The Chronicles of DOOM. Unraveling Rap’s Masked Iconoclast

Publication Date:

October 2024

Pages:

352

Original language and publisher

English (USA) | Astra House

Territories Handled

World excl. North America

Territories Sold

English (UK & BC excl Can) (Faber in a preempt)
Germany (Halvmall)
Russia (Eksmo)

Genres

Biography, Music

Foreign Covers

 Cover
Halvmall

The Chronicles of DOOM. Unraveling Rap’s Masked Iconoclast

Synopsis

“★ Fernando provides a comprehensive look at DOOM’s life and career, meticulously researched through interviews with the rapper’s many collaborators and those closest to the man behind the mask. His track-by-track breakdowns of DOOM’s albums will have sample spotters diving into their record collections. A perfect pairing with Dan Charnas’s Dilla Time (2022), this is an essential exploration into the world of ‘your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper.'” — Carlos Orellana, Booklist (starred review)

“The Chronicles of DOOM is superbly written, and incredibly well researched, but also full of heart and the pure love and appreciation of any true DOOM fan. Here you get everything you would want to know about the man, the myth, the mask. It is written as compellingly as the origin stories of the greatest superheroes and supervillains. If you love DOOM, I could not more highly recommend this book.” —Tommy Orange, New York Times–bestselling author of Wandering Stars and Pulitzer Prize finalist for There, There

“This authoritative guide to one of hip hop’s most enigmatic figures peeks behind the mask to reveal Daniel Dumile’s rebellious spirit and creative genius.” — Rob Kenner, author of The Marathon Don’t Stop: The Life and Times of Nipsey Hussle

“Reading through The Chronicles of DOOM has me weepy. SKIZ is a thoughtful and careful handler of the life and legacy of enigmatic great MF DOOM—an artist who sought to preserve his privacy and individuality in the face of an often phagocytic media hype machine. Balancing well-researched biographical notes, elegant prose, and accessible story-telling, SKIZ gives us a text that should be required reading for any hip hop head.” — Andrew E. Colarusso, Taylor & Co. Books

“An insightful celebration of a beloved rapper.” — Kirkus Reviews

“There’s a lot more going on in The Chronicles of Doom than gushing over a fallen hero . . . [Fernando] tells a larger story about reinvention, a process familiar to anyone who has had to rebuild a life, and an identity, when things fall apart.”
 — Chris Vognar, San Francisco Chronicle

“Fernando’s impressive legwork shows as he weaves together new and archival interviews with DOOM and the rapper’s relatives, friends and collaborators . . . Especially insightful are interviews with DOOM’s other younger brother Dimbaza, who offers rare firsthand accounts of the rapper’s daily life.” — Stephen Kearse, Washington Post

The Chronicles of DOOM is a thoroughly researched and at times poetically written tome about the life and work of MF DOOM. . . . [It] has something for the old school hip hop heads, the comic reading and cartoon watching nerds, the DIY indie kids, the esoteric stoners, and everyone in between just like DOOM’s music.” — Logan Dalton

“You mustn’t pass up on this rare glimpse into the life of the one and only MF Doom. Perfect for fans of Dilla Time.” — Chevalier’s Books

“Skiz’s chronicle of the famously secretive rapper offers something unexpected.” — Jacob Rosenberg, Mother Jones

“Fernando goes a long way in presenting the man behind the mask (who died in 2020) without revealing all of his spaced-out secrets that made him special.” — A. D. Amorosi, Variety

“This is an ambitious, widescreen, hugely colourful undertaking. Putting to bed some long-held rumours and mistruths, the book also zones in on what makes DOOM such an entrancing figure—in placing a spotlight on his life and work, the author often locates further deposits of genius. A tome worthy of the iconoclastic rapper.” — Robin Murray, Clash

The definitive biography of MF DOOM, charting the reclusive and revered hip-hop artist’s life, career, and eventual immortality.

From the journalist behind From the Streets of Shaolin and packed with behind-the-scenes content, for fans of hip-hop biographies like Dilla Time and The Marathon Don’t Stop.

On December 31, 2020, the world was shocked to learn about the death of hip-hop legend MF DOOM. Born in London and raised in the suburban enclave of Long Beach, New York, Daniel Dumile Jr.’s love of cartoons and comic books would soon turn him into one of hip-hop’s most enigmatic, prolific, and influential figures.

Sweeping and definitive, The Chronicles of DOOM: Unraveling Rap’s Masked Iconoclast recounts the rise, fall, redemption, and untimely demise of MF DOOM. Broken down into five sections: The Man, The Myth, The Mask, The Music, and The Legend, journalist S. H. Fernando, or SKIZ, chronicles the life of Daniel Dumile Jr., beginning in the house he grew up in in Long Beach, NY, into the hip-hop group KMD, onto the stage of his first masked show, through the countless collabs, and across the many different cities Daniel called home. Centering the music, SKIZ deftly lays out the history of east-coast rap against DOOM’s life story and dissects the personas, projects, tracks, and lyrics that led to his immortality.

Including exclusive interviews with those who worked closely with DOOM and providing an unknown, intimate, behind-the-scenes look into DOOM’s life, The Chronicles of DOOM is the definitive biography of MF DOOM, a supervillain on stage and hero to those who paid attention.

Marketing Information

  • Mentioned in an NME article about MF DOOM on the occasion of his birthday, published July 13, 2024
  • Assigned for a review at the Washington Post (TBD)
  • Reviewed in the October 1, 2024 issue of Kirkus Reviews; online August 30, 2024
  • One of The Washington Post’s “41 new books to read this fall,” published August 30, 2024
  • Featured in the UK magazine The Wire October 2024 issue
  • Interview on NPR podcast Bullseye with Jesse Thorn (Recent guests include John Cena, Common, and Megan Stalter)
  • Joshua Encinias is including the Brooklyn Museum launch event in his October guide for Brooklyn Magazine
  • Toronto Star interview
  • Baffler review
  • Southwest Review review
  • Books About Music podcast interview
  • Changing of the Hip Hop Guards podcast interview
  • Largehearted Boy playlist
  • Gunk covering Brooklyn Museum event
  • Kerry Shaw is including the Brooklyn Museum launch event in the Gothamist’s fall event guide
  • Lamar Salter is interviewing SKIZ for a feature in Brooklyn Magazine ahead of his event at the Brooklyn Museum on 10/31
  • S.H. Fernando Jr. was interviewed on the podcast Changing of the Hip-Hop Guards, posted on YouTube October 4, 2024
  • Mentioned in HipHopDX‘s piece about the 20th anniversary of Mm..Food, published October 8, 2024
  • Mentioned in the UK publication MixMag, published on October 21, 2024
  • Okayplayer published a piece about the publication
  • The Chronicles of DOOM was mentioned in a piece from HipHopDX
  • Tinnitist‘s “next week in music”
  • Parade‘s list of the best new books out this week — syndicated by Yahoo! Life
  • Literary Hub‘s list of 18 new books out today
  • First on Publishers Lunch‘s Bookshop.org list of nonfiction books on sale today
  • Included by Maris Kreizman on her list of new releases in her newsletter the Maris Review
  • Interviewed by Zack Ruskin for the San Francisco Chronicle, published November 1, 2024
  • Reviewed by Stephen Kearse for the Washington Post, published November 1, 2024
  • Rock the Bells published a piece on October 30, 2024
  • Justin Hunte, “The Company Man,” shared The Questions Hip-Hop podcast interview
  • A November Amazon Editors’ Pick in the History and Biographies & Memoirs categories
  • Peter Crimmins interviewed S.H. Fernando Jr. about The Chronicles of DOOM and MF DOOM’s time recording in Philadelphia for WHYY, published November 30, 2024
  • Mentioned by HipHopDX in a piece about the posthumous MM..FOOD reissue
  • One of Greenlight Bookstore’s pop culture holiday picks for Christmas 2024
  • Literary Hub‘s Best Book Cover of 2024
  • Mother Jones Best Book of 2024
  • Author interviewed on the Across the Margin podcast
  • Video of Author’s event with Brian Coleman at Vinyl Index available on YouTube
  • Variety ‘Best Music Book of 2024’
  • Clash ‘Best Music Book of 2024’
  • FLOOD Magazine ‘Best Music Book of 2024’

Foreign Covers

 Cover
Halvmall