MF Doom, the masked rapper, died in October, family announces on Instagram

Rapper MF Doom, known for his masked “super villain” persona, died on Oct. 31, his wife Jasmine Dumile revealed on social media Thursday. He was 49.

Dumile posted an Instagram message to her husband, real name Daniel Dumile, with the New Year’s Eve revelation stating the elusive rapper had “transitioned October 31, 2020.” The influential rapper was the force behind beloved hip-hop albums “Mm..Food” and his collaboration with Madlib, “Madvillainy.”

“The greatest husband, father, teacher, student, business partner, lover and friend I could ever ask for. Thank you for all the things you have shown, taught and given to me, our children and our family. Thank you for teaching me how to forgive beings and give another chance, not to be so quick to judge and write off,” Jasmine Dumile wrote. “Thank you for showing how not to be afraid to love and be the best person I could ever be. My world will never be the same without you.”

Rolling Stone confirmed the rapper’s death with MF Doom’s representative Richie Abbott. No further information on the cause of death was available.

USA TODAY has reached out to his representatives for comment.

His wife’s Instagram post also addressed the tragic death of the couple’s son Malachi in 2017.

“Words will never express what you and Malachi mean to me,” Jasmine wrote. “I love both and adore you always.”

The hip-hop world reacted in shock to the news. Rapper QTIP tweeted Thursday, “RIP to another Giant your favorite MC’s MC .. MF DOOM!! crushing news ...”

Rapper El-P tweeted, “MF DOOM FOREVER.”

Rapper ScHoolboy Q tweeted, ”Damn. NOT DOOM HOMIE.”

The private rapper Dumile (pronounced doom-ee-lay) wore a mask — onstage and in public — modeled after the Marvel comic book villain Doctor Doom, which he unveiled with the 1999 album “Operation: Doomsday.”

“I wanted to get onstage and orate, without people thinking about the normal things people think about,” he told Ta-Nehisi Coates in a 2009 profile titled “The Mask of Metal Face Doom” for the The New Yorker. ”Like girls being like, ‘Oh, he’s sexy,’ or ‘I don’t want him, he’s ugly,’ and then other dudes sizing you up. A visual always brings a first impression. But if there’s going to be a first impression, I might as well use it to control the story. So why not do something like throw a mask on?”

In March, MF Doom tweeted a message letting fans knowing to take COVID-19 precautions seriously. ”DOOM STAY IN QUARANTINE” he wrote in an Instagram post.

Read more at usatoday.com