Thank you for letting your light shine

MF DOOM’s widow has shared a message on what would have been his 53rd birthday, thanking him for “bringing so much joy and laughter to our lives”.

The beloved underground rapper — whose real name was Daniel Dumile — died on October 31, 2020, aged 49. In July last year, his widow Jasmine Dumile confirmed that he passed away from a condition known as angioedema, a rare and severe reaction to his blood pressure medication.

Now, Jasmine has shared a heartfelt tribute to him on social media to give thanks on his “bornday”.

“Time has not gotten easier, we think of you and miss you tremendously every single day,” she wrote. “Thank you for your courage, wisdom, overstanding, patience, and strength, lyrical genius, and crazy sense of humor.”

Bornday Thanks

BEGIN ALL THINGS GIVING THANKS TO THE ALL!!!

Grateful rising,

Happy Bornday July 13, 1971, to my husband DUMILE, who transitioned, you would’ve been 53 years young this day. Sending Happy Birthday to grandma Ashlyn 😇 without you, your wisdom, love and… pic.twitter.com/udwNQS2x64

— DOOM (@MFDOOM) July 13, 2024

“Thank you for letting your light shine. Thank you for opening up your heart and letting us in to be a part of your world. Thank you for bringing so much joy and laughter to our lives. Thank you for showing us how not to take things so literally.”

“The children and myself will continue to make things correct,” she continued. “The best that we can. Solutions only. Continuing your legacy we will always remember and never forget.”

Last year, Jasmine sued the rapper’s former A&R. Alongside Gas Drawls, who control DOOM’s intellectual property, she sued Eothen “Egon” Alapatt for copyright infringement, fraud, intentional misrepresentation and unjust enrichment.

She claimed in the suit that Alapatt stole 31 of the rapper’s personal notebooks and was refusing to return them.

The issues with the rapper’s property began back in 2010 when MF DOOM travelled to the UK and was not able to re-enter the US due to immigration issues (he was born in Hounslow). According to the lawsuit, the 31 notebooks were left behind at his studio in Los Angeles and Alapatt “took unlawful possession” of the books about six years later.

In July last year, Leeds Hospital apologised to the rapper’s family after being questioned about the quality of his care prior to his death.

DOOM’s wife claimed that it was negligence by the staff at the Leeds hospital that led to his eventual passing, and alleged that those working at St James’ Hospital at the time failed to check on her husband frequently. She also claimed that the medical staff were two hours late when it came to administering medication for him.

In the time since his death, various figures from across the music industry have come together to keep the rapper’s legacy alive. This includes a posthumous feature on ‘Cheat Codes’ – an album made by Danger Mouse and Black Thought – and plans for a biography, called The Chronicles of DOOM: Unraveling Rap’s Masked Iconoclast, written by veteran music journalist S. H. Fernando Jr.

Thom Yorke also shared a remix of MF DOOM‘s ‘Gazzillion Ear’ in tribute to the late musician, and a street block in Long Beach, New York was officially renamed in his memory.

Marvel has also paid tribute to him in their latest DOOM comic book, the first in the series since 2000.