Building the MF DOOM Universe: The Journey of Working As DOOM’s Sound Engineer

As more musicians and creatives migrate to Denver, Morgan Garcia is an exciting addition to the local music community. With many years in the industry under his belt as a producer and sound engineer for MF DOOM and other names within alternative hip-hop, Garcia is exploring life as a musician after his career alongside the iconic DOOM.

Within music culture, MF DOOM is an artist who left impressions like no other. With a plethora of pseudonyms and collaboration projects, DOOM moved through the underground without building himself into his celebrity persona. 

“His entertainment persona was not his real personality. If you weren’t in his family you didn’t get to truly see the man behind the mask,” explained Garcia.

The team behind DOOM’s artistic empire was tight and did not openly crave the spotlight. One of the longest industry relationships, and most essential on the music side, was the one he built with Garcia.

Garcia spent most of his life moving around with his family and exploring much of the southern United States. With a bit of music in his family from his Mom, Garcia found the early 2000s rap era, heavy metal and psychedelic rock alongside the technological evolution very intriguing. 

“You can do any style of music, you can sample anything,” Garcia emphasized. “Get bored of one thing you can still listen to anything.”

While living in Atlanta in his teenage years, Garcia began producing and shifted towards sound engineering to make a bit more money. Despite the ways this move pigeonholed his work, this opened a door to some artists that may not have been possible any other way.

The music scene of 2002 was filled with Lil Jon, Usher and heavy trap music with pop influences. Garcia watched this scene around him and eventually found a relationship between Atlanta and NYC hip-hop musicians that he was more interested in. Seeking out a more classic hip-hop sound, Garcia stumbled upon a network between artists like Phife Dog (Tribe Called Quest) and Del La Sol, who knew DOOM from life in Long Island as kids. 

“It was a little scrappy, get in with the click, but then the label helps clean up your music,” Explained Garcia. Once Garcia was in and worked on a contract with MF DOOM, it led to a 20-plus-year relationship. DOOM’s work was a major part of the sample evolution in hip-hop and his need for a sound engineer was always present. 

Working with DOOM was “always a learning experience, good or bad,” Garcia revealed, “He didn’t care about people telling him to do the art.” Though this attitude may rub some musicians the wrong way, the unique and groundbreaking forms he built were likely possible because of this mentality. DOOM was the only solo rapper at that time with such consistent high-density lyrics and with sampling from the depths of a past era. 

As Garcia made a name for himself and worked his way into the Atlanta scene he joined DOOM for the first time on Metal Fingers Presents: Special Herbs. One project developed into another and Garcia contracted with DOOM on the full MM..FOOD album and alongside Madlib for Madvilliany.

“MM..FOOD is one of the fullest sounding, most studio sounding projects,” Garcia described, “It is quite a different vibe, and took a long time for DOOM to write.” 

As success accrued for DOOM and his team, the ruthlessness of the game and the complexity behind long-time industry figures became very apparent. Alongside internal industry developments, fame is a very strange experience.

DOOM was unique in his scene because he could literally take his mask off and blend in. The pair would occasionally go to shows together, often without DOOM making a public appearance. Beforehand, DOOM would reach out to Garcia and specify, “Just call me Daniel. Don’t tell them who I am.”

“He wasn’t a talkative person, and very few heart-to-hearts were had in the studio,” Garcia described. “He was very private, everything was on a need-to-know basis.”

DOOM began his music career quite young as KMD alongside his brother. They made one full album together that unfortunately got shelved by the record label. He then lost his brother at 18 due to a car accident. This intensity in his personal and career life likely led to his extremely conservative public presence.

“He was open to a lot of creativity,” Garcia explained. His ability to create art that didn’t fit the mold of the era was tied to this openness. The complexity of his artistic persona makes his appreciation of other art forms clear and is an example of how artists can interact with many mediums.

“He was maniacal and genius.” Garcia described, “Everything was calculated. Control was very important.”

In addition to an obsession over his craft, marketing, growing the brand and building something that would last was constantly on DOOM’s mind. This drive led to collectible items, comic books and a worldwide fanbase all formed very intentionally that is still expanding today.

“He was very into classic superheroes and cartoons, 80s television was his lost era turned creative resource,” elaborated Garcia. 

Unlike many other hip-hop artists, DOOM built what Garcia described to be a “very eclectic fan base,” and this holds true after his death. DOOM seemed to be “touched by the nerdy collective” described Garcia, and was drawn to the quieter fans rather than the groupies or more openly obsessive concertgoers. Garcia suspects this stemmed from the separation he held between himself as Daniel Dumile and DOOM the character. 

Those who obsessed over DOOM, but didn’t know Dumile were looking for a character rather than a real person. “DOOM had no interest in playing to their hopes and fantasies,” Garcia emphasized.

After perfecting Born Like This, the pair toured around the globe with Garcia serving as DOOM’s DJ. Spending two to three days in each city, the work was fun and fast-paced. At times this was nerve-wracking for Garcia though DOOM on the other hand had been performing for around thirty years.

Globally, shows were sold out in countries that Garcia hadn’t expected and the pair’s energy continued to develop. While performing at a particularly rowdy show, DOOM tossed his hat high up in the air mid-song behind his back. To his own surprise and under bright stage lights, Garcia caught the hat mid-air from the DJ table and continued the set. 

Performing was strenuous for DOOM, particularly under his essential mask. “The mask was heavy,” Garcia described, “and stage lights would heat the metal so quickly.” Amidst the chaos of his fame, some shows were performed by other artists with decent DOOM impressions and passion for the stage. While some fans could spot the fake, it’s hard to really know who was standing in to feed the audience’s endless desires. 

“With DOOM things were always in flux, you didn’t know something was always going to happen until it was actually happening,” explained Garcia. The ups and downs of life on the road were especially intense for Garcia who lost his Atlanta studio while abroad on tour.

“Being in the present is chaotic and can be difficult. I saw a bigger picture than I thought was possible,” he described.

Ultimately, DOOM was successful in the independent scene, but it took time and didn’t happen all at once. Despite his exile in 2011 and the chaos of life as an artist, DOOM was able to build a life where money wasn’t an issue. This success came with hard work, dedication and sacrifices. DOOM worked his body to the brink of exhaustion. He lived in a way where each day or event “might be the last time,” Garcia described.

The event of DOOM’s untimely death shocked the world and brought about a huge shift in the mysterious artist’s cultural presence. While so many mourned just as many scrambled to understand who DOOM was. 

Much like DOOM himself, his family was very reserved but busy behind the scenes. Currently, DOOM’s wife runs his record label, though Garcia noted that he never saw her do interviews or work with the press. Garcia experienced two waves of grief, with the two releases of his passing privately at first and then publicly a few months later. Throughout his career, it was clear that DOOM felt no obligation to the fans or the general public to discuss his personal life. In this fashion, his family took their time processing how to reveal the tragic turn of events. 

Now in the wake of his cultural impact, the hip-hop scene continues to feel the loss of such a unique artist. One lasting impression DOOM left with Garcia changed his entire attitude toward interpreting art.  

“Don’t put judgment on other people’s art before you can really digest it,” Garcia emphasized.

For local hip-hop lovers, Garcia is a valuable artist building the landscape in Denver. This past year, Garcia threw an MF DOOM DJ set at Meadowlark on Halloween, the anniversary of DOOM’s passing, and hopes to play more events like this in the future.