The Gallagher Too of Rap

A reader writes:

I'm not sure if MF Doom is your cup of tea or not. But I thought you might be interested to learn that he's been sending impostors in his place to "perform" (read: lip sync) at some recent shows.

Last week, I was in San Francisco visiting friends, and thought it could be fun to catch the MF Doom show on 8/15 at the Independent. We were ushered in, and given stated instructions from the door man that pictures - even camera phones - were strictly prohibited, and anyone caught taking pictures would be ejected. I know that's policy at a lot of venues, but I've never been verbally warned before. After clenching my teeth through a gawd-awful set from spastic, Slug-derivative Pigeon John, the crowd was treated to about 2 hours of some wack-ass DJ. At some point, an announcement was made, reiterating that absolutely no pictures were allowed at this show, and that violators would be ejected.

Eventually, a bunch of hype men came on stage, while one of the songs off DangerMouse played. Out comes "Doom" looking about 100 pounds lighter than he has ever looked in a picture or video. I've never seen him live, however, so I thought that maybe he had just lost a lot of weight. His mic was turned way down low, and you couldn't hear his voice, and there was no crowd interaction between songs. Just this skinny "Doom", holding the mic real close to his face, and a bunch of hype men on the sides. 20 minutes later, it was all over. Huh?

I was pissed that I had just witnessed the worst show I've seen in my 29 years on this planet. However, it still hadn't dawned on me that I had just been played, until I heard some kid outside the club wondering if that was really even Daniel Dumile.

A quick look around the intertubes (see below) finds others who claim that this wasn't the real Doom. Furthermore, it sounds like he had pulled the same stunt a few nights prior at the El Rey in LA. He was a no-show for his Thursday night show in San Francisco, and also missed his Rock the Bells performance in SF.

Clearly, I'm none too happy, although I can see how d-bags like yourself might find it funny. I've yet to contact the Independent to see what their story is. But this was certainly something I think is newsworthy. I don't want others to drop $40 to go see some skinny-ass impostor lip sync Doom songs for 20 minutes like I did.

Here are some links to others (more or less) backing my story:

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2007/08/mf_doom_fucks_sf_wtf_went_down.php
http://www.calendarlive.com/music/571196,0,6883666.event
http://dojothemouse.livejournal.com/216669.html
http://forums.undergroundhiphop.com/readpost.asp?Forum=Common&Whichpage=1&QuestionID=1868749
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/tix/400995903.html
http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2007/08/19/mf-doom-having-an-inposter-lip-sync-in-san-francisco/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.soulstrut.com%2Fubbthreads%2Fshowflat.php%3FCat%3D0%26Number%3D932807%26an%3D0%26page%3D0%23Post932807&frame=true

Comments

[chasingcoolness]

doom was scheduled to play in seattle when this shit broke on soulstrut and a few other message boards. doom cancelled and instead seattle got redman. that's like losing a dollar and getting $100 and a hooker.

[rashadlogic]

Wait... even if this was true, why would Doom send an impostor?

[dameSTAtus]

Damn, I was going to hit that show.

That's crazy. Maybe the promoter hustled everyone?

[rashadlogic]

Why, won't Bill O Riley leave Nas alone? :( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y34Sk_mV_20

[smog]

that shit is crazy good investigating reporting!! doom needs to answer up, mabye he has to many shitty doom-bots. but if this shit is true im gonna boy-cott that dude

[RedZepprin]

Bol, to paraphrase Malcolm X, "Ya been had. Ya been flim-flammed."

[Bol]

http://whataboutourdaughters.blogspot.com/2007/08/xxl-magazine-calls-dunbar-village.html

^^^
Ruh roh!

[1 RHOyal Fiasco]

Uhmmm... Yeah... I was at that Frisco show and while I do not agree that the dj was shitty, nor do I agree that pigeon john sucked, I must concur with everything else...

He was HELLA small (no beer belly at all) and he was lip synching...

He was on stage for 11 minutes... He came out to benzi then went into hoe cakes and from there one beer and during the fourth song he just left cause everybody was like "that's not Doom!"...

After the show I asked some of the staff at the Independent if that was really Doom and they said it was but him and his crew were backstage smoking crack for 2 hours...

Needless to say, I was utterly disappointed and lightweight devastated...

Hopefully it was an imposter... I don't think I could handle my 3rd favorite rapper (#2-Phonte, #1-Lupe) being a crackhead...

