Following the legendary rapper and producer's death in October 2020, which was confirmed on New Year's Eve via a post shared by his wife Jasmine Dumile, a petition has been launched to rename a New York street after MF DOOM.
The petition, launched by Dr. Patrick Graham on behalf of the KMD-MF DOOM Way Committee, has already passed 600 signatures (at the time of writing this article).
Dr. Graham writes, "We are requesting that the City of Long Beach rename East Hudson Street's block between Riverside Boulevard and Long Beach Road "KMD-MF DOOM Way" after the recently deceased artist who grew up in Long Beach, New York."
He's also added a description of MF DOOM's time in Long Beach, "The hip-hop community often refers to Mr. Dumile as "the rapper's favorite rapper." His influence on hip-hop was not fully realized until after facing tragic moments in his life. Mr. Dumile’s career began in Long Beach after forming the group, KMD, under his stage name, Zev Love X. Along with his brother, Dingilizwe "DJ SubRoc" Dumile, and other Long Beach youth, he experienced early success. After a tragic car accident took the life of DJ SubRoc and disagreement with his record label, Mr. Dumile disappeared into obscurity, battling homelessness due to his brother's death (1993) and label dispute in 1994. However, during this period, he called on his youthful experience in Long Beach to reinvent himself as MF DOOM."
Dr. Graham adds, "Mr. Dumile represents the ability to grow through tragedy and unite people around common themes. We need more individuals like him during this time of political and social divisions. Mr. Dumile still inspires many young people to view the potential of everyday life. Long Beach should be proud of its native son and honor him and his legacy on a street sign. Just as important, the city should embrace the unity Mr. Dumile represents for generations to come."
Last month Madvillain collaborator Madlib spoke about MF DOOM's passing, revealing that he "found out when everybody else did, on social media." He added, "His family's very private, so they probably didn't know how to approach that one. I still can't believe that he died. That's weird."
