New podcast focuses on late LI rapper MF DOOM
A 10-episode podcast about hip-hop artist MF DOOM, who died last year, focuses on his life and early beginnings in Long Beach. Credit: Getty Images / Peter Kramer
An East Hudson Street home in Long Beach was more than just a place where Michael Berrin hung out with Daniel Dumile, who later gained fame as hip-hop artist MF DOOM.
"It was really the impetus of everything that we created," said Berrin, a Far Rockaway native known by his stage name MC Serch as part of the hip-hop group 3rd Bass.
Dumile, who died Oct. 31, 2020, at age 49 of an undisclosed cause, is the focus of a new 10-episode podcast called "Did I Ever Tell You The One About… MF Doom" on the musician who wore a mask modeled after Doctor Doom, a Marvel Comics villain.
The podcast examines the life of Dumile, who began his music career first under the stage name Zev Love X with the group KMD. His younger brother, Dingilizwe Dumile, aka DJ Subroc, also was a member of KMD. He died in 1993.
The podcast begins with a recording of the July 31 dedication of East Hudson Street and Riverside Boulevard, which was renamed KMD-MF DOOM Way.
Berrin, along with his wife, Chantel Berrin, formed Timeless Podcast Company and interviewed family and friends of Dumile. Chantel Berrin, who grew up in Elmhurst, Queens, got to know the Dumile siblings.
"Our goal is to understand the genesis portion of Doom’s life as well as delving into his evolution," she said. While the second season of their podcast features Dumile, the first season featured fellow New York hip-hop artist Big Daddy Kane.
In the podcast, Dumile’s family members said being close to friends was part of the reason they moved to Long Beach, after living in the city of Mount Vernon in Westchester County.
In the first episode, Michael Berrin details hanging out in Long Beach in the 1980s — a change of scenery from his orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Far Rockaway.
The second and third episodes introduce Onyx "The Birthstone Kid," the remaining living member of KMD, detailing how a trip to the hospital with Dingilizwe Dumile started a longtime bond between them, which led to the creation of their first album, 1991's "Mr. Hood."
The series focuses on how Dumile persevered through his music.
"One thing that this podcast and the season does look at is how DOOM was able to speak to people through his music, but really after Subroc died … was the part of this pivotal pivot when you speak to his family and friends," Berrin said.
