM was MF DOOM he was Daniel Dumile. Born in London and raised in Long Island, New York, Dumile was musically gifted from a young age. After forming the group “KMD” with his brother in 1988 he adopted the alias “Zen Love X”. His reincarnation as MF DOOM came after a period of disillusionment with hip-hop following the death of his brother, and as a result, the character of MF DOOM was much darker. Inspired by the Fantastic Four villain ‘DR DOOM’, the metal mask gave life to Dumile’s villainous new alias. Nowadays, the visual image of the metal mask has come to be an emblem of the rapper’s body of work. It is featured on album art; on merch; on tattoos, jewellery, and clothing. It is also a symbol of membership, identifying those who belong to one of hip-hop’s most devoted communities. Almost ironically, the masked appearance of MF DOOM seems to be as intrinsic to the character as his lyrics, flows and beats.

But, only the most committed (and richest) of fans can say that they own the 2007 MF DOOM x Nike SB High Dunks. The collab was the second time that Nike had ventured into the hip-hop scene: a few years earlier, De La Soul had also worked with the brand on some Dunks. Pos, of De La Soul, stated in an interview that the collaboration came out of a happy coincidence; the trio were booked for a performance at a festival in San Diego, which was taking place at the same time as a trade show for the sports industry. After being asked to perform at the show, the trio was approached by Nike SB and two years later the shoe was released.

Inspired by the success of the De La Soul sneakers, Nike was looking for another exciting player in the hip hop scene to collaborate with to solidify its prestige in the streetwear market. It was not the first time that Dumile had associated his art with Nike. After his brother and co-collaborator DJ Subroc was hit by a car and killed in 1993, Dumile - then performing under the alias ‘Zen Love X’ – rapped about throwing “’86 / nikes on the wire”. A bar interpreted by many as a tribute to his late brother.

The Dunks themselves are representative of the typically villainous characterisation of MF DOOM. Melancholic grey and black materials are paired with striking red laces on the upper part of the shoe. Meanwhile, reflective strips, embroidery of DOOM’s trademark graffiti logo and of course, the metal mask, provide exciting details. The soles of the shoes feature the album art of MM..FOOD.

As with many things graced by MF DOOM’s Midas touch, owning a pair of these shoes is both highly desirable and highly unaffordable. Since Dumile’s untimely passing in a Leeds Hospital in 2020 (he had moved back to the UK following visa issues in the states), interest in the rapper’s life has only intensified. This, alongside celebrities such as Kylie Jenner being spotted in the dunks, has caused the shoe’s price to skyrocket. Once retailing for about $600, new versions of the shoe are listed online on websites such as StockX and eBay for as much as £3,000. Trudging through the depths of r/mfdoom it is clear that most dedicated fans are even happy to settle with replicas, just to have a slice of Dumile’s legacy. There is no indication that Nike will ever re-release the shoe. Perhaps it is better that they don’t. It is hotly contested whether posthumously licensing an artist’s work dilutes its cultural capital. Take the work of Jean Michel Basquiat, or Keith Haring. Both artists have bodies of work that have been licensed extensively, appearing in collaborations with Uniqlo, Berksha and more recently - Primark.

Of course, licensing can provide cash for dependent family members. But it also may diminish the social and political justice passionately championed by the artists. All of DOOM’s intellectual property rights are now owned by ‘Gas Draws LLC’ and there are some early signs of what direction his estate will go in. A collaboration with New York streetwear label ‘Supreme’ for its Fall 2023 collection sold out almost instantly; meanwhile Pitchfork reported in October 2023 that DOOM’s estate was vigorously protecting the rapper’s material, by suing an A&R executive for theft of Dumile’s notebooks.

Although an out-and-out rejector of appearance-based infamy, Daniel Dumile’s style choices have come to define his legacy. I expect that as more people come to learn and love Dumile’s work, his place in sartorial culture will be further enshrined.

Written by Natasha Parsons

@connectedCultures

MF DOOM and NIKE