[1 RHOyal Fiasco]

Uhmmm... Yeah... I was at that Frisco show and while I do not agree that the dj was shitty, nor do I agree that pigeon john sucked, I must concur with everything else...

He was HELLA small (no beer belly at all) and he was lip synching...

He was on stage for 11 minutes... He came out to benzi then went into hoe cakes and from there one beer and during the fourth song he just left cause everybody was like "that's not Doom!"...

After the show I asked some of the staff at the Independent if that was really Doom and they said it was but him and his crew were backstage smoking crack for 2 hours...

Needless to say, I was utterly disappointed and lightweight devastated...

Hopefully it was an imposter... I don't think I could handle my 3rd favorite rapper (#2-Phonte, #1-Lupe) being a crackhead...

[rashadlogic]

Bol, you have to admit, you was wrong for that comment of her beign a hooker. I mean.. wth?

[samwell]

THE FOLLOWING IS DIRECTED AT BILL X SUNDAY NOT U BOL (U COOL).

Yo man WTF I never post but you have been falling the fuck off. You used to post some hilarious shit about rappers and their antics, now all we get is this homo fanboy comic book garbage? Yo entertain me or step the fuck off, my time is valuable and you’re just dicking around w/ unfunny shit. Suggestions:

1. No more stupid youtube videos w/ poor editing and no point.

2. you’re a fat fuck, stay off my screen.

3. No preachy ass posts about teaching and knowledge, you live in the basement and you’re damn near 40.

4. Don’t give a fuck about your GF unless she’s got a Jet magazine wide pussy pose.

5. Try to be funnier.

6. More combat jack.

7. Oh yeah I almost forgot I DON’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOUR SHOES!!! Nothing is sadder than 40 yr old man in fucking multicolored sneakers reading a comic book.

ps I saw your new youtube video.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fbGkxcY7YFU

[jay]

i stood by you when you said that comment bout that deceased dipset rapper.. and i find most of your misogynistic comments entertaining.. but that hooker comment might have been pushing it too far. be a man and issue an apology.

[vag sniff]

Dam you nicca's got sold a Katrina Hyundai special....Fucking lemon...Yo I would sue for fraud and bait and switch......

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDsIMbhDJ7k]

tenno heika!

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDsIMbhDJ7k]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDsIMbhDJ7k

tatsumouri!

[allnice]

Wow, Doom is truly a super villain for real. Dude pretty much ruined his tour cred, so I guess it's a wrap? As for the whole thing about about McCauley, this chick is selling t-shirts on her blog and shit pretending like she cares about the victims of that tragedy. You said some fucked up shit about the chick being a hooker, but I see that you did that on purpose. Kinda fucked up, but hey, it is what it is in the world of blogs.

[rhickey]

i'd like to point out that the next doom album is named "Imposter".

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:bIEHCKWjS3IJ:www.urbansmarts.com/interviews/mfdoom.html+doom+imposter&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=10&gl=us

i wouldn't be surprised if this is just a terrible/genius publicity stunt.

i've heard the venue is rescheduling the other show and ticket holders will be able to get in.

[a non ny mous]

yo - that Doom interview about "imposter" being the next album is from back when he was still fuckin with day by day. Probably pre-Madvillain - and def pre danger doom. He says it's gonna be on Brick - they haven't put out a record for years that I know of.

[Johnthan "J dot" Speed, Educated Rapper Type]

I understand that you try so damn hard to be funny and shock the world...but, son, enough is enough. When are you (I'm talking about the readers) going to wake up and realize that this type of behavior is destroying our society, bringing unfair scrutiny on the hip-hop culture (I say that because Bol writes for XXL, even if he doesn't really exemplify what hip-hop is and such), and creates people like Don Imus, the KKK and Al Sharpton (Yes, I mentioned Al Sharpton and the KKK in the same sentence; in my opinion, they're actually rather similar.)
So, in short...I pray for you, man. Seriously...I hope that in the end, God has mercy on your pitiful soul in the afterlife, because according to the path that you're following, you may not be so lucky in the here-and-now...
Peace be with you.

[daesonesb]

Doom played in LA at rock the bells and it was awesome.

[Ash Ketchum is worse than Michael Vick]

Doom-bot lipsyncing worse than Britney Spears with a wig>NaS perform Live

[zillatrillions]

Good thing I didn't go to the el rey show! The most logical explanation would be that maybe he couln't make it to these shows due to a unforseen incident. Hopefully. I wouldn't know what to say if he's really a crackhead.

