When Third Bass made the scene with "The Gas Face" (1989) the crew who went by the name KMD were there, and brought a superb cameo appearance with Zev Love X's outlandish lyrics:

"Damn, if looks could kill you look like host was a ghost from your grill. But still, what's the new fed, to recollect to our passing phase to facades to Eddie Decker."

Subroc was a deejay in New York whose flair for painting with sound was starting to give KMD some well-deserved consideration. Zev Love, his brother, was an emcee with an equally colorful mind's eye. Their childhood friend Onyx the Birthstone Kid finalized the trio.

KMD (which stands for "a positive Kause in a Much Damaged society") were an unthreatening crew, but had enough skills to make the aggressive rhetoric of some of their contemporaries seem like hollow posturing. When put up against the likes of NWA, Subroc and friends could hold their own easily without resorting to misogyny or superfluous bloodshed.

It wasn't until 1991 that KMD were able to bring something out themselves, but Mr. Hood proved to be worth the wait. A concept album of sorts, it utilized childrens' albums as the sonic backdrop, and took the listener on a tour of the ghetto with Mr. Hood as their guide.

Mr. Hood eventually met a mountain of praise, with one journalist comparing it to "a Monet painting on the corner of 125th and Lexington." Their single for the album Peach Fuzz followed, and the group went to work on their tour de force, which wouldn't be released while Subroc was among the living. He was hit by a car and killed in 1993, and Zev Love would never be the same.

Black Bastards would become Subroc's epitaph. Their previous innocence was replaced as Zev Love began to align himself with Black Nationalism. When Subroc died the album wasn't finished, and the confusion, chaos, anger, and pain is more than evident. When he declares "if I be a ghost expect me to haunt," I got chicken skin as the bumps and ridges on his words became three dimensional.

Elektra Records declined to release the album when it was finished, and it became fodder for bootleggers. Elektra claimed the cover art was too controversial, with a dark-skinned sambo caricature swinging from a noose with "Bl_ck B_st_rds" scrawled below his feet. This was the era of Ice T's "Cop Killer", and everyone was quick to protect our impressionable youth from themselves via mandates in popular music.

Zev Love X would disappear into thin air, reemerging in 1997 as MF Doom, a mask wearing villain who held microphones tight like pony tails.

Anguish over the death of his brother made Doom a force to be reckoned with, as his lyrical focus became a bit more predatory. His flow was more deliberate as well, and his voice seemed deeper. There was also an ample dose of cynicism evident in his new songs, with lines like:

"Only in America can you find a way to earn a healthy buck and still keep your attitude on 'self destruct'"

The intro track to Operation: Doomsday mixed lines from the film Wild Style that hinted at a desire to keep Doom's true identity clandestine. MF Doom shares similarities with the Marvel Comics character Dr. Doom. He has the green cape, steel mask, and Metal Fingers. MF's like the tin man in Wizard of Oz, but Doom's heart pumps a concoction of human blood and tears for his brother.

It wasn't until 2000 that Black Bastards was given a legitimate release, with a remix of "Wh_t _ Nigg_ Know?" featuring close friend MF Grimm. Operation: Doomsday is an utterly flawless album, and a more than welcome comeback for the artist who once said he'd "rather live to be an old geezer.like Ebenezer Scrooge." Hopefully he'll have a long career.

May Subroc rest in peace. You've done honor to his memory, Doom.

(C) 2003 - Jason Thornberry