Almost a month has passed since news broke about the death of legendary rapper MF DOOM, whose passing in October wasn’t revealed until New Year’s Eve. Since then there’s been an outpouring of memoriams and celebrations, but a number of his fans are not too happy with how President-Elect Joe Biden aimed to honor him: with an inclusion on his inauguration playlist.
The issue: that DOOM, né Daniel Dumile, was barred from reentering the United States after he concluded an overseas tour, for the album Born Like This, back in 2010. Dumile was born in England and moved to New York as an infant, but he never applied for citizenship during his long stint in the United States. As a result, he spent the final decade of his life in England — which is to say, he was not allowed entry to America for much of Biden’s vice presidency. So when Biden put DOOM on his playlist, many people felt that was a thumb in the eye.
After his death, DOOM’s streaming numbers skyrocketed a whopping 870% and Madvillainy, his collaboration with producer Madlib, also reentered the Billboard albums charts, coming in at No. 73.
You can check out some of the reactions below.
putting MF DOOM on the playlist after barring him from reentering the country… lmao https://t.co/sH7dQeKPKc
— 「desp」 (@bigracks) January 16, 2021
Joe Biden’s previous administration blocked MF DOOM from re-entering the US, which is why he died in the UK.
These people are playing in your face. https://t.co/YBllI9qoVg
— Brother Q. (ɔpɛ asem) (@andraydomise) January 16, 2021
Alexa, what is pandering? https://t.co/jJhN4TAOZP
— David Hernandez (@SimplyDavy) January 17, 2021
Joe Biden’s administration basically let MF DOOM get deported and never let him back in the country https://t.co/kJtzrJFq5Y
— CHANOS (@excitebikee) January 16, 2021
MF DOOM died in a foreign country because Joe Biden’s president wouldn’t let him come back to his homeland. https://t.co/b2buZ6fTSj
— Langston
(SALEH SZN) (6-8) (@LangstonLee627) January 16, 2021
MF DOOM (RIP) was denied reentry into these United States by the Obama/Biden admin’s ICE in 2010. https://t.co/EipaTTeQOr
— Donovan Farley (@DonovanFarley) January 16, 2021
It was a Democratic administration – the one that Biden was part of, as VP – that denied MF Doom the ability to return back to the US with his family. It’s unbelievable that anyone would think he would feel honored by being acknowledged in such an inauthentic manner. https://t.co/XZDgYHPVlp
— Comorienne
(@_ShamGod) January 17, 2021
This is like Pablo Sandoval’s commemoration that he was a World Series champ: straight-up pandering. https://t.co/eRIkMA86h4
— Joepardy! (@TheThinGwynn) January 16, 2021