After the world learned of the death of rapper MF Doom yesterday, tributes, admiration and support have been pouring in from the hip-hop community celebrating Doom’s legacy. An important one came today from Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def), who posted a video of his 2014 performance of the Madvillain’s 2004 Madvillainy track “All Caps.” His caption was, naturally, posted in all caps too and paid homage to Doom with gratitude:
“ALL CAPS
CAPS LOCK ON.
INNALAHI WA INNALAHI RAJOON
PARIS 2014 RECORDED LIVE ON SITE
INSPIRATION INFORMATION
THANK YOU AND THANK YOU AGAIN.
PEACE.”
Noting that the video was directed by Samuel Thiebaut and edited by Antoine Kerninon for Oleo Films, Bey honored the performer by posting his previous cover of the song and crediting him for inspiration. Though it’s still unknown what the cause of death for the man born Daniel Dumile was, his wife Jasmine shared yesterday that he “transitioned” earlier this year in October. During a year where the world was dealing with a global pandemic and loss of life in unfathomable numbers, it was a shock to get news of the underground rapper’s death on New Year’s Eve. But tributes like Bey’s help commemorate the impact he had. Watch the clip above.