[snino]

I'm one of the world's biggest Doom fans so when I saw that he was playing two shows in greater LA bracketing his Saturday performance at Rock the Bells in San Bernardino, I was amped. So, my buddy and I go to the Glass House in Pomona. After sitting through a weak opener and waiting around for half an hour to take the stage, the promoter comes out and says Doom isn't going to make it. For those of you who don't know, Pomona is like an hour drive from LA and having taken a couple hours off of work and fighting through Hell A traffic to see my favorite rapper, I was pissed. As soon as the show was cancelled, my mind started racing for answers:

1. He was flying in from the last Rock the Bells location and got in too late to make it out to Pomona.

2. He was over it. It seemed like the promoter was trying to take advantage of him being in Southern California so whenever you are going to a show that is essentially "piggy-backing" off of another appearance, the chance of it being poorly organized increases exponentially. The Glass House is tiny and it wasn't even half full. He probably had a cut of the tix and wasn't going to make enough money to warrant the effort.

The one thing I can tell you is that the promoter had no idea and it was actually sad to see him squirm on stage explaining to the crowd that there was no show.

On to Sunday, I couldn't figure out from any chat rooms or on the website as to whether or not Doom actually performed at Rock the Bells the day before. While I would have like to have known it for sure, I still went with another one of my friends to catch Doom at the El Rey in Los Angeles on Sunday night. This time, he comes out, albeit late, and I couldn't be more stoked. Paying way too much for a show ($30 for just Doom is a lot) and getting burned just two days before didn't matter anymore. On top of that, by the sound of the first couple of songs, I was even more happy to see that Doom had finally mixed up his live set. Playing some Danger Doom and King Geedorah, two things I had never heard. The only thing that bugged me was that his mic was really low. I figured they would adjust it but they never did. It pissed me off because his hype man was coming in loud and clear. I tried to not let it bother me cuz I could sing along to the words anyway, but it was a factor. Then, out of nowhere, the hype man screams out "Doom is leaving the building!" and the whole stage clears out. Five or six songs into the show. People are standing around in disbelief, pissed off, wondering what the fuck just happened. I wondered how many people in that room were in Pomona and got burned twice. I wanted answers.

I figured I'd go onto some sites the next day to try and see what the people were saying about this bullshit. To come to find out that there were reports of him bailing on other shows and when he did play, pull the bullshit he did at El Rey and bounce off the stage after thirty minutes makes believe the that some real shady shit was going down. Once I found out he was being accused of not even being in the same city and having an imposter show up on his behalf, it all started to fall into place. I started thinking about how he looked. He did appear skinnier. His mannerisms were different and he was doing different little dances on stage than I was used to seeing. I figured he was mixing it up. It also explains why the mic was so low. The louder the mic, the more obvious it is to figure out the he was lip synching.

The next question to be answered is whether or not there is any similarities between the shows that he cancelled, and the shows that he sent an imposter to. My guess is that for shows that weren't going to make him any money, like the Glass House, he cancelled. Not making any cash coupled with a smaller, intimate venue where an imposter could be spotted easier wasn't worth it. Now the El Rey is different. The venue is big. I think it holds a couple thousand people. There's more money at stake here. Send an imposter to the larger venue where he could disguise it better and collect a big check for the risk. Play just long enough to where people don't really have a claim to ask for a refund and bounce. Doom has such a cult following he probably assumed that even if he burned his fan base by playing a five song set, they would still probably pay to see him live again. While he would probably lose some people for future shows, the money he pocketed now made it OK.

So Stones Throw released a WEAK statement saying that the rumors weren't true. Very short. Very cryptic. My guess is they figure the shorter and more vague the response, the harder it will be to poke holes through their explanation. Deny, deny, deny. Couple of weeks, people will be over it. The reality is, with all of the money at stake and the red tape of dealing with the venues and the promoters and the refunds, Doom will never admit to it. This was probably some hair brained scheme he cooked up being one of the few musicians in the world that could pull it off. I mean, how many performers are in costume on stage with a reputation for never showing his face in public? He must have been convinced that he could get away with it. But, his fans are perceptive. He shouldn't have cancelled so many shows to raise suspicion, he should have found a better body double. He should have tweaked the sound to mask the lip-synching better. There are way too many factors involved in doing it the right way that he didn't think about. And as a result, he got busted. Admit it or not, there was way to evidence stacked against the our good friend Metal Face. Doom, I gotta say I'm disappointed in you, pal. You better drop a filthy album to make up for